Black History Month

Telling Our Stories: Black History Month DUKES FANS: Someone will have to tell my story; I guess it will have to be me.” poet Langston Hughes I have been a history freak since, well, since forever. I can recall being a young child, looking through the World Book Encyclopedias that my mother sold, and being fascinated by people, times and events that had happened a long time ago. In elementary school I was likewise fascinated by what had happened years ago and by famous historical people. I memorized a lot of names and dates, was captured and intrigued by time lines, and fell in love with the 300 and 900 stacks in the Free Library-the stacks that by Dewey’s system contained most of the historical material. I knew that if I was interested in subject “A” and the book I was looking for wasn’t in, I could look to the right or to the left of where that book should be and there would be something as interesting as what I had been looking for originally. All this fed my insatiable curiosity, made me hungry for knowledge, and turned me into someone who looked for connections between ideas, times and people. That interest continues to this very day. Whenever we travel somewhere new and are walking around my wife can often be heard to say, “You never met an historical marker you didn’t love!” It is no surprise that for some 40 years I taught history and English in middle and high school. The ideas about history that I encountered in my official education were initially cursory and spotty. We were taught the names of famous people, largely white, and we looked at events through the lens of great accomplishments; things that made the United States great. But from all the reading I was doing before I even started school, I knew I wanted more. The Philadelphia Free Library was a place where I could satisfy part of that desire. I grew up during the 1950’s and 1960’s, and there was an explosion of new ways of looking at history happening then. New sources were being found and explored. New interpretations of time periods and events abounded. New theories about history were being put forth, and different people’s stories were now being included. The library was an important gateway to all of that for me; I was able to find out things I had little knowledge about due to the wealth of information in those stacks. What I found in one book led me to still others. The more I found, the more I wanted to find out. For an insatiably curious kid, it was an information smorgasbord. We also had the wonders of Negro History Week when I was growing up-a week during which special emphasis was given to studying the stories and history of Negro people, as we were then called. My church and my school provided some books, told us some stories, and put on some plays that got me exposed and interested in the lives of men and women who were generally not in the school's history books. Negro History Week was an endless source of discoveries; it was a joy to uncover so much that had been missing or hidden. The joy of that "uncovering" has stayed with me. I still love finding out “new” information and new ways of looking at the past. Part of the beauty and power of that week for me was that it had been started by us-we were starting to tell our own stories publicly and officially. Negro History Week was started by a Black historian in the mid-1920’s. Carter G. Woodson, the son of slaves, had received a doctorate from Harvard in 1912, and he realized that in most history books Blacks were either depicted in stereotypical and inaccurate ways or not mentioned at all. To counter this he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life in 1915, and he started publishing The Journal of Negro History, a publication that featured historical research about Blacks and their lives. The Journal published research articles by and about Blacks and was distributed to schools and people who educated Blacks. Interest in the publication and topic soared, and it became a central repository for historical research about Blacks. In 1926 the Association established Negro History Week, a time for black churches, students, communities, colleges, and more to focus on the history of Blacks in this country and the world. He set it in the second week of February because that was between the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12th) and Frederick Douglass (believed to be February 18th). For decades it was something that Blacks observed on their own with essay contests, plays, research projects, special sermons, articles in the Black press, and more. Eventually some cities began to issue proclamations recognizing the celebration, and it came more into public view. The Civil Rights Movement and the rise of Black Power in the 1960’s and 1970’s gave it a new emphasis, and it became more of a regular part in many school curricula, especially Black colleges. By then it had been renamed and had expanded to Black History Month, and it was much more visible. President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month nationally in 1976 to coordinate with the