Anderson@Large

Lee Morgan Proposed for Google Doodle

Edward “Lee” Morgan was born in Philadelphia on July 10, 1938. Since his last heavenly birthday, Lee has been honored with a Pennsylvania historical marker.

At the dedication ceremony, he received commendations from Governor Josh Shapiro, Senator Bob Casey, Representatives Dwight Evans and Brendan Boyle, state Senator Vincent Hughes, City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker.

Lee’s masterpiece, “The Sidewinder,” was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry on April 16, 2024.



To celebrate Lee’s 86th birthday, I proposed the legendary trumpeter for a Google Doodle. If Google accepts my proposal, Lee will join his former bandleader, Dizzy Gillespie, who was honored with a Google Doodle on October 21, 2010.

Happy birthday, Lee.

Black Music Month: Max Roach

This year marks the centennial of the birth of drummer, composer, bandleader and activist Max Roach. His groundbreaking album, “We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite,” was influenced by the Emancipation Proclamation and the emerging Civil Rights Movement.

Born in North Carolina, Roach’s family moved to Bedford-Stuyvesant, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, when he was four. He grew up near the corner of Greene and Marcy avenues where the City of New York has co-named a street for the iconic drummer. Fittingly, the “Max Roach Way” co-naming ceremony was held on Juneteenth, Freedom Day.

The Library of Congress recently opened the David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery.

The permanent gallery, “Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress,” features more than 120 items from across the Library’s holdings. The depository for the Max Roach Papers, the manuscript page for “We Insist!” is on display in the new gallery.

The Black History of Memorial Day

Originally called Decoration Day, Congress established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in 1968. The undertold history of Memorial Day dates back to the Civil War.

First observed in Charleston, South Carolina on May 1, 1865, thousands of African Americans, including the formerly enslaved, 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, and 34th and 104th United States Colored Troops, were led by children as they gathered to honor 257 Union soldiers who were buried in a mass grave on Washington Race Course which was used as a Confederate prison camp.

The ancestors exhumed the mass grave, reburied the bodies and decorated their graves; hence, Decoration Day.

A Tale of Two Headlines

Two days after Lee Morgan’s historical marker was unveiled, The Philadelphia Inquirer published this demeaning and defamatory headline.

Writing for The Inquirer, Shaun Brady dug up fake news that Lee Morgan’s gravesite had “vanished” and a white fan “unearthed” it. Even if the claim were true, why did Brady and his editor, Bedatri Choudhury, devote coverage of the dedication ceremony to “news” first reported by NPR in 2022?

Shaun did not interview Lee’s family members. In an email, Choudhury wrote, “In retrospect, he should’ve spoken to Mr. Morgan’s family.”

Lee is buried alongside his father, Otto Morgan. There was a callous disregard for the emotional distress and harm the false claim would inflict on Lee’s family.

After I complained that Brady’s “different angle” portrayed the family in a false light, the headline was changed.

An Update was added at the end of the article: “This story has been updated to clarify that the grave of Lee Morgan was never lost, but simply covered over.”

The Update begs the question: If Lee’s gravesite was never lost, what was the point of Brady’s story? Nine of the 17 paragraphs are about the “discovery” and the “discoverer.” Lee Morgan played second fiddle to a random white man.

The headline was changed but the damage had already been done. The body of the story will live forever on the Internet.

While the family explores their options, I want The Inquirer’s journalistic negligence to become a case study about the importance of fact-checking and editing.

Lee Morgan, Black Excellence and Sensational Journalism

An African proverb says, “Until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero.” On International Jazz Day, we told the story of Lee Morgan, a story of Black Excellence.

Even when we tell our story, a white journalist lionizes a white man in his report on the dedication of Edward Lee Morgan’s historical marker.

Writing for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Shaun Brady dug up the sensationalistic claim that a white fan “discovered” Lee Morgan’s “lost gravesite.” The “discovery” was made after the fan wandered around White Chapel Memorial Park during the coronavirus pandemic. When he finally asked for help, the groundskeeper took him to the location. The grave marker was obscured by overgrown grass and vegetation at a time when there was a worker shortage across the board.

The “discovery” was so sensational that nine of the 17 paragraphs in Brady’s story are about a mediocre white man. That is more than the combined number of paragraphs about the legendary Black trumpeter, the Black family who loves him, the Black musicians who knew him, the Black property owners who preserved the memory of the Aqua Lounge, and the Black woman who nominated Lee Morgan for a historical marker and listing on the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

It was lost on Brady that he should have fact-checked the claim. I brought his journalistic malpractice to the attention of his editor, Bedatri Choudhury. Her response: “In retrospect, he should’ve spoken to Mr. Morgan’s family.”

In a recent profile of longtime jazz producer Leo Gadson, Michelle Lyu wrote:

Today, the narrative of jazz is shaped by an essentially white worldview; one which separates it from the people who made the major contribution to its creation and continuance.

This white worldview turned a joyous celebration of Black Excellence into a white savior story. In so doing, The Inquirer tarnished Lee Morgan’s legacy and portrayed his family members in a false light.

Malcolm X is memorialized on the mural that overlooks Lee Morgan’s historical marker. Our Black Shining Prince warned us about newspapers.

The sensationalistic claim published in The Inquirer has readers “hating” the Black family for not knowing the location of Lee Morgan’s gravesite and “loving” the white man who discovered a gravesite that was not lost.

Lee Morgan’s family will correct the false and defamatory claim by any means necessary.

From A Sister, With Love

On February 23, 1974, the Philadelphia Tribune published an open letter, “From A Sister, With Love,” written by Ernestine Morgan Cox, Lee Morgan’s sister.

On April 30, 2024, this sister, along with Lee’s family and the community that loves him, unveiled Edward Lee Morgan’s historical marker.

Lee Morgan was celebrated for the life he lived and the legacy he left. But the struggle continues. Stay tuned.

‘The Sidewinder’ Added to National Recording Registry

To commemorate International Jazz Day 2023, I nominated Lee Morgan’s “The Sidewinder” for listing on the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Established in 2002 as part of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The registry includes music, spoken word and historic speeches.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the Class of 2024 on April 16, 2024. I scrolled the list with trepidation. When I saw Lee Morgan’s “The Sidewinder,” I jumped up in stunned disbelief.

A record 2,899 nominations were submitted for this year’s class. “The Sidewinder” is among the 25 audio recordings selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’ sound collection.

We will celebrate the listing on International Jazz Day 2024 when Edward Lee Morgan’s historical marker is unveiled.

The dedication ceremony is free and open to the public. To register for the unveiling, please go here.