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May is Preservation Month | All That Philly Jazz
Preservation Month, aka National Historic Preservation Month, is an annual celebration dedicated to promoting the importance of preserving historic places and cultural heritage. This year’s theme is “The Power of Place.”I kicked off the celebration by walking the streets of Old City, the same streets that the new republic silhouette artist Moses Williams walked. Moses…
Black History Under Attack | All That Philly Jazz
While still a British colony, South Carolina passed the first law that denied enslaved Africans the right to learn. The Negro Act of 1740 outlawed teaching enslaved people to read. President Trump threatens to withhold federal funding from schools that teach uncomfortable truths about American history. Across the country, churches, civil rights organizations, activists and…
Black History Matters | All That Philly Jazz
President Trump tapped Hillsdale College to produce a video series, “The Story of America.” A member of the Project 2025 network, the conservative Christian college’s demographically monochromatic faculty and student body does not look like America. https://youtu.be/LORpUiPlm3s?feature=shared The teaching of Black history is under attack from the White House to state houses. It is not…
National Park Week 2025 | All That Philly Jazz
The first National Park Week was observed in 1991 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the National Park Service. National Park Week has been an annual celebration since 1994. The 2025 celebration will be held April 19 to April 26. I have visited five of the 63 national parks – Gateway Arch, Redwood, Rocky Mountain,…
Happy Birthday, Lady Day | All That Philly Jazz
Born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915 at Philadelphia General Hospital, Billie Holiday has long been the “Lady” in my life. At one point, I started my day by putting “Good Morning Heartache” on repeat. https://youtu.be/-3jO-3BoGzM?feature=shared Decades later while walking along Lombard Street, I came across Billie’s historical marker. The marker raised more questions than…
Trump Wants to Whitewash History | All That Philly Jazz
President Trump’s latest diktat claims there is “a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” The National Museum of African American History and Culture is in the crosshairs. First proposed by Black Civil War veterans, NMAAHC was more than 100…
Women’s History Month: U.S. Postal Service | All That Philly Jazz
President Trump has floated a plan to privatize the U.S. Postal Service. The United States Post Office Department was established in 1792. Enslaved Africans delivered mail and packages between plantations and towns. Before the introduction of home mail delivery in 1863, enslaved Africans often carried mail to and from the post office. Mary Fields, aka…
Women in Jazz Month | All That Philly Jazz
March is Women in Jazz Month, a time to celebrate the contributions of women to jazz. Truth be told, those contributions are often unheralded and overlooked. But as the National Museum of African American History and Culture notes, women were “present from its [jazz] inception”: Jazz evolved from ragtime, an American style of syncopated instrumental…
Women’s History Month: Fannie Lou Hamer | All That Philly Jazz
Fannie Lou Hamer was a tireless and fearless civil rights leader. She was brutally beaten while imprisoned at a county jail in Winona, Mississippi. Still, she persisted in speaking truth to power. https://youtu.be/5h2MzXavgEg?feature=shared Locked out of the all-white Mississippi Democratic Party, Mrs. Hamer co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. In August 1964, MFDP delegates traveled…
Women’s History Month: Madam C.J. Walker | All That Philly Jazz
March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate women and their accomplishments and contributions to society. Madam C.J. Walker is one such phenomenal woman. Born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867 to formerly enslaved parents, Madam Walker is best known for her hair care products and business acumen. Madam Walker was the first Black…
Black History Month: Victor H. Green | All That Philly Jazz
I am closing out Black History Month with Victor Hugo Green, the visionary publisher of “The Negro Motorist Green Book.” Green was a postal worker who lived in Harlem and had routes in New Jersey. The Green Book was a crowdsourced travel guide to help African Americans navigate Jim Crow laws in the South and…
Black History is American History | All That Philly Jazz
While President Trump tries to erase our history from public memory, African Americans celebrate Black Excellence, resistance and resilience. https://youtube.com/shorts/Mk2LF55OejQ?feature=shared We are unapologetically Black, loud and proud. https://youtu.be/9bJA6W9CqvE?feature=shared Black history is being taught at church, freedom schools and the Super Bowl. Fifty years ago, Stevie Wonder recorded “Black Man,” a track on “Songs in the…
Black History Month: Ida B. Wells | All That Philly Jazz
Educator and investigative journalist Ida B. Wells gave no quarter to white supremacists. Born into slavery in Mississippi during the Civil War, Wells led an anti-lynching campaign and became a prominent voice against racial violence and discrimination. https://youtu.be/fygjGXnaV9w?feature=shared Beginning in 2022, the U.S. Mint American Women Quarters Program has commemorated phenomenal women. https://youtu.be/gUmuzIdqaVI?feature=shared The 2025…
Black History Month: Moses Williams | All That Philly Jazz
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History has proclaimed African Americans and Labor as the theme for this year’s celebration of Black History Month: The 2025 Black History Month theme, African Americans and Labor, focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds – free and…
