When longtime music industry veteran Charles “Charlie Mack” Alston was robbed at gunpoint at a Philadelphia gas station a few weeks ago, it could have changed his outlook on doing anything charitable for his hometown.
After all, despite relocating to Los Angeles for his career, Alston continues to stay involved in the community. His Party4Peace weekend has been going on for two decades, starting out as just a celebrity basketball game. And admittedly, this year, as he told Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Annette John-Hall, he was questioning his own commitment to the three-day event.
So when he was approached by an armed robber, he did what any 6’7 former bodyguard would do: He took control and got even more inspired to continue the annual event.
While the gunman escaped with some of the cash Alston has earned over his two decades in the entertainment industry, he did recover the gun and escaped with his life and minor injuries. More importantly, the robbery brought home to Alston that despite all the time he’s spent trying to help his hometown, he needs to stay the course.
“The whole thing has made me more focused, more disciplined,” Alston told the Inquirer. “I feel like I have a short time to complete my mission, so I have to do what God wants me to do now.”
A native of Southwest Philadelphia, Alston hooked up with a young Will Smith in the 1980’s and worked as his bodyguard, then he went on to manage artists and entertainers himself. He started the Charlie Mack Celebrity Basketball Game in 1990, which eventually morphed into the Charlie Mack Party 4 Peace weekend, which benefits the Philadelphia organization Mothers In Charge.
Mothers In Charge is a group composed of mothers who have lost children due to violence, something Alston knew all about growing up in a tough neighborhood.
The Party 4 Peace weekend has become one of the Philadelphia summertime’s most anticipated events, bringing talents like MC Lyte, LisaRaye, Gabrielle Union, Tisha Campbell, Duane Martin, Essence Atkins, Kyla Pratt, and more to venues around Philadelphia. This year, rap star T.I. joins celebs Wendy Raquel Robinson, Essence Atkins, Nia Long, Tichina Arnold, Terry and Rebecca Crews and more, who are expected to participate.
Alston has chosen some new venues as well. The music festival, featuring Doug E. Fresh, Naughty By Nature, BBD, MC Lyte, and Heavy D, is taking place at The Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, a 45-minute drive from Philadelphia. The annual visit to a juvenile detention center has become an event that has touched the lives of both celebrities and the young people who they hope to inspire. As there is a new center under construction, that event has also moved to to the center’s temporary home. St. Joe’s University’s Hagan Arena in the city’s Overbrook section will host the celebrity basketball game that usually takes place at Temple University.
The weekend will also include a comedy show featuring Mike Epps and the annual White Party.
