Official Roll-Out of Ellington Week & the Ellington DC Coin at Scurlock Exhibition on Tues (2/23/09)
Official Roll-Out of Ellington Week and the Ellington D.C. Coin at Scurlock Exhibition on Tuesday
Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will kick-off Duke Ellington Week activities with a celebration of D.C.'s new quarter that features Ellington at his piano on Tuesday, February 24, 10 a.m., at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, where the African American Museum, temporarily housed there, has mounted the Scurlock Exhibition of photographs of Black Washingtonians, including Ellington. The celebration will feature a presentation of the quarter and the state coin map, where the D.C. coin will be inserted, remarks by U.S. Mint Director Edmund Moy, a presentation of a Congressional Tribute and a coin to Ellington's family, remarks by Lonnie Bunch, director, the African American History Museum and by Dr. Brent Glass, director, the National Museum of American History, a performance by the Duke Ellington School of the Arts jazz band, and a viewing of the Scurlock Exhibit.
Ellington week activities will continue Wednesday, Feb. 25, at THEARC, with a "Celebration of Black History Month, the Arts, and the Duke Ellington Commemorative Quarter," featuring Edward and April Ellington, Duke Ellington's children, the Ellington School of the Arts School jazz band, and the Washington Ballet, and later on Wednesday, a concert, "Sophisticated Lady: An Evening with Denyce Graves," at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to raise funds for the Ellington School of the Arts, the soprano's alma mater. "D.C.'s coin deserves a week-long celebration," Norton said. Ellington is the first prominent African American featured on a U.S. coin in circulation. "With Duke on the coin, we are sending an important message to the world that D.C. is a lot more than a government town. Next week, in one fell swoop, we will celebrate our quarter, Black History Month, and the fabulous new exhibit of the brilliant photographic works of the Scurlock family, which captured 20th Century Black D.C. for posterity, from everyday people to the high, the mighty and the talented, including The Duke, whose picture is featured in the Scurlock exhibit."
The public selected Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, who was born and raised in the District, and who helped establish the entertainment corridor on U Street, a major venue for African American entertainers. Although D.C. wanted "Taxation without Representation" on the coin, the Mint declined the slogan and, instead, agreed to the District's motto "Justice for All."
Getting D.C. a coin like other states was part of the Congresswoman's "Free and Equal D.C. Series" of bills, which includes the D.C. House Voting Rights Act, to bring District residents the same rights and privileges enjoyed by all Americans. Norton worked seven years to get a quarter for D.C., which was not included in the original 50 state series. The coin celebration Tuesday will coincide with a vote on the D.C. House Voting Rights Act in the Senate, and the expected mark-up of the bill in the House that same week. The U.S. Senate is where the bill fell three votes shy of the 60 needed to pass during the last session, but new Democratic majorities in the House and Senate and continued Republican support have made passage likely in this session.
What: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's D.C. Coin/Black History Month Celebration
When: Tuesday, Feb. 24, 10 a.m.
Where: Smithsonian Museum of American History, 14th and Constitution Ave., NW
What: "Celebration of Black History Month, the Arts, and the Duke Ellington Commemorative Quarter" featuring Edward and April Ellington, Duke Ellington's children, the Ellington jazz band, and the Washington Ballet, and comments by Congresswoman Norton.
When: Wed., Feb. 25, 11 a.m.
Where: THE ARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave., SE
What: Sophisticated Lady: An Evening with Denyce Graves/Remarks by Congresswoman Norton
When: Wed., Feb. 25, 8 p.m.
Where: John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Concert Hall, 2700 F Street, NW