I read that the co-founder of Home Depot, Arthur M. Blank, is giving back in a huge way. He is donating $50 million to help HBCU students cross the finish line and earn their degrees.
That’s terrific, but how does one balance the fact that The Home Depot has been identified as a company that has supported Trump and Project 2025.
Not to take away the awesomeness of his gift.
I guess first one separates the for-profit Company from the philanthropic Foundation. Also possible that after founding Home Depot he was no longer in charge when they decided to support Trump’s plans…. Nothing is simple and I am still looking for ways to make my displeasure felt in some meaningful way.
I will continue to boycott Home Depot, and that has the added benefit of supporting my local hardware stores.
In communicating with friends lately, it seems that a lot of people are not anxious to sign petitions. I was hoping together tons of signatures and share our group discontent with the companies mentioned in my Saturday post.
We only have strength in numbers but I can understand if people do not want to go on record publicly. I do encourage people to use to use the power of their pocketbook, whether they make it known or not. Meanwhile I continue to look for ways to share information and rally the troops.
I feel there is so little that me, myself, and I can do in the face of this erosion of our democracy. In my youth I attended many protests and marches in New York’s Central Park, and Jim and I marched on Washington together. Now, at age 70, I have to admit to some fear of crowds, particularly with the advent of gun-wielding individuals, deliberate agitators inciting violence, and federalized enforcers literally taking aim at peaceful protesters. So what to do?
Speaking out is great, rallying together is energizing, but where’s the impact?
Follow the money.
I am bombarded with requests for donations to organizing groups and politicians, but I have only so much to give. One of our real super powers is withholding our money – targeting those companies and institutions that cave in and kowtow to our current government. Whenever I identify one of those companies, I boycott their goods or services. If it’s a college or university I make it clear to them that I will not (or no longer) donate and if by chance I had set up or considered a legacy donation, that too is gone until they stand up against censorship and intimidation. Big scholastic names have been mentioned (think Harvard) but lots of other schools are cracking down on students’ rights to free speech and freedom of the academic press (see what’s happening at the Media School at Indiana University Bloomington).
So I am on the lookout for bad actors. In addition to Facebook, Disney, and Tesla, below is my first list of companies and products I will boycott. (I may continue to use Facebook, but only for the purpose of Protest and spreading the word.
I have also used change.org to posta petitionwith this list. We need a lot of signatures to make it impactful, so PLEASE SIGN! Even if you do not use these products, you can still make your displeasure known.
Procter & Gamble Tide: A popular laundry detergent. Pampers: Disposable diapers. Gillette: Shaving products. Head & Shoulders: Anti-dandruff shampoo. Bounty: Paper towels. Procter & Gamble is among the companies that have supported Trump’s initiatives, including Project 2025.
Stanley Black & Decker DeWalt: Power tools and hand tools. Craftsman: Tools and storage solutions. Stanley: Hand tools, storage, and security products. Stanley Black & Decker is listed among companies that have supported Trump and Project 2025.
Hoover Hoover Vacuum Cleaners: A range of vacuum cleaners for home cleaning. Hoover is a brand under Stanley Black & Decker, which has supported Trump’s initiatives.
Ashley Furniture Furniture: A variety of home furniture including sofas, beds, and dining sets. Ashley Furniture has been identified as a company that has supported Trump and Project 2025. Sign this petition today and commit to holding corporations accountable for their partnerships and actions.
Ace Hardware Hardware Products: Tools, paint, lawn and garden supplies, and home improvement products. Ace Hardware is among the companies that have supported Trump and Project 2025.
Farberware Cookware: Pots, pans, and kitchen utensils. Small Appliances: Coffee makers, toasters, and blenders. Farberware is a brand under Stanley Black & Decker, which has supported Trump’s initiatives.
My Pillow Bedding Products: Pillows, mattresses, and bedding accessories. My Pillow has been identified as a company that has supported Trump and Project 2025.
General Motors (GM) Chevrolet: A range of vehicles including cars, trucks, and SUVs. GMC: Trucks and SUVs. GM has been identified as a company that has supported Trump and Project 2025.
Publix Grocery Stores: A supermarket chain offering a variety of food and household products. Publix has been identified as a company that has supported Trump and Project 2025.
The Home Depot Home Improvement Products: Tools, building materials, and services. The Home Depot has been identified as a company that has supported Trump and Project 2025.
Oreck Vacuum Cleaners: Lightweight and upright vacuum cleaners. Oreck is a brand under Stanley Black & Decker, which has supported Trump’s initiatives.
Slumberland Furniture: A variety of home furniture including sofas, beds, and dining sets. Slumberland has been identified as a company that has supported Trump and Project 2025.
An all-star performance of Oscar Peterson’s Africa Suite featuring original arrangements by John Clayton! With stellar musicians Benny Green, Christian McBride, Dan Wilson, Lewis Nash, and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra under the direction of John Clayton, this promises to be an evening you won’t soon forget.