bi-centennial of the country. It has been officially recognized by most schools and communities since then. Newspapers, TV networks, and radio stations do special programming, and cities host special breakfasts, award ceremonies, essay contests, and more. It is pretty much in the mainstream now. To me one of the things this month can do is allow us to pause, slow down and take a deeper look at a lot of our assumptions and collective knowledge about who we are as a country. Yes, we have many renditions of the, "I Have a Dream" speech,and we talk often in generalities about different parts of the African-American experience. But if the month can be seen as an opportunity to expand our knowledge and better understand where we as an entire culture have been, the month can give us ways to deepen our understandings about this place and ways the past influences the present. We know some things about slavery, for example, but for most of us slavery was something that happened on plantations and in the South-it was about picking things and working in the fields and the “Big House.” The reality is far more complicated than that; there was slavery in each and every colony before the American Revolution and in each and every state after the Revolution. And all the activities and structures needed and developed to support slavery were at the very heart of US economic growth throughout the 18th and 19th century-shipping, banking, the stock market, trade, and more. Slavery fueled much of the growth of the country. In fact 12 of our Presidents owned slaves at some point in their lives, and eight of them held slaves while they were Presidents.The New York Historical Society had a monumental exhibit in 2005 and 2006 on Slavery in New York City, and the history it revealed blew people's minds. It totally changed many people’s ideas about what the 19th century was about and the role of the Big Apple in slavery during that time. People had not realized that New York had been a slave state, and that its role in banking, shipping, and trade made it the actual center of the entire United States slave system. No NYC at that time, little or no slavery in the country.(http://www.slaveryinnewyork.org/ ) Likewise, there is a website developed in 2003 by historian Douglas Harper called, “Slavery in the North” that examines how each colony and state north of the Mason-Dixon line carried out their involvement with the “peculiar institution.” (http://slavenorth.com/index.html) Looking at these sites and other books, films, etc. deepened my knowledge and unearthed moving and amazing stories about which I had known little. And it can do that for all of us. That is one of the wonderful things about history-there is usually so much more beneath the surface of any one thing than we see at first glance. There is always much to be uncovered and brought forth, but we must be willing to look, see and to dig. I love that digging. I hope this Black History Month finds you looking in new places for new things and discovering and uncovering new facts and new people. There is a universe of largely unknown, people whose lives have amazing stories to tell and whose accomplishments are astonishing. If I may jump start that for you, let me toss out some names with whom you may not be familiar: Benjamin Banneker, Bass Reaves, Miriam Benjamin, Daniel Hale Williams, and Valerie Thomas. If you are curious, look them up and see who they were and what they did, and how they are connected to so many things we take for granted. Dig, uncover, and enjoy

January and Snow

DUKES FANS: In my last newsletter I talked about the quiet mornings and the wonderful skies of January. This week we see the other side of January, and it is not so pleasant. It has been about a decade since this area has had a doble digit snowfall, and we are generally freaking out in trying to prepare for the 10-12 inches of snow forecasters are expecting. There have been long lines at hardware stores, grocery stores, and mall stores all week There have been shortages of snow salt, shovels, and other winter gear. Milk and eggs are also in short supply. This has been a multi-day attempt to prepare for the coming storm. In my West Mt Airy neighborhood people have been working together to meet the threat. Folks have compiled lists of young folks who would be willing to shovel sidewalks and clean off cars. There are dozens of folks with dogs in the area, and people have been sharing info about where to get pet safe snow salt and ice melt to meet the anticipated snow amounts we will get. Two neighbors who saw me getting the paper today checked to see if I have someone to shovel (I do) and if I needed them to run to the store for me (I didn’t). I love the way we look out for each other here. We, of course, have no way of knowing exactly how big this storm will be. But accept that it will most probably be a big one. Be prepared; have batteries, fully charged phones, flashlights, and at least two days of food. And check in with elderly neighbors and relatives. I hope we can all get through fairly well through these next few days.

