Held at the Apollo Theater in the heart of Harlem, this year’s program and star-studded post-concert celebration should once again live up to its billing as it features a stellar lineup of musicians, singers, and rappers sharing the storied Harlem stage to raise money for JFA. JFA is an organization dear to my heart and no doubt is part of the souls of many. I regret I will not in attendance tonight, but I join my friends and other supporters in spirit by donating. I hope you’ll join me.
Just a brief overview of JFA’s work includes a musician’s emergency fund, facilitating employment opportunities, and engaging in partnership projects. For example, JFA deploys social workers in times of catastrophe to go home to home offering emotional support and providing basic necessities like food, emergency supplies, and clothes for children. They replace musicians’ instruments and equipment and may even assist with car repairs.
After Katrina in 2005, JFA quietly brought over 1,000 musicians back to New Orleans by rehousing families, creating paying gigs and donating top-shelf instruments. In the aftermath of 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, JFA was active in the rebuilding of hundreds of musicians’ lives, and in the restoring of a vibrant Blues music community in Baton Rouge after it suffered devastating floods in 2016.
JFA reports averaging 30 individual musician emergency cases per day and approximately 9,000 assists every year. The organization helps prevent homelessness with housing assistance and helps keep musicians healthy with pro bono medical care and financial support that keeps the lights on and food on the table.
JFA also works to create paid work opportunities for artists to perform with free concerts at schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. Each year JFA produces almost 1,000 concerts in 17 states and reaches more than 80,000 listeners, from children in public schools to seniors in elder care facilities.
These are just a few of JFA’s services and support networks available solely through charitable contributions.
I personally wish to join in honoring and thanking Richard “Dick” Parsons for his critically important leadership role as one of the founders and visionaries in his role as JFA Board Chairman since 2007. He is also Chair of the Apollo Theater Foundation and Co-chair of the advisory board of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Mr. Parsons is the former Chairman and CEO of Time Warner, former Chairman of Citigroup, former Senior Advisor of Providence Equity, and former interim CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team.
Tonight, JFA honors Richard Parsons for his tireless early and continued efforts on behalf of the Jazz community and musicians. His vision and leadership helped propel JFA forward as a leading support entity meeting the critical needs of an often-underserved population. We truly value the needed safety net and support system of JFA programs and projects nationwide. We appreciate benefitting from his considerable business and organizational acumen. I also salute his lovely wife as well.
On a personal note: Years ago, I reached out to Richard Parsons after having been rebuffed by two young staffers at Harlem’s Apollo Theater where I had met with the Theater’s young manager and assistant staff to propose that the Apollo Theater consider displaying a tribute on its 125th Street marquis to James “Pookie” Hudson, lead singer of the original Doo-Wop group, The Spaniels. I had known Pookie Hudson and had written an article in The Amsterdam News about The Spaniels 1992 return to the Apollo. The singer and group’s Apollo appearances for over two decades from the 1950s into the 1970s were legendary in R&B folklore.
The young stage manager had insisted to me that no one had ever heard of Pookie Hudson or The Spaniels and firmly rebuffed my suggestion. Based on my former involvement as a member of an advisory committee for JFA, I reached out to Richard Parson’s office at Time Warner. Within several hours, one of New York City’s most recognizable theater marquis was lit up in neon lights displaying APOLLO SALUTES JAMES “POOKIE” HUDSON.
Chairman Parson’s reach across New York City, the nation, and indeed the world continues to have an impact and indeed Dick has the Midas Touch it takes to get big things done. For this, we salute Richard “Dick” Parsons.