Along with celebrating OP’s Centennial, the evening is dedicated to the loving memory of the great guitarist, Russell Malone, who was originally scheduled to participate.
To commemorate OP’s Centennial in my own way, here is the brief report I posted following the Oscar Peterson Memorial Concert in 2008:
[a brief report filed January 13, 2008]
A free-admission memorial concert for Oscar Peterson was held at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto yesterday, Saturday, January 12, 2008. People began queuing up before dawn, and when the show began shortly after 4pm, all 2,630 seats were full and hundreds of fans had been turned away. John and I were among the privileged.
The presentation, titled “Oscar Peterson – “Simply the Best,” was broadcast on Canadian Radio. Canadian television host and journalist Valerie Pringle was mistress of ceremonies and she set the stage, so to speak, for listeners at home. First she described the huge video-projected picture of smiling Oscar looking down from center stage — his smile was remarked upon by almost everyone who spoke. Then she identified the lonely piano set off to the side, stage right, as Oscar’s Bösendorfer, and next to it a huge poster of Oscar waving to an audience with one hand, while his other hand held tight to the hand of his then five-year-old daughter Celine.
While many jazz fans maybe aware of Oscar’s humanitarian interests and fierce beliefs in justice and equality, many might be surprised at how many political friends he had. These people were not just fans, they were actually break-bread friends of long-standing. Oscar was a Companion of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of Ontario, the most prestigious official honour in the province given in recognition of the highest level of individual excellence and achievement. Two friends, who were also fellow members of The Order, on hand to speak eloquently in memory of Oscar were The Hon. Bob Rae, former Premier of Ontario, and Phil Nimmons, Canadian jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader, and Director Emeritus of Jazz Studies at University of Toronto.
I’m not well-versed in Canadian protocol, but I’m pretty sure that the highest-ranking official on stage was Haiti-born Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, flanked by a uniformed attendant who escorted her on stage, placed her papers on the podium and stood behind her at attention until she concluded her remarks which were lengthy and alternated between English and French, then he gathered her papers and followed her off stage.
Quincy Jones reminisced lovingly of his early days and antics with Oscar, and the audio taped message from Stevie Wonder was sweet, but perhaps the most touching verbal tribute was given by Oscar’s youngest daughter Celine, now a poised young lady of 16. She spoke of her dad as only a daughter can, remembering the giggles he could evoke from her by donning her high-heeled shoes and an item or two of her apparel, and reliving her myriad travels abroad as she joined Oscar on tour, eating the best foreign foods and hanging with dad and his friends after concerts, long past-bedtime and into the wee hours of the morning.
The first music to be heard on the program was from Oscar himself — a video clip of the Oscar Peterson Trio with Niels Henning Oersted Pedersen on bass and Ulf Wakenius on guitar. Surely a tough act to follow, but the quartet with Monty Alexander (piano), Ulf Wakenius, Dave Young (bass) and Jeff Hamilton (drums) truly rocked the house.
Other musicians paying tribute include Hilary Kole (singer billed as Oscar’s protege), Audrey Morris, a jazz balladeer from Chicago, and Montreal entertainer Gregory Charles. Herbie Hancock wished Oscar well on his next voyage and serenaded him on his way with a solo meditation on “Maiden Voyage.” Nancy Wilson, accompanied by Monty Alexander, sang “Goodbye” (Gordon Jenkins):
I’ll never forget you I’ll never forget you I’ll never forget how we promised one day To love one another forever that way We said we’d never say Good-bye
Nobody who I have ever loved has left,” Nancy said. “They are always here.”
The tribute ended with a Oscar’s “Hymn to Freedom” featuring renowned soprano Measha Brueggergosman with the combined forces of the Faith Chorale, the Nathanial Dett Chorale and the University of Toronto Gospel choir all under the direction of pianist and CBC Radio host Andrew Craig.
Although I never felt that I knew Oscar well, I did have slightly more than a passing acquaintance and I was especially honored when he asked me to write the liner notes for the recording of his commission “Trail of Dreams: A Canadian Suite.”
There is an identifiable Oscar Peterson sound, recognizable but not categorizable. His original style does not fall easily into any specific idiom and he likes it that way. “I just do what I do and I don’t categorize myself in one category or another.” He is even reluctant to accept the title of composer. “Well I don’t pretend to be Berlioz or Haydn or Ellington,” he demurred…
I was not on hand when the suite premiered on April 11, 2000 in Roy Thompson Hall, but it felt fitting that I was there, in that very same concert hall, to pay my respects.
This fascinating book is described on Maestro’s web site as a “Coffee table art book based on the full transcript of the historic 2011 interview for the Smithsonian Oral History Project.” If you’ll allow me a moment of self-promotion, this historic 2011 interview was conducted by yours truly and I was astounded to learn (and more than a little pleased) that the interview was used in its entirety without any editing.