From Black Friday to Giving Tuesday: Commerce and Thanks

Folks: People on the Dukes e-mail list have not gotten anything from me in a while due to problems with my att.net e-mail server. For the past three weeks I have been unable to send e-mails from that account. I can receive them and read them, but I cannot send any e-mails whether they are individual e-mails group e-mails ot just a return email. So I have transferred my Dukes' Mailing lists to a different account and will try to send them. There are no Dukes gigs listed in this e-mail; I am trying to see if this works. I hope it does. I have been busy doing some video work with Johnny and addressing some other things, so I am re-printing an earlier blog about the history of Black Friday and the meaning and importance of Giving Tuesday. Thanks. John FROM BLACK FRIDAY TO GIVING TUESDAY: THANKSGIVING, AND COMMERCE There have always been links between seasonal changes and commerce. Early human groups traveled across different places at different times in the year and found different things available for both consuming and trading. In the ancient world, spring meant hunting and trading for more plants and seeds, and going to where the herds of animals and schools of fish were plentiful in order to get more. Autumn meant increased hunting, trading, gathering and traveling to harvest plants and to get supplies and shelter for winter. Most hunting-gathering people already saw religious and mythological links between changes in seasons and their lives, so the special importance of different products at different times became natural. The original autumnal “thanksgivings” were literally the “giving of “Thanks” to the gods for a good harvest and/or hunt, and also a hope for surviving the winter. As cities and the lifestyle known as civilization developed, more extensive trading and conquering happened, and many more things became available. New products came from different parts of the world, and the having of lots of products became associated with everything from class level to social wealth to religious worth to personal worth, to political power and more. Civilizations keep producing and developing more products at an ever-increasing rate. And when civilizations developed into empires, the importance of having, trading, giving, and owning products exploded exponentially. Commerce became more and more of a driving force in cultures. Over time we have developed systems for coming up with new products to keep the commerce flowing: Research and Development, planned obsolescence, and upgrades. We have come up with more ways of putting products in front of people-signs, advertising campaigns, product placement, pop-up ads embedded in websites, celebrity endorsements, and more. The bazaars and marketplaces of the old days have been replaced by shopping malls, warehouse outlets and now online giants such as Amazon are replacing many brick and mortar stores. And there is no end in sight to this growth and expansion. After the 1924 debut of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, this post-Thanksgiving weekend quickly became the start of our “winter shopping season.” The gift-giving associated with the Christmas story became more and more the focus of Christmas, and the Friday after Thanksgiving was the time to get it started. Stores and shops ran special sales and campaigns to get people into the stores and opening up the wallets and pocketbooks. And this year it even started before Halloween. The term for that time is, of course, “Black Friday”, and the origin of that term has a dark side to it. In the 1950s, police in Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving. Hordes of shoppers and tourists flooded into the city to take advantage of the sales and in advance of the big Army-Navy football game that used to be held here every year on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Suburbs were relatively new and expanding, and the new highways and freeways made it easier for suburbanites to get into the city to shop as well as go to sporting events. Philly cops had to work extra-long shifts dealing with the increasing mess of huge crowds and miles of traffic problems. Shoplifters also took advantage of the bedlam in stores to make off with merchandise, and pickpockets endlessly worked the crowds. To police, then, the Friday after Thanksgiving was not joyous at all. Instead, it was “black.” By 1961, “Black Friday” had become the local term for that day in Philadelphia. Retailers tried unsuccessfully to change it to “Big Friday” in order to remove the negative connotations of the term, but that term didn’t take off. “Black Friday” was what it was called, and Black Friday it remained. So retailers did the next best thing: they changed the meaning and explanation for the term. They