Great Migrations: A People on the Move | All That Philly Jazz
My parents were part of the first wave of the Great Migration. They left North Carolina and moved to Brooklyn, NY. “Great Migrations: A People on the Move” is a docuseries hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. The series examines the migrations of African Americans throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, and their lasting…
He’s Back | All That Philly Jazz
Karl Marx said, “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” Donald Trump’s first term ended with the tragic loss of life as his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Twice-impeached and convicted felon Trump will take the oath of office in the Capitol Rotunda, the scene of the crime four…
Happy Birthday, Dr. King | All That Philly Jazz
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. This year marks the 40th 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,…
Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) | All That Philly Jazz
Jimmy Carter has joined the ancestors at age 100. Former President Carter was a humanitarian, and a tireless champion of democracy and human rights. The late president will be honored with a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral. President Joe Biden declared a National Day of Mourning: I do further appoint January 9, 2025, as…
Black Artists’ Flight Into Egypt | All That Philly Jazz
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…
The Apollo Theater@90 | All That Philly Jazz
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…
This Giving Tuesday, Honor Lee Morgan | All That Philly Jazz
This has been a banner year for Lee Morgan. From listing of “The Sidewinder” in the National Recording Registry, dedication of his historical marker, publication of an 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…
This Giving Tuesday, Honor Lee Morgan | All That Philly Jazz
This has been a banner year for Lee Morgan. From listing of “The Sidewinder” in the National Recording Registry, dedication of his historical marker, publication of an essay about his masterpiece by the Library of Congress, and federal, state and city citations, Lee is finally getting his flowers. There are more accolades to come in…
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat | All That Philly Jazz
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…
2024 Election: Make the Best of a Bad Situation | All That Philly Jazz
With Donald Trump’s victory, we must use our imagination and keep on keeping on. Let’s make the best of a bad situation. https://youtu.be/9VQ-YomaphA?feature=shared To rub salt into wounds, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday falls on the same day as Trump’s inauguration. https://youtu.be/cp1mA_wlqFs?feature=shared The struggle continues. https://youtu.be/Je2tpX6Z-QA?feature=shared
Election Day 2024 | All That Philly Jazz
Campaign ads have saturated the airwaves and social media 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. https://youtu.be/BmS0qFhTCVc?feature=shared If you encounter…
All That Philly Jazz
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…
Countdown to Election Day 2024 | All That Philly Jazz
We are in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election. Early voting is underway in some states. As of October 19, 2024, 13,042,952 votes have been cast nationwide, according to the Early Voter Tracker. The early vote total in battleground states: Arizona: 323,720 Georgia: 1,200,550 Michigan: 1,005,743 Nevada: 15,857 North Carolina: 777,835 Pennsylvania: 787,900…
Slim Cooper’s | All That Philly Jazz
Slim and Barbara Cooper were the proprietors of Slim Cooper’s Lounge & Restaurant. The Philadelphia Tribune described it as “one of the nicer neighborhood jazz clubs.” In a post on X/Twitter, Christian McBride recalled the Monday night jam sessions: When I was in high school, [saxophonist] Tony Williams led a Monday night jam session at…
Durham’s Casbah | All That Philly Jazz
Brothers Charlie Lee and Willie Durham opened Durham’s Casbah on May 7, 1946. It was one of the few Black-owned taprooms in the city. The jazz club was “West Philadelphia’s Glamour Spot” with live music and Saturday jam sessions. The building was demolished around 2010.
Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy | All That Philly Jazz
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…
International Underground Railroad Month | All That Philly Jazz
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…
National Voter Registration Day 2024 | All That Philly Jazz
In the sprint to Election Day, you will be told the 2024 Election is the most consequential election since, well, the last presidential election. This election lives up to the hype. The choice is between going back or embracing hope and opportunity. National Voter Registration Day, the country’s largest single-day voter registration drive, is September…
West Philly’s Historic Main Street Walking Tour | All That Philly Jazz
Join us in October and November for a walking tour of West Philadelphia’s 52nd Street, aka “the Strip,” a historic commercial and cultural corridor. The 52nd Street Stroll will uncover the Strip’s hidden past as an entertainment destination for African Americans. Points of interest along the Strip include: Nightclub frequented by celebrities such as Muhammad…
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom | All That Philly Jazz
Sixty-one years ago on August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people gathered for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Jazz musicians were the vanguard of the movement for freedom and civil rights, a fact acknowledged by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival. Long before Beyoncé was born, tenor…