Anderson@Large

Happy Birthday, Dr. King

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. This year marks the 39th anniversary of the first observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday.

In 1986, an all-star collective of artists, including El DeBarge, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Kurtis Blow, Run–DMC, Whitney Houston, Teena Marie, Stephanie Mills, James “JT” Taylor and Whodini, released a tribute song, “King Holiday,” celebrating Dr. King and the new holiday.

We’re still celebrating the “drum major for justice.” Happy heavenly birthday, Dr. King.

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

During the Cold War, racial segregation was the law and practice in much of the country. With the backdrop of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the U.S. Department of State launched the Jazz Ambassadors program, a cultural diplomacy initiative to promote American values abroad through music.

The program began in 1956 and was part of a broader effort by the U.S. government to counter Soviet propaganda. Jazz diplomacy was intended to win hearts and minds and promote a positive view of America as the land of freedom. Jazz Ambassadors included Louis Armstrong, Art Blakey, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Lee Morgan and Nina Simone. Quincy Jones was the music director for the first tour.

A new documentary, “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat,” shows how unwitting jazz musicians were used by the CIA to cover their geopolitical machinations in the 1950s and ‘60s. Jazz musicians were unknowing decoys in the CIA’s plot to assassinate Patrice Lumumba, the first democratically-elected leader of the newly independent Republic of the Congo.

From the New York Times review of “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”:

This film, though, treads less optimistic territory. One of its major threads is the C.I.A.’s use of unwitting Black musicians to not just spread soft power abroad during the Cold War but also, potentially, provide a smoke screen for the agency’s more covert dealings. Archival footage and audio of interviews with agents, in some cases many years later, underline the point: Art was art, but it was also a useful tool for machinations the artists quite publicly opposed.

[…]

That’s why “Soundtrack” lands on a coda. Each of these historical threads, in some way, led to the Feb. 15, 1961 demonstration at the United Nations protesting Lumumba’s assassination, organized by a group called the Cultural Association of Women of African Heritage and led by Lincoln, Rosa Guy and Maya Angelou. But the story didn’t end there. “Soundtrack” makes an explicit connection between what happened in Congo in 1960 and ongoing conflict today. These events occurred a while ago, but they’re not really history, “Soundtrack” argues. The past, one might say, is never dead. It’s not even past.

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Election 2024: Make the Best of a Bad Situation

With Donald Trump’s reelection, we must use our imagination and keep on keeping on. Let’s make the best of a bad situation.

To rub salt into wounds, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday falls on the same day as Trump’s inauguration.

The struggle continues.

 

Countdown to Election Day 2024

We are in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election. Early voting is already underway. As of October 19, 2024, 13,042,952 votes have been cast nationwide, according to the Early Voter Tracker. The count includes in-person early votes in battleground states:

• Arizona: 323,720
• Georgia: 1,200,550
• Michigan: 1,005,743
• Nevada: 15,857
• North Carolina: 777,835
• Pennsylvania: 787,900
• Wisconsin: 305,344

With the polls neck and neck, every vote matters. Remember, polls don’t count. It’s the people—you—who decide the outcome. So, make a plan to vote.

Your vote is your voice. Make some noise.

Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy

The first annual Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy will be held September 27 through October 5, 2024. Organized by Race Forward and Americans for the Arts, the initiative will harness the transformative power of arts and culture to spark dialogue, inspire action, and build community.

All That Philly Jazz’s West Philly’s Main Street: A Walk Through Time is one of the inaugural projects.

The walking tour will be held on Saturday, October 5, 2024, from 10am to 12pm. We will stroll the historic 52nd Street corridor and uncover lost and hidden history. For event details and tickets, please go here.

The walking tour culminates at the former site of the Red Rooster, the jazz club where John Coltrane first met McCoy Tyner. Today, the building is home to Steve’s Sports Lounge but the history lives on.

Immediately after the Red Rooster stop, we will gather at the Painted Bride Art Center for a community conversation, Telling Our Stories from “Back in the Day”: A Voices of 52nd Street Memory Salon.

The afternoon will be filled with joy, remembering, and light refreshments. The Memory Salon is free and open to the public. Space is limited so be sure to reserve your spot.

International Underground Railroad Month

International Underground Railroad Month is a designated time to celebrate the history and legacy of the Underground Railroad. Observed annually in September, the month highlights the courage and resilience of the enslaved who used a covert network of antislavery activists and safe havens to escape bondage.

The State of Maryland proclaimed September as International Underground Railroad Month in 2019:

Governor Larry Hogan today proclaimed September as International Underground Railroad Month, which recognizes Maryland as the most powerful destination for authentic Underground Railroad history. It also commemorates all those involved in the Underground Railroad, including Maryland’s courageous Harriet Tubman, the brilliant orator Frederick Douglass, and thousands of freedom seekers.

Frederick Douglass embarked on his journey to freedom on September 3, 1838. Harriet Tubman began her escape on September 17, 1849.

Labor Day 2024