Bringing diversity to 'A Christmas Carol' is just the beginning

Datebook: It was 2013, and Amber Iman was about to make her Broadway debut in a starring role as music legend Nina Simone when the show’s producers called her in for a meeting. They wanted to know if she would go sing at Black churches in Harlem to promote the show. “I said, ‘I don’t think y’all understand how Black churches work,’ ” the Atlanta native recalled in a phone conversation with The Chronicle from her Nob Hill hotel room.