itJ.S. Constitution Is Praised & Scorned
Thursday, February 2, 1989 - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Page llA
; NEW YORK - In commemora-
■ •iitoh of Black History Month,
■ Jhllire than 200 radio stations
■nationwide will broadcast eight
half-hour programs entitled,
"Afro-Americans And The ENolu-
35^ Of A Living Constitution,"
Coring February.
STthese broadcasts will feature
33S2ie of the nation's foremost
JJ^stitutlonal analysts and pol-
Jgjf^xperts. They will also exam-
2^ the role of Afro-Americans
5n shaping the Constitution
y^hrough their struggle for racial
equality and full citizenship.
I Dr. John Hope Franklin, pro-
Jfessor of legal history, Duke Uni
versity School of Law, makes the
point in one broadcast that the
Sights proclaimed by the Con
stitution were not originally
meant for blacks. He said the
framers of the Constitution
{rrought "a century and a half ex
perience with slavery and a sim
ilar period of discrimination
{igalnst blacks who were not
flaves."
• In another broadcast. Judge A.
Leon Higginbotham Jr., of the
p.S. Court of Appeals, Philadel
phia, Pa., "reported" on a fiction
al conversation in heaven in
^hlch Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
gives Thomas Jefferson a black
"perspective on the Constitution.
»*^ddle N. Williams, president,
{Joint Center for Political Stud-
Eddie N. Williams (L) and Dr. John Hope Franklin.
ies, is the moderator of the spe
cial broadcasts.
Other analysts Include: Dr.
Mary Frances Berry, member of
the U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights: U.S. Representative
George Crockett (D-MI): A. E.
Dick Howard, professor of law.
University of Virginia Law
School; Frank R. Parker, presi
dent, Layers' Committee on Civil
Rights Under Law; the late Wiley
Branton, former dean of the Ho
ward University Law School and
David J. Garrow, professor. Po
litical Science Department, City
College of New York and winner
of a Pulitzer prize for the book.
Bearing the Cross: Martin Lu
ther King, Jr., and the Southern
Christian Leadership Confer
ence (1987).
"We at Philip Morris were
pleased to support the sympo
sium as a serious and important
assessment of the Constitution
and also to underwrite the radio
broadcasts," said George L. Knox
III, staff vice president, public
affairs, Philip Morris Compa
nies Inc.
Knox said: "the radio series
will make the essential points of
this important symposium
available to many more people.
We feel that for this to be a living
Constitution requires the under
standing and interest of all
Americans if it is to provide for
the common good."
The radio broadcasts were
produced by Radio America in
cooperation with the Joint Cen
ter and the Smithsonian institu
tion and were underwritten by
Philip Morris Companies Inc.
This radio series was edited
from last year's historic, two-
day seminar sponsored by the
Joint Center and the Smithsoni
an on "Afro-Americans And The
E>olutlon Of A Living Constitu
tion."
Persons wanting schedules for
these broadcasts should con
tact their local stations or call
Radio America, 202-488-7122.
iNPR To Air 3 Black Mini-
■Series For Black History
S Washington, D.C. — In the
JLp^Os and '60s, black musi-
•cians around the country fused
ijaizz, blues, and quartet singing
Jf'dm black churches to create a
•new sound and style known as
ffhjhhm and blues.
{ In recognition of Black Hlsto-
Jry Month in February, National
tf’ablic Radio's HORIZONS ex-
{amlnes the distinctive regional
{sounds of rhythm and blues.
■Each program In the four-part
(Series, 'Rhythm and Blues from
{tljfe' Cities," focuses on a dtffer-
{eijtt city In which different
■styles emerged: New Orleans,
{pfilladelphla, Chicago, and De-
{trolt.
; HORIZONS, a weekly half-
■hour documentary series host-
fed'by Verta Mae Grosvenor, can
{be, heard on NPR stations na-
•tlonwlde. (Check listings for lo-
■caj, broadcast times.)
f "Certain sounds distinguished
{R^B In these cities 30 years
•a^o," says producer Karen Jef-
Serson. "The music of Chicago
{sounded very different from that
[of Philadelphia or Detroit. Here
■was a regionalization of R&B In
{that era that doesn't exist any-
{mbre."
> hi New Orleans, R&B devel
oped a characteristic back-beat
that Influenced rock and roll.
National Public Radio is very
proud to announce three out
standing mlnl-serles to air in
February 1989 In honor of
Black History Month.