But what makes this book so great are the alternating pages. He enlisted the help of Simone Banos and Penny Kjellberg (he calls them his Necessary Others) to create an immersive experience that include full page photos, QR codes to music and video examples, and a timeline that provides context for the what was happening at the time. I am so proud to have been a catalyst for this amazing project.
Today would have been John’s 113th birthday. I miss him fiercely each and every day, so he is still with me.
Five years ago today I wrote a post the second paragraph of which is oh so similar…. I can barely imagine what he would make of today’s world. Before he died he predicted people would take to the streets in protest — just didn’t think it would take this long.
“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no place for despair, no time for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.” ~ Toni Morrison
21st-Century Photos and Writings” by members of the Jazz Journalist Association is aptly titled. Omnibus is a word I usually associate with politics, as in the omnibus bill. That would be an adjective signifying the inclusion of many items. While that does apply, here it is a noun. Merriam-Webster defines it as a book containing reprints of a number of works (as of a single author or on a single subject); yes, Jazz, the modifier of the noun.
I’m glad those who chose the title did not call it a compendium, that would sound heavy and dour. Now at 572 pages, this book is physically heavy, showcasing the work of 19 photographers and 67 writers (full disclosure, I am one of them and very proud to be included).
It being an omnibus allows me to play with the second definition; a public vehicle designed to carry a large number of passengers; a bus. (Writers love to play with words.) Whether the bus is carrying the writers and photographers themselves, or their actual works, I like the image of traveling to share these stories and images with the public. Or I might imagine the riders of the bus to be our collective readers — if I were a graphic artist I’d have great fun depicting a bus filled with all sorts of people each with the book in hand, sharing their favorite chapters with one another. Reading this book is a trip; whatever your preferred method of travel (I’d be prone to a magic easy chair with a snifter of brandy in hand), the destination is a world of elucidation and enjoyment for those who already love jazz music and musicians, along with those who would like to learn about it.
Kudos to those who worked tirelessly on curating and editing this extraordinary collection…The Jazz Omnibus.
Luther Henderson (born March 14, 1919 – died July 29, 2003) was a composer, arranger, conductor, musical director, orchestrator, and pianist. He was a proud black man who graduated from the Julliard School of Music in 1942, and in 1956, married a white woman, his second wife. He was Duke Ellington’s “classical arm,” orchestrating music for Beggar’s Holiday, Three Black Kings, and other symphonic works. Duke spoke highly of Luther, but seldom gave him the credit he was due. Luther was Lena Horne’s pianist and musical director. During his sixty-year career in music, he worked his magic on some of Broadway’s greatest musical hits, including Flower Drum Song, Funny Girl, No No Nanette, Purlie, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and Jelly’s Last Jam, starring such performers as Barbra Streisand, Laine Kazan, Robert Guillaume, Savion Glover, Andre Deshields, Tonya Pinkins, and Gregory Hines. His music was heard on television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Bell Telephone Hour, and specials for the pop stars of the day including Dean Martin, Carol Burnett, Andy Williams, Victor Borge, and Polly Bergen. In later years his Broadway credits included Ain’t Misbehavin, Jelly’s Last Jam, and Play On, but the project perhaps dearest to his heart was Classic Ellington a concert of Ellington songs arranged and orchestrated by Luther Henderson and performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle.
Just before he died he was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. When his wife, Billie Allen Henderson, gave him the news he had a one-word response: “Recognition!” You can see the NEA’s brief video bio here.
At 10:47 PM, Pacific Time, ten years ago today, John took his last breath. His passing was peaceful and I was grateful that he was able to depart on his own terms, at home, comfortably in bed, and in my arms. When he left the house a few hours later, it also seemed to be on his own terms. The folks who came to get him had placed him on a gurney, wrapped in a very lovely quilt. When they got him to the font door and had to go down a few steps, they chose to up-end the gurney such at he appeared to be standing as it rolled down the walkway. Watching from behind, I imagined him walking tall as if heading off on another road trip. He is still out there on the road, and I continue to talk to him every day….
Today my darling would be 108 years young. It has been 8 years since he died and I continue to miss him, and to talk to him, each and every day. This picture was taken one day before John’s 97th birthday. I sure hope I will look as good when I reach my 90s.
John and Devra Levy, 2009.
What would John be feeling if he were here today? Like most of us, he would be grateful to those on the front lines, saddened by the massive loss of lives (of both friends and those unknown), and enraged by the ineptitude of national government that has made this crisis so much worse than it had to be.
What would we be doing? Probably “relaxin’ on the axis of the wheel of life” and listening to Nancy Wilson’s Lush Life recording or Joe Williams’ Here’s to Life. Maybe we’d have rice and beans or catfish for dinner. If we weren’t on lock-down, we’d go to the fish market and pick up a basket of Maryland crabs so John could cook seafood gumbo for tomorrow’s Easter Sunday dinner.
Darling, you were the light of my life and you are still my guiding light: yesterday, today, forever…