turned it into a story about businesses on that day suddenly making a profit-going into the black. This new story of what Black Friday meant caught on, and the term’s true origin was forgotten. Not only did the phrase catch on across the nation. And what was originally a one-day event slowly morphed into a four-day event that spawned other “retail holidays” such as Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday” came into being in 2005 as an idea to encourage people to shop online and build this new thing known as online businesses. With the amount of online shopping increasing over time and really jumping due to COVID, it is estimated that Cyber Monday this year will bring in some 20 billion dollars. Clearly this seasonal urge to spend is quite powerful in our culture. It even applies to charities and non-profits. A 2023 survey found the some 50% of charities and non-profits reported that most of their individual contributions came in between October and December. The ideas of holiday gifting, seasonal calls for thinking of others, and tax deductions combined to drive more charitable fundraising these last three months of the year. And this has resulted in the development of “Giving Tuesday.” Giving Tuesday is a day for making donations to fund good causes following Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The founders wanted people to focus on giving after their weekend shopping spree, and to see a seamless link between spending for family and self and giving to help others. The idea quickly took off, and it is now an international movement. It even has its own website- https://www.givingtuesday.org/about which serves as a conduit connecting groups, causes, organizations and individuals. The website has history, tools to get organized, and connections to local movements from around the world. Given the widespread challenges presented by the effects of the COVID pandemic, increased natural disasters and increases in worldwide poverty rates, support for charitable institutions is even more critical. Giving Tuesday is one way of making that support possible. So the “Black Friday” phenomenon can, and in many ways, has definitely overwhelmed the intended sense of the original autumnal thanksgivings. It often seems to be about things and about consumption above all else. But with a true focus on gratitude, it can be about the simple joys of family and friends get-togethers. And it can also lead to a “Giving Tuesday” if we allow ourselves to get beyond consumption and the products and onto to something more meaningful. We can find another way to extend the notion of gratitude by giving back and giving to. I hope more of us can move to that this year. If you are so moved, please go to: https://www.givingtuesday.org/about

Participating

DUKES FANS: “Democracy is not a spectator sport. It a participatory event” Credited to George Shultz and Lotte Scharfman “You have to vote in every election. People struggled and died so you could have this right, and if you don’t vote, then you are spitting on their graves.” Ruth Edna Davis It will be election day in a little less than a month in Pennsylvania. As it will not be a gubernatorial or Presidential election, there will probably not be long lines at the polls, or many absentee ballots sent in. “After all” many folks will say,” it is an “off year” election. It’s no big deal.” Actually, the fact that it is an “off-year election” is a VERY big deal. While we may focus on the Presidential and gubernatorial elections as the important ones, many of the ways those elections are run are decided by people who are in power as a result of off year elections. This year Pennsylvania is asking Its citizens to decide if they want to retain the current Justices of our state’s Supreme Court, and that is the court that will probably have final say on many things leading up to and after the gubernatorial and Presidential elections: voting maps, election procedures, lawsuits against prominent people and the interpretation and application of many laws. What citizens do on November 4th may well determine how those later elections turn out. That is a HUGE deal. In Philadelphia, a lot of the people that govern and oversee things that affect our regular, normal, day-to-day lives are also elected at this time. There are several types of judicial elections on this year’s ballot, and if you are involved in legal matters, you or someone you know may well be in one of their courts and/or subject to some of their decisions. This election will also determine the City Controller-the person who oversees Philadelphia’s use of much of our tax money. And Philadelphia will also elect its District Attorney, the person who oversees much of our criminal justice system. That, too, is a HUGE deal. And of course, there are many other