John Malveaux: “the full range of our human potential should be promoted to ourselves and future generations.”

[42nd NAACP Image Awards]

John Malveaux of MusicUNTOLD.com writes about the 42nd NAACP Image Awards yesterday:

“I attended the preshow and was amazed to learn that approximately 34 Awards were presented in Directing, Writing, Motion Pictures, Literature, Recording, and Television before the nationally televised Awards. The acronym NAACP includes the word ADVANCEMENT. The IMAGE of African Americans in classical and opera certainly deserve advancement. I think we need a national discussion on the subject.

“As I REPEATEDLY heard recipient after recipient thank the NAACP and imagined the potential influence on youth, I was saddened to think that someone like John McLaughlin Williams has not been recognized for an IMAGE AWARD. John McLaughlin Williams won the 2007 Grammy for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (with orchestra) and became the first African-American conductor to win a Grammy (preshow off camera).

“Nevertheless, I shared the moment with all the winners in the preshow and national broadcast and greatly appreciate their contributions. Classical music and opera are inescapably connected to images and beliefs associated with high art, intellect, superiority, and Europe in addition to wealth, money, and taxes. Exposure to classical music is also increasingly associated with academic performance and attention span of children. Despite common perceptions and image, 'Blacks Are In All Music' and the full range of our human potential should be promoted to ourselves and future generations.”