Yearly Archives: 2024
Black Artists’ Flight Into Egypt
I was a consultant on a project in Egypt in the 1990s. As I walked around Cairo, I was struck that Egyptians look like “high yellow” Africans. I later read that when Frederick Douglass visited Egypt in 1887, he observed, “The great mass of the people I have yet seen would in America be classified as mulattoes and negroes.”
In a speech delivered on July 12, 1854, “The Claims of the Negro Ethnologically Considered,” Douglass said:
Here I leave our learned authorities, as to the resemblance of the Egyptians to negroes.
It is not in my power, in a discourse of this sort, to adduce more than a very small part of the testimony in support of a near relationship between the present enslaved and degraded negroes, and the ancient highly civilized and wonderfully endowed Egyptians. Sufficient has already been adduced, to show a marked similarity in regard to features, hair, color, and I doubt not that the philologist can find equal similarity in the structures of their languages. In view of the foregoing, while it may not be claimed that the ancient Egyptians were negroes,—viz:—answering, in all respects, to the nations and tribes ranged under the general appellation, negro; still, it may safely be affirmed, that a strong affinity and a direct relationship may be claimed by the negro race, to THAT GRANDEST OF ALL THE NATIONS OF ANTIQUITY, THE BUILDERS OF THE PYRAMIDS.
We were stripped of our origin story by enslavers. So from activists to artists, ancient Egypt has fueled the imagination of African Americans.
I recently checked out a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now,” a multimedia exploration of how Black artists have drawn inspiration from Egypt. The exhibition features 200 works of art, including the Sun Ra documentary, “Space is the Place,” John W. Mosely photographs taken at the Philadelphia Pyramid Club, and Henry O. Tanner’s “Flight into Egypt.”
On the day of my visit, there was a creative convening of some of the artists included in the exhibition.
The program closed with a live performance of “Egypt, Egypt” by rapper and DJ The Egyptian Lover.
“Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now” is on view through February 17, 2025.
The Apollo Theater@90
The Apollo Theater turned 90 this year. Opened in 1914 as a burlesque house, by 1934 the theater was transformed into a venue primarily for African American performers and audiences.
A stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit, the now historic landmark was the place “where stars are born and legends are made.” Legends like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Jazz, blues and soul artists who graced The Apollo’s stage include Count Basie, Art Blakey, James Brown, Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Louis Jordan, Otis Redding, Nina Simone, Jimmy Smith, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington.
The Apollo is, again, making history. It is the first organization to receive the Kennedy Center Honor. Michelle Ebanks, President & CEO of The Apollo, said:
We are thrilled to be the first organization honored in the history of the Kennedy Center Awards, emphasizing The Apollo’s impact on the past, present, and future of American culture and the performing arts. From the longest-running talent show in America with Amateur Night at The Apollo, which launched the careers of icons like Ella Fitzgerald and Lauryn Hill, to performances from beloved legends like Smokey Robinson and Lil’ Kim and today’s biggest stars like Drake, The Apollo has always been a home for artists to create and a home for audiences to see incredible music and art from legendary artists.
The 47th Kennedy Center Honors, hosted by Queen Latifah, will be broadcast on CBS on Sunday, December 22, 2024, from 8:30–11 pm ET/PT.
Donate to Restore Lee Morgan’s Final Resting Place
This was a banner year for Lee Morgan. From listing of “The Sidewinder” in the National Recording Registry, dedication of his historical marker, publication of my essay about his masterpiece by the Library of Congress, and federal, state and city citations, Lee is finally getting the recognition he deserves. There are more accolades to come in 2025.
The only discordant note was the resurfacing of misinformation. The Philadelphia Inquirer published a false claim that Lee Morgan’s gravesite had “vanished.”
Shaun Brady did not interview Lee’s family. If he had, they would have told him about White Chapel Memorial Park’s troubling history. If Brady had bothered to read the Google reviews, he would know that poor maintenance of the grounds is a chronic problem. The story wasn’t just rehashed fake news. It was a missed opportunity to shed light on the broader issue of accountability that impacts families whose loved ones are interred at White Chapel.
Putting aside the news article for now, Lee Morgan’s gravestone is in disrepair and fading. Please make a donation to preserve this endangered cultural resource. Donations will fund the restoration of Lee’s gravestone and the installation of a memorial bench, complete with a QR code linking to a digital tribute wall where donors can leave text, audio, or video tributes.
Lee Morgan was not just a jazz innovator; he was an advocate for racial justice. Now, it’s up to us to do him justice. Together, we can transform Lee’s gravesite into a place of reflection and inspiration.
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.
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.
Election Day 2024
Campaign ads have saturated the airwaves, social media, email and text messages for months. But you – the voter – will have the last word. More than half of registered voters have already cast their ballot, according to Gallup. If you have waited until Election Day, it’s time to put a vote on it.
If you experience a problem at your polling place, help is at your fingertips. Text or call 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).
As a long-time voting rights advocate, it was a joy to drop off my mail-in ballot at the City Commissioners satellite election office on Saturday during a pop-up party organized by Joy to the Polls.
The satellite office is in the former Fays Theatre, a storied venue where jazz greats, including Duke Ellington, performed. City officials likely don’t know the history of the building.
The party will continue on Tuesday, October 29 with Party to the Polls Purple Tour in City Hall Courtyard. The get-out-the-vote event is presented by Daybreaker. There will be yoga, breakfast and pole dancers, as well as Bill Nye, the Science Guy, and KJ Martin of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Voters can drop off their ballot at the official drop box or vote on a voting machine in City Hall, Room 140.
From now until Election Day, voters will “form a big strong line” at polling places around the country. In battleground states, they will be dancing in the street in Philadelphia, PA and the Motor City.