people who affect day-to-day life in our suburbs and other towns and cities who will also be elected. I would urge you to find out about elections in your community and state as well. New Jersey has a gubernatorial election, and as you have probably seen in the media, it is hotly contested and being nationally observed. If you are over 18 and a resident of New Jersey, you can have your say over who sets much of the priorities and direction of the state for at least the next four years. So there are multiple opportunities for most of us over the age of 18 to be participants this year in this important event-to not just be spectators, but to be participants! To be a participant is to honor our right to vote: to own it. But in order to own it, you must be registered. The deadline for registration in Pennsylvania is October 20th, and in New Jersey it is October 14.th. If you have not yet registered, I urge you to do so. And when you are, and if you already are, I strongly urge you to show up and vote. The voting age used to be 21 when I turned 18, and I was one of those people standing on street corners in the late 60’s and early 70’s trying to get people to sign petitions, pledging to work to lower the voting age to 18. And it happened! I think we need to honor that, and registering and voting is how we can do that. I have voted in every election since I was legally able to, and I know I will vote November 4th. My mother’s words still ring in my ear: I am not spitting on any graves. (Some info on this November’s election Philadelphia: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/pa-election-guide/ Pennsylvania:https://whyy.org/articles/pennsylvania-philadelphia-election-2025-voter-guide-deadlines/ New Jersey https://www.njspotlightnews.org/special-report/nj-2025-voter-guide-nj-governor-nj-assembly-races/ ) DUKES OF DESTINY: 40th Anniversary www.dukesofdestiny.com

The Maggic of Ffall

DUKES FANS: Monday was the first day of Autumn, and it was a beautiful, mixed day that started out a little on the dreary side but grew into a day of great clouds, bright sunshine, people on the streets, and a general feeling of joy and pleasantness. I love living in the mid-Atlantic; the cycle of seasons and the changes of seasons never fails to amaze and delight me. After the blistering and humid months of June and July, the weather of the last few weeks has made me even more appreciative of fall weather. So I am re-running a tribute to fall I published some 3 years ago. THE MAGIC OF FALL “The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools.” Henry Beston “Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.” Jim Bishop Fall returned this week, and as regular readers of this newsletter know, I am a big fan of seasonal transitions. Spring and Fall are my absolute favorite seasons of the year. I am blessed that in this region of the country we get them for approximately the same length of time each year. It is a repeat treat year after year. Each spring I find myself thinking, “Ahhh..this is my favorite season of the year!” And each fall I find myself saying the exact same thing. As I was walking in the neighborhood this morning and feeling the coming fall in the air, I asked myself, “How can two seasons both be my “favorite”? How can that be?” And then, while looking around at the trees, bushes, and sky while standing in the Allen Lane train station, it hit me. They both do the same soul-warming thing that pleasures me. They just do it in different ways. Both seasons bring changes in yards and lawns and trees and woods and sky and the weather. And all of those changes come at you in ways that are hard to ignore. All you have to do is slow down, open your eyes, take a deep breath or two, and look around. What both seasons do is reward you for paying attention; for noticing the wonder and miracle of nature at work. They make it so you almost have to pay attention and notice. But they work at that in different ways. Spring is the more dramatic one. Snow and ice melt. There are longer days and therefore more sun. There is more “day "so more light. In the springtime, things literally spring into being-colors suddenly appear all over the place, and a block or a garden or a tree or a path you didn’t much notice a week ago is suddenly one which totally captivates you a week later. You come back to it again and again as it sprouts and grows and blooms and bursts forth. Spring is showy; it struts onto the stage, marches around, beasts its chest, and almost dares you to ignore it. And you can’t. Fall Is more quiet and more subtle. That has its own appeal and charm as well. I begin to notice the fall when the weather gets a little cooler, and I have several days in a row when I have to decide whether to wear shorts and/or to put on a jacket. Then, as the days turn