“Pittsburghers can expect to see a show like they have never seen before. There will be a lot of dancing and movement on the stage. Uncle Charlie does it different than the Gap Band,” said singer Charlie Wilson about his recent performance at the Classic Soul Music Festival on May 14. “I came to turn this mother out.”

And Uncle Charlie surely delivered a fantastic show.

CHARLIE WILSON

Wilson effortlessly weaved a show together with his new songs and Gap Band favorites.

He came on stage dressed in a black suit with a royal purple shirt and black newsboy cap. He immediately launched into the Gap Band hit, “Party Train,” which brought the audience to its feet.

(NNPA)—Dear Gwendolyn:

Six years ago I got engaged. Since that time I have been saving money for our wedding and hopefully to purchase a house. We do not live together. He has always lived with his mother.

He has never been married but has nine children by four different women. I love him, but I am growing tired of waiting for him to find employment. He was laid off from his job three months before proposing to me.

This week I visited the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh and The August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Downtown Pittsburgh, The Improv in Homestead, Glenn Campbell’s Celebration Cookout in the Hill District and the Shadow Lounge in East Liberty.

My first stop was at the Benedum Center where Groove Productions presented the Classic Soul Music Festival starring Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band, Con Funk Shun, Artistree and comedian Cool-Aide. This event was sold out and everyone was dressed to impress as they enjoyed the soulful sounds of Charlie Wilson. He sang all his old hits and some of the new ones and he shared how God has rescued him and turned his life around. It was a great time for everyone.

The Charlie Wilson dancers representin’ at the Benedum Center.

Bang. Click.

Those are the sounds you’d hear. The first, a judge’s gavel coming down, sealing your fate for life. The second, the sound of handcuffs going around your wrists, leading to a chain around your waist.

That’s what you’d hear if you were convicted of a felony. Maybe you’d be guilty. Maybe you’d be innocent. For sure, you’d be scared.

In cities all over the country, African-Americans—particularly men—face unbalanced rates of incarceration when compared to prison time served by Whites. In the book “The New Jim Crow,” author Michelle Alexander likens this travesty to slavery and more.