The late jazz bassist Ben Tucker. ( photo courtesy of MySpace music artist page ) It is always difficult to make peace with the death of someone who gives as much to a city as preeminent jazz-man Ben Tucker gave through his musical genius, philanthropy, and love to Savannah, Georgia. It is even harder when that death occurs violently and makes one feel like it should have never happened in the first place. Nevertheless, that so many are now taking time to remember and honor him is truly inspiring. It was never my privilege to know Tucker as well as many others in Savannah’s jazz and cultural arts community did but it was my good fortune to benefit from his expansive creative endeavors. The 2009 article A Son of Savannah Celebrated  was one small attempt to pay tribute to the man while still in his jazz swinging prime 2009: The City of Savannah Celebrates a Favorite Son - National African-...

Crowd celebrating life of Michael Jackson after his death during Black Music Month 2009.  (Getty image) The basic idea underlying the concept of Pan Africanism is that of cultural awareness and connection leading to mutually beneficial cooperation between people of African descent throughout the Global Village . It is a concept which those who are possibly more politically, philosophically, and economically motivated have promoted at least since the year 1900. One of the ways this powerful theory has met with notable success in practice has been in the area of music. To help ensure the viability of African-American music in particular, famed music producer Kenny Gamble and broadcast executive Ed Wright in 1979 persuaded then President Jimmy Carter to declare June as Black Music Month. The crowning event that year was a celebration concert held on June 7 at the White House. Featured on that occasion were representatives of the broader spectrum of black music, from the rock...

Syrian children behind a barbed wire fence at the Ceylanpinar refugee camp in the Sanliurfa province of  Turkey . (Photo by Reuters) At the heart of Creative Thinkers International’s operational philosophy has always been a core belief in the ability of positive creativity to help inspire nonviolent conflict resolution. This is not a romantic notion; it is a crucial alternative. The blood-and-bone-splattering spectacles of war have come to command most news headlines in the modern world. The maniacal brutality that was 9/11 engraved in the world’s collective consciousness themes and realities intensified by perpetual chaos, terror, and death. It is a chilling prospect, and yet an observable phenomenon, that humanity at this point in history too often defines itself by how efficiently it destroys itself. Love, it seems, is valued most when violence or disease threaten to annihilate the life that would serve as a channel for it. Men and women discover the deeper nat...

                                 ( embossed graphic courtesy of Bright Skylark Literary Prods ) Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance , first published by Facts On File in 2003 and through Infobase Publishing in 2010, is now available as a Kindle Edition on Amazon and that is big news for a lot of good reasons. For one, 2013 marks the tenth anniversary of Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance’s publication and a new edition of a new edition of a modern award-winning classic is always a good way to celebrate such occasions. Secondly, advances in technology proved a powerful component of the Harlem Renaissance just as it has in the contemporary era. During the 1920s and 1930s, important developments took place through the growing radio and the recording industries. Those advances not only allowed African Americans to showcase and preserve the marvels of black music such as jazz , ragti...