into weeks, I become aware of the subtle changes in colors that are quietly happening. The goldfinches are less brightly yellow. The plants in the garden start to lose their brightness and become duller. Some lean over as they slowly fade away. The leaves on the trees slowly begin to change. Some of them start browning and falling; walking seems to gradually be happening more and more on a blanket of leaves. Some change their colors-the oranges and yellows and reds on the maples especially add a different mix of deep color that makes looking up quietly more exciting. The night comes a little earlier, and you can see stars and the moon and a little sunlight simultaneously. The clincher for me is the way fall weather outside the house starts to affect the weather inside the house. The AC and desk fans are used much less. And then not at all. The ceiling fan speed is slower and slower until it is also no longer needed. And quietly and subtly, snuggling into and being covered by that extra blanket makes sleeping at night extra special and extra comforting. It gets harder to get up in the morning. That is when fall is fully here for me, regardless of what the calendar says. Oatmeal and chicken soup will soon follow. So they are both truly my favorite season. They both put me deeply in touch with what that cycle of nature is doing, and they both help me notice it, feel it deeply, and take comfort in it. I have slept with windows open and under that extra blanket for the last few days. I think I will do those same things again tonight. Happy Fall! DUKES OF DESTINY: 40th Anniversary www.dukesofdestiny.com Saturday, November 15th-John's 75th Birthday Party; The Mermaid Inn: 7673 Winston Road; Philadelphia PA 19118 215-247-9797 http://themermaidinn.net/home.html This is the Dukes' 40th anniversary, and it will be my 75th year on the planet. WOW! 3/4 of a century. As usual we will celebrate our home away from home, The Mermaid, and we will again have a friend or two show up and sit in, a new song, and everyone will get a free slice of delicious Night Kitchen cake. Come on out and be part of the fun as John welcomes another year.. Private Gigs: The Dukes have had a number of private gigs this year, and I want to remind folks that we can and do a variety private affairs. Birthday parties, retirement parties, corporate affairs, fundraisers, etc. If interested, please reach out and contact me. Thanks Brother John: Johnny Never and John Colgan-Davis; acoustic blues duo. https://www.johnnynever.com 1) Friday, September 26th- 9PM - Midnight; Hummingbird to Mars;W 16th St, Wilmington, DE 19806 (1930 Speakeasy ring the bell-it's around back!) Reservations recommended http://catherinerooneys.com/hummingbird 2)Saturday, September 27th -7-10PM Letty’s Tavern - 201 State Street Kennett Square PA 19348 https://www.lettystavern.com This weekend finds Johnny and I at two of our favorite eateries: The Hummingbird and Letty's. Both places feature great pub food, as well as some unique and signature dishes. Both places also have great vibes, a great and friendly crowd, wonderful waitstaff, and bartenders who can shake their mixed drinks in time with the music. Come and catch us at either or both places. The Sunday Blues Jam at Jamey’s House of Music; 32 S. Landsdowne, Ave; Lansdowne, PA; jamey@jameyshouseofmusic.com Blues lovers and players have made Jamey's Sunday Blues Jam the place for great blues jamming, inexpensive and tasty eats, craft brews on tap, fresh brewed coffee, a great waitstaff, and friendly people who love the blues.  Each Sunday features an hour long set by a different house band, and then there is an open jam until 3PM. This month the jam features The Philly Blues Kings with various guitarists and singers. The 2nd Sunday of each month features The Roger Girke-John Colgan-Davis Project as the house band, and our next gig there is Sunday, October 12.th Got an instrument? Sing? Just want to listen to some exciting blues and have some good food? Come on out and take part in this great blues jam with great food and liquid refreshments. $5 minimum to be spent (Don’t want to receive any more of these e-mails? Simply reply with “Unsubscribe “in the Subject Line)

The Magic of The Sky

