Delaware lands 'Cool Runnings' cast as part of Wilmington Library's 2024 season preview

Delaware is conjuring up some serious '90s vibes for Black History Month, including tickets that are on sale now for R&B legend Ginuwine in Dover.

Folks willing to travel upstate will have a chance to see a different major event featuring a cast reunion from the cult classic film "Cool Runnings" — based on the famous Jamaican Bobsled team — when the actors visit the nationally recognized Wilmington Public Library in February 2024.

Admission to this event is free. But seating is limited and first come, first served.

We'll shed more light on the "Cool Runnings" event, plus other renowned guests who are coming to the library for Black History Month.

'Cool Runnings' cast reunion in Delaware

The "Cool Runnings" cast will feature the actors Malik Yoba, Leon Robinson and Doug E. Doug. The 1993 Disney film is inspired by the unlikely, four-man Jamaican bobsled team that competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Jamar Rahming, executive director of Wilmington Public Library, enjoys the idea of attendees gaining insight into the craft of acting from the three respected entertainers who are part of a legendary film.

"When you look at African American cinema, I think the '90s is unparallel," Rahming said. "That film ... it highlighted Carribean blackness. It highlighted a bobsled team. Certainly, it was a film that explored different narratives in our culture."

Yoba is a longtime performer best known for starring as a detective in the '90s TV show "New York Undercover."

Robinson has appeared in classics like "Above the Rim" alongside rapper Tupac Shakur, and he starred in the musical film "The Five Heartbeats."

Doug E. Doug has done a range of projects from the animated DreamWorks film "Shark Tale" to the "Cosby" show.

Rahming wants to celebrate the actors for their accomplished careers, especially Robinson and Yoba.

"Look at Malik Yoba, look at Leon, I don't think they've gotten their flowers. I think that they're master character actors," Rahming explained.

'New York Undercover' with Malik Yoba

Fans of Yoba can ask him in Wilmington about the upcoming "New York Undercover" reboot that Deadline first reported in 2020. The outlet said the show is written by Floyd Davis and will take place 20 years after the original 1994 series.

A more contemporary take on "New York Undercover" was developed during the 2018-2019 broadcast development season. That iteration featured Yoba reprising his role as J.C. Williams in a pilot for ABC that was written by Ben Watkins, Deadline reported.

Who is Sonia Sanchez?

Renowned activist, poet and educator Sonia Sanchez is another high-profile guest set to visit Wilmington Public Library for Black History Month.

Sanchez, 89, has written over a dozen books and served as the Laura Carnell Chair in English at Temple University. She's a founder of the Black Arts Movement during the 1960s.

Sanchez falls into a special subcategory of Wilmington Public Library guests that also includes Black Panther activist Angela Davis and poet Nikki Giovanni.

"We always have a living legend here. Somebody that just made history. It's important to have a historical person who is older who has lived it," Rahming said.

Jesmyn Ward gets love from Oprah

Public figure Oprah Winfrey selected author Jesmyn Ward's new novel "Let Us Descend" as her 103rd Book Club Pick in October, per oprahdaily.com.

Ward is headed to the library in Black History Month.

Her new book "is a reimagining of American slavery as beautifully rendered as it is heart-wrenching," per the book's synopsis on Amazon.

"Searching, harrowing, replete with transcendent love, the novel is a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation," the synopsis continued.

Dennis Rodman, Master P, 'A Different World' cast are library alum

The Wilmington Public Library isn't your average library. This nonprofit has a habit of hosting celebrities for free for the community.

This includes appearances from NBA legend Dennis Rodman, hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash and a cast reunion for "A Different World" over the past two years.  

The library recently concluded its season of high-profile guests with an appearance from "Power" star Omari Hardwick. The 2023 guests included Slick Rick, Master P, Phylicia Rashad, KRS-One, Bill Bellamy, Kenny Lattimore and Judge Faith.

There were also appearances from Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Nikki Giovanni, former Sen. Doug Jones, Michael Harriot, Debbie Allen and "BMF" actors Myles Truitt and Chase Jackson.   

But in November when Rahming hosted a new event titled "The Kims of Comedy" — featuring entertainers Kim Fields, Kym Whitley, Kim Wayans and Kim Coles — that generated national attention for the library.

Rahming said he originally came up with the idea to reunite the cast of the '90s sitcom "Living Single." But the only members he could get were Kim Coles and Kim Fields.

Then he decided to create a themed event around Kims and brought in Whitley and Wayans.

Fields coined the name "The Kims of Comedy," he said.

She was the moderator for the event, which wasn't a comedy show. It was a night of four Black celebrity women who shed light on what it was like to work in the entertainment industry, while also generating laughs.

'Kims of Comedy' got Wilmington library on Shade Room's IG

People from around the country traveled to Wilmington expecting to see a comedy show.

"We had people fly in from Georgia, from Arizona, from Chicago. We had people from all over the nation come here to this event," Rahming said.

The event caught the attention of news outlets The Shade Room and Vibe.

The attention and big turnouts the library drew in 2023 are a sign that libraries are still needed in this TikTok era, Rahming said. 

"Libraries are here to stay because what we're doing at these events is we're building community. We're offering a space that is creating transformative life experiences for people," he added.

Wilmington Public Library's 2024 season of high-profile guests returns during Black History Month.

Wilmington Public Library's Black History Month lineup 2024

Note that each event below is free and begins at 6 p.m. Seating is first come, first served:

• Jesmyn Ward — Thursday, Feb. 1

• Sonia Sanchez — Thursday, Feb. 8

• ‘Cool Runnings’ cast — Thursday, Feb. 22

Wilmington Public Library (10 E. 10th St., Wilmington). Each event begins at 6 p.m. Admission is free. Visit wilmington.lib.de.us or call (302) 571-7400.  

If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters.

More entertainment news

Need NYE plans?: Delaware New Year's Eve 2024: Everything from a costume ball for furry lovers to a keg drop

Jimmie Allen alert: Milton star still has tickets available for 2nd Christmas show. Here's how to score them

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: 'New York Undercover' star Malik Yoba & Leon Robinson head to Delaware