Michael Jackson, James Brown, Marian Anderson, the Duke and Lena Horne. They weren’t there physically Friday night at the Kennedy Center, but their presence was undeniable during a star-studded concert marking this weekend’s opening of the Museum of African American History and Culture.
If you remember, we talked about this new museum which just opened and which own a Michael Jackson Costume. They have celebrating the opening in music and with a speech from Barack Obama.
“I should say good evening, everyone,” said Oprah Winfrey, who donated $21 million for the museum, after President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama took their seats in the balcony of the Eisenhower Theater. “But what I’d really like to say is hallelujah.”
If the concert — recorded for future broadcast on ABC — set the tone for this weekend’s events, it did so by honoring a stunning artistic legacy without glossing over the painful road that’s been central to the African-American experience.
“You don’t want to be so happy, you don’t want to be so sad but you do want to celebrate,” said Jacqueline Washington, the daughter of a pioneering federal judge, Aubrey E. Robinson Jr.
Washington sat in the last row next to her Howard University classmate, Debbie Allen, the choreographer and actress. But they weren’t complaining about the view.
“Every seat is a front row seat,” said Allen. “That’s what this is tonight. Being in the room. When we were at the inauguration of Barack Obama, it was that you were there.”
“Taking The Stage: Changing America” wasn’t just a concert. Musicians were often introduced along with photos of the museum artifacts related to their performances, including: a pair of slave shackles; Louis Armstrong’s horn; and the silk and black velvet dress Marian Anderson wore for her Easter concert in 1939, when she performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial after having been shut out of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Actress Angela Bassett spoke of how segregation hurt artists such as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Horne.
“They were born too early to be the bigger stars they might have been but it doesn’t diminish what they did and the legacy they left,” she said. “Singing, it wasn’t the same after them. Nor were the audiences that heard them.”
The message of the evening was clear — that a visit to the new museum would be a “life-changing experience,” as Kennedy Center chairman David Rubenstein put it — and the musical performances were direct and dramatic.
Mary J. Blige, recreating Anderson’s 1939 performance, was set against a massive, black and white image of the Lincoln Memorial. Gary Clark Jr., a sizzling electric player, left his Epiphone home to perform acoustic blues from a chair, his left leg thumping the rhythm. Usher punctuated a James Brown medley by leaping off a podium and landing with a split. He later praised San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose protest of the national anthem has drawn headlines. “Silence is consent,” Usher said.
It was not surprising that Quincy Jones co-produced the evening, as it darted across decades and different genres effortlessly, just as he has. Though the show started about a half hour late — the Obamas entered after the rest of the audience — it started hot, with a tribute to Harlem, “not just an address but a state of mind,” as Jones told the crowd.
Patti Austin sang, Savion Glover tapped and dancers, in white and plaid jackets or flapper dresses, paid tribute to the 1920s. Shirley Caesar got the crowd rising with a blistering performance with a gospel choir. Gladys Knight, 72, in black dress and heels, performed a magical version of “Midnight Train to Georgia.” Ne-Yo did his best Michael Jackson and John Legend took on Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On.”
Will Smith, the one-time Fresh Prince, referenced the power of hip-hop and three giants took the stage. Accompanied by a lone percussionist, rappers Common, Doug E. Fresh and Chuck D traded rhymes, dropping the poetry of Langston Hughes, Nas, Maya Angelou, and Rakim, as well as Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power.” Then Chuck D, sneaker flaps hanging out, declared “up there is the first black president” and paused to motion to the balcony where, indeed, that president sat.
Stevie Wonder closed the show with a driving version of “Higher Ground,” joined by the entire cast. But first, choking up at his keyboard, Wonder asked for a moment of silence to talk about “the pain and promise” and “those we have lost senselessly.” He spoke with pride of the children who will get to experience the new museum before adding, bitingly, “at least those who survive.”
As fans, we are so proud that Michael Jackson is represented in this museum and also his songs were performed during the Opening Ceremony!
ABC’s Presentation of ‘Taking the Stage: African American Music and Stories That Changed America’
ANGELA BASSETT, DAVE CHAPPELLE, CHUCK D., DOUG E. FRESH,
SAVION GLOVER, TOM HANKS, SAMUEL L. JACKSON, QUINCY JONES,
RASHIDA JONES, ELIJAH KELLEY, JANELLE MONAE, JADA PINKETT SMITH,
WILL SMITH, OCTAVIA SPENCER, CHRIS TUCKER, JESSE WILLIAMS,
OPRAH WINFREY AND STEVIE WONDER
JOIN THE CELEBRATION, ON
ABC TELEVISION’S ‘TAKING THE STAGE: AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC AND STORIES THAT CHANGED AMERICA’
The Smithsonian’s New National Museum of African American History and Culture
Opens Its Doors With an All-Star Tribute
SOURCE: Washington Post / ABC
