Beyonce's Opening Act
Danielle Johnson, 15, from left, Melvina Callahan, 19, and Davina Callahan, 16 -- laugh as they cut out photos from magazines to dress a picture of Beyonce. Teenage girls attended a forum at the Verizon Center last night at which Beyonce paid a surprise visit before her concert.
(By Carol Guzy -- The Washington Post)
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Friday, August 10, 2007
The first group of teenage girls arrived before 4 p.m., and D.C. Council member Kwame R. Brown greeted them, asking, "Aren't y'all tired of the drive-by shootings?"
He said nothing about The Surprise.
Nothing about Beyonce.
Nothing about how Beyonce was supposed to be there soon, in the Verizon Center's exclusive Acela Club, meeting privately with 70 girls ages 12 to 18 before her concert last night.
"Aren't y'all tired of people getting killed?" Brown (D-At Large) continued.
"Yes!" answered the girls, all in skirts and summer dresses, headbands and heels, who had come to this anti-violence gathering called Defining Our Own Destiny Forum.
Then Brown added, ever so slyly, "There might be a surprise tonight."
"Tickets!" a few girls shouted.
Brown just smiled. And held the smile, with some effort, for a few hours.
At 4:45 p.m., Brown told them they were getting concert tickets.
At 5 p.m., they were listening to speeches.
At 7:10 p.m., Brown told the girls to put away their camera cellphones and stay in their seats. The concert was 20 minutes away.