DUKES FANS: “The Sky is the Daily Bread of the Eyes” Ralph Waldo Emerson Inline image Highway of Combes le ville-Giovanni Boldinni The weather this past week has been just spectacular. Cool temperatures, low humidity bright sun, some comfortable breezes, and most importantly of all, magnificent and majestic skies. Different shades of blues and grays, and in the beginning or at the end of days, some deep oranges, reds, and some grays. And the clouds-sometimes bright and white and with shadows, bunched together, or spread out and thinly elongated. Fat and billowy or sparse and lonely. Seeming so close that you can reach out and touch them, and at other times seeming far, far away and connected to another world. It has been wonderful riding the trains across bridges this week and just looking up. When the sky is like this, I want to spend a lot of time under it, looking up at it, and being entranced. The painting at the start of this piece is my favorite painting in the world. It is the painting that in junior high school introduced me to the wonders of the sky. I wanted to go to the Art Museum this Saturday to see it for the umpteenth time and say, “Thanks” to it once again, but alas, it is not on display. It has been moved yet again from the galleries for a while. So, I will leave it here for us to look at and become immersed in it. Then I will go out back, sit, and look up as I eat my lunch and have my daily bread. (I wrote a piece about my connection to this painting last year. If you want to read it, go to https://dukesofdestiny.blogspot.com/2024/03/sky-joy.html ) DUKES OF DESTINY GIGS www.dukesofdestiny.com 1)Friday, September 5, The Royal Glenside; 1 South Easton Rd; Glenside, PA 19038; Doors 7:30PM; show 8PM; $20 adv-$25 door; https://www.theroyalglenside.com/ This Friday has us back at The Royal, a wonderful listening and dancing room in Glenside. We love this place for its ambiance, its mission, and its staff. Great sound system, space to dance, space to sit and listen, and a great vibe. We are super happy to be back. For info on how to do food and drink go to https://www.theroyalglenside.com/faq BROTHER JOHN-JOHNNY NEVER & JOHN COLGAN-DAVIS ; www.BrotherJohnBlues.com 1)Thursday, September 4 7PM - 10PM Hummingbird to Mars 1930 Speakeasy (ring the bell--it's around back!) W 16th St, Wilmington, DE 9806 http://catherinerooneys.com/hummingbird Reservations recommended 2)Saturday, September 6 8PM Brother John opening for Mikey Junior The Fallser Club 3721 Midvale Ave Philadelphia PA 19129 tickets $20adv; $ 25 door https://thefallserclub.com/ Brother John has two gigs this week. Thursday finds us back at Hummingbird to Mars, one of our favorite spots with great food, wonderful waitstaff, and bartenders who somehow know how to shake the mixed drinks glasses in time to the music. We are regulars here, and we always have a great time. Saturday finds us at the Fallser Club in East Falls opening up for the remarkable Mikey Jr. Again, a new place for Brother John, although I have caught some great shows there. It is a comfortable place with great seats and a great sound system. So we are att wo wonderful places to feed your palette, wet your whistle, and catch some great acoustic blues. Come on out and enjoy. The Sunday Blues Jam at Jamey’s House of Music; 32 S. Landsdowne, Ave; Lansdowne, PA; jamey@jameyshouseofmusic.com Blues lovers and players have made Jamey's Sunday Blues Jam the place for great blues jamming, inexpensive and tasty eats, craft brews on tap, fresh brewed coffee, a great waitstaff, and friendly people who love the blues.  Each Sunday features an hour long set by a different house band, and then there is an open jam until 3PM. This month the jam features The Philly Blues Kings with various guitarists and singers. The 2nd Sunday of each month features The Roger Girke-John Colgan-Davis Project as the house band, and our next gig there is Sunday, September 14th . Got an instrument? Sing? Just want to listen to some exciting blues and have some good food? Come on out and take part in this great blues jam with great food and liquid refreshments. $5 minimum to be spent (Don’t want to receive any more of these e-mails? Simply reply with “Unsubscribe “in the Subject Line)

School Days Coimnng Sooner

DUKES FANS: “Up in the morning and off to school” Chuck Berry Tuesday I was in town and taking the train home from Center City when I became aware of schoolkids…tons of schoolkids. At 11th and Market Streets there were dozens of kids from the charter schools in that area, and they were laughing, shouting, and being silly. When the 2:52 Chestnut Hill West train pulled into Suburban Station dozens more students piled in, probably from the Masterman School. I was suddenly aware that Philadelphia public schools had started on Tuesday. It is a week before Labor Day, and that start date for school still feels strange to me. I’m an oldster, and I vividly remember when Summer started on Memorial Day and ended on Labor Day. Of course, that wasn’t correct by the calendar, and school was still in session after Memorial Day. But there would be a week of exams or such, moving up days, and graduation. Labor Day BBQ’s and parties meant it was time to get ready to go back to the “real” world, and that is when school would start. But the word has changed, and I need to get used to the new public school calendar. When they first announced changes to the school year, I was upset. I thought it may have been a reaction to and a response to President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind policies which mandated standardized tests and, to me, led to an over-reliance on teaching to the tests. Bush also advocated longer school years, even asking educators to think about establishing year-round school. However, when I looked into it I found out that I was wrong. There were several factors that figured into the decision, and the most important of them were wonderfully surprising Stakeholders-parents, teachers, custodial staff and more- were consulted in several meetings and surveys, and most of them felt that starting before Labor Day would allow for extended winter breaks and fewer snow days. They also thought it would allow for more recognition of cultural and religious holidays that more truly reflect the diversity of the district’s students and staff. So not only Christian but some Jewish and Muslim holidays are now built into the calendar. Finally, they wanted a full week available at the end of the year to prep for the mandated state tests that have come to matter so much in both student and school lives. The District agreed, and that is the calendar we will have at least for the next two years. The most amazing thing about this for me is that this seems to be an example of an actual government organization working the way we would hope they would. Before instituting a change, they actually consulted all of the people who would be affected by the change, and they actually listened to them. Wow! While I do not approve of everything the School District of Philadelphia does, by any means, this is something that worked the way it should; an agency actually listening to the people involved and affected by a possible change and responding affirmatively to them. This should be a great model for all agencies; our government taking us into consideration and listening to us. What a refreshing happening! And I will get used to seeing more schoolkids on the train the rest of this week. DUKES OF DESTINY GIGS www.dukesofdestiny.com 1)Friday, September 5, The Royal Glenside; 1 South Easton Rd; Glenside, PA 19038; Doors 7:30PM; show 8PM; $20 adv-$25 door; https://www.theroyalglenside.com/ Our September gig has us back at The Royal, a wonderful listening and dancing room in Glenside. We love this place for its ambiance, its mission, and its staff. Great sound system, space to dance, space to sit and listen, and a great vibe. We are super happy to be back. For info on food and drink go to https://www.theroyalglenside.com/faq BROTHER JOHN-JOHNNY NEVER & JOHN COLGAN-DAVIS ; www.BrotherJohnBlues.com 1) Sunday, August 31 1-4PM Lock 29 127 Bridge Street Mont Claire PA 19453 https://www.lock29montclare.com/ 2)Thursday, September 4 7PM - 10PM Hummingbird to Mars 1930 Speakeasy (ring the bell--it's around back!) W 16th St, Wilmington, DE 9806 http://catherinerooneys.com/hummingbird Reservations recommended 3)Saturday, September 6 8PM Brother John opening for Mikey Junior The Fallser Club 3721 Midvale Ave Philadelphia PA 19129 tickets $20adv; $ 25 door https://thefallserclub.com/ Next week finds us in two new places wrapped around an old favorite. Sunday we are making our debut at Lock 29 in Mount Clare, Pa. for a Sunday brunch. We have not played here before, and we are looking forward to it. So come on out and welcome Brother John to this new venue. Saturday finds us at the Fallser Club in East Falls opening up for the remarkable Mikey Jr. Again, a new place for Brother John, although I have caught some great shows there. And Thursday finds us back at Hummingbird to Mars, one of our favorite spots with great food, wonderful waitstaff, and bartenders who somehow know how to shake the mixed drinks glasses in time to the music. Three places to feed your palette, wet your whistle, and catch some great acoustic blues. Come on out. The Sunday Blues Jam at Jamey’s House of Music; 32 S. Landsdowne, Ave; Lansdowne, PA; jamey@jameyshouseofmusic.com Blues lovers and players have made Jamey's Sunday Blues Jam the place for great blues jamming, inexpensive and tasty eats, craft brews on tap, fresh brewed coffee, a great waitstaff, and friendly people who love the blues.  Each Sunday features an hour long set by a different house band, and then there is an open jam until 3PM. This month the jam features The Philly Blues Kings with various guitarists and singers. The 2nd Sunday of each month features The Roger Girke-John Colgan-Davis Project as the house band, and our next gig there is Sunday, September 14th . Got an instrument? Sing? Just want to listen to some exciting blues and have some good food? Come on out and take part in this great blues jam with great food and liquid refreshments. $5 minimum to be spent