• BLACK WORDSMITHS - A
fascinating five-part series of
hour-long programs profiling
five outstanding black writers:
Langston Hughes, Zora Neale
Hurston, Dorothy West, Alice
Walker, and Nikki Giovanni;
• CONGO SQUARE, NEW OR
LEANS — Three one-hour spe
cials of exhileratlng live perfor
mances from the 1988 New
Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fes
tival, all hosted by blues master
Taj Mahal: and
• RHYTHM AND BLUES
FROM THE CITIES - Four half-
hour music-documentaries cel
ebrating the distinctive musical
rhythm and blues styles and
stylists of New Orleans, Phila
delphia, Chicago, and Detroit.
It's 10 hours In all of out
standing listening, presented in
the unique NPR tradition that
brings us more than 10 million
listeners each week, tuning Into
350 NPR stations across the
country.
iGhannel 9 & The Cosby Club Contest
r Where else do you get the
J:K'ance to have your smiling
^ace on television? WSOC-TV,
■Channel 9 has developed "The
{Cosby Club" in conjunction with
[Cl),annel 9 Eyewitness News
■wee knights.
{ Cosby viewers will have the
[opportunity to have their pho-
■tograph on the nightly news
■and win prizes such as stereo
{radio cassette recorders, Cab-
jbage Patch dolls, AM-FM clock
■radios and cellular walkle talk-
3es.
■"Tlewers are asked to send in a
photo of themselves with their
-name, address and age on it. In
{return, every entrant will receive
[a special Cosby Club card and
• the chance to win the nightly
I prize.
One viewer will be selected at
random each weeknight and
their photograph will be shown
during Channel 9 Eyewitness
News between 6-7 p.m. The
owner of the photograph has
nine minutes to call the station,
identify themselves and win a
prize. Prizes are selected by a
spin of The Cosby Club Prize
Wheel. Entries are to be sent to:
The Cosby Club, WSOC-TV,
P.O. Box 7000, Charlotte, NC
28241-8800.
Every entrant will have a
chance to win one of the grand
prizes, which includes a vaca
tion for four to Disney World in
Orlando, Florida, and other top
prizes, to be given away later
this year.
The promotion began Monday,
January 30, and runs through
November 1989.
our
Jazz: America’s Music
Jazz music is regarded as America’s greatest contribution to the per
forming arts. The music has grown from its slave roots in 19th century
New Orleans to be studied and performed the world over.
It is said that great art grows out of struggle, and the story of the birth
of jazz is a story of struggle. Beginning in 1817, white slave owners
allowed their black slaves to give public performances in an empty New
Orleans lot called “Congo Square.”
The -Congo Square slave performances originated as displays of
“vodun” (or voodoo) drumming developed from African rituals. The
displays were accompanied by “the frenzied chanting of the women and
the clanging of pieces of metal, which dangled from the ankles of the
men,” according to an early observer.
Over the next 80 years. New Orleans blacks adopted European instm-
ments and incorporated the melodies of the city’s white residents into
their own music. Black marching bands began altering the way they
played traditional marches, improvising solo parts to the music, and by
the turn of the century, the basic elements of a special music were in
place.
The new musical style began attracting large audiences in New
Orleans and became the popular dance music of white socialites. When
a group of New Orleans musicians traveled to Chicago to perform their
new style of music in 1915, the local musicians’ union became angry
and spread the word that the New Orleanians were playing nothing but
“jazz” music. Their efforts to associate the music with a word con
sidered vulgar at the time only served to double the audiences for the
musicians from the South, and the name “jazz” stuck.
Over the next 15 years. New Orleans earned its title as “the birth
place of jazz,” as the bands of trombonist Edward “Kid” Ory and coro
net player Joe “King” Oliver brought fantastic musicians like Ferdinand
“Jelly Roll” Morton up through their ranks. Important jazz commu
nities also developed in New York, Chicago and Kansas City, Mo.
One jazz musician bom in poverty near Congo Square, where slaves
had first been allowed to put on public musical performances, became
interested in music while spending time in a reform school. Through the
brilliance of his playing, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong eventually
helped bring jazz international recognition and came to be regarded as
an American ambassador of good will, eventually appearing with his
band on every continent.
" Asa vital musical style, jazz continues to be infused with innovations
and changes. But while the music changes and grows, it will remain as
the one trulv American art form. Ill
One of a series of columns on the history and heritage of America.
$-1989, PM Editorial Services
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