Gone! -- IAJE Files for Bankrupcy

Dear IAJE Family,
It is with a great sense of loss that I inform you that despite drastic efforts to cut expenses and raise emergency funds, the IAJE Board has voted to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Federal Bankruptcy Law. I want to thank profusely those who responded with their generous donations and offers of assistance following my last communication. While over 250 individuals contributed just over $12,000, this, along with the many other efforts and contributions of IAJE staff, Board members, and association partners, was simply not enough to address the accumulated debt of the organization or its urgent need for cash relief.

In the next few days, a Kansas bankruptcy court will appoint a trustee to oversee all ongoing aspects of the association. This includes the ability to examine IAJE's financial records and mount an independent inquiry into the causes of it's financial downfall as well as disposing of the remaining assets of the association with proceeds distributed to creditors in accordance with Kansas and Federal law. The board will no longer be involved in operation of the organization and will at some point resign. IAJE as it presently stands will no longer exist.

Approximately a week after filing, all potential creditors of the association will receive notice of the association's filing from the court. Members who desire additional information regarding the petition, including a complete listing of association assets and liabilities, may retrieve this, as it is a public document, through normal court procedures. Undoubtedly, however, you will have more immediate questions deserving of responses I hope to address in this report.

Since the first communication to the membership outlining this crisis, there has been considerable public speculation as to its causes. As noted in that communication, years of dependence upon the conference as a primary (but unreliable) revenue stream and the launch of a well-intentioned capital campaign (the Campaign for Jazz), which generated a meager response but required considerable expenditures in advance of contributions, drove the association into insolvency. Sadly, the attendance at the conference in Toronto (the lowest in 10 years) exacerbated an already critical situation, depriving the association of the cash-flow needed to continue daily operations as well as the time needed to seek alternative resources.

While ultimately not able to skirt the financial land mines placed in its path, I want to assure you the IAJE Board has acted responsibly, ethically, and with a sense of urgency ever since it was blindsided last fall with the discovery of the extent of the accumulated association debt. Since that time, the board slashed spending, set specific performance targets for the Executive Director, sought outside consultations, and enlisted the services of several past-presidents and strategic association partners in attempts to raise funds - sadly, with minimal success.

It goes without saying, the board you elected is comprised of very accomplished, intelligent, and dedicated educators and professionals who have given generously of their time in service to this association and care about it passionately. Likewise, our entire professional staff, led by Associate Executive Director, Vivian Orndorff, and Executive Producer, Steve Baker, has worked heroically in the face of declining resources to meet the needs of the association and its members. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank both the board and staff for their service. I have been privileged and honored to serve with them. While there may be those who question specific decisions or strategies in efforts to meet this crisis, the dedication and integrity of these individuals should never be in doubt.

As we move forward, one of the most pressing questions is how the operations of individual chapters and affiliated associations will be affected by this filing. Since our chapters are either separate corporate entitles or voluntary associations with their own boards, constitutions and bylaws; IAJE views them as completely independent entities. Ultimately, however, the trustee and the court will make this determination and it is anticipated that the trustee may request certain information from the chapters in this regard.

Sadly, the 2009 IAJE International Conference in Seattle has been cancelled. However, there has been some discussion of mounting a regional conference in its place. At the moment, Lou Fischer, U.S. Board Representative is fielding inquiries: ljazzmanf@yahoo.com.

For the time being, the IAJE website will remain up. However, the international offices of IAJE will close their doors at the end of the day on Friday, April 18th. Should there be additional questions you may submit them to info@iaje.org and every attempt will be made to respond to these as staffing allows.

Today, we, the members of IAJE and the global jazz community, face an extremely important task. For, as we all recognize, the opportunities, impact, and work of this association are too vital to simply disappear. Whether you were first drawn to IAJE for its conference, its magazine or research publications, its student scholarship programs such as Sisters in Jazz or the Clifford Brown/Stan Getz All-Stars, its Teacher Training Institutes, the resources provided through its website or Resource Team, or any one of a number of other offerings; it is clear the mission of IAJE still resonates and its advocacy is needed today more than ever. We must, therefore, look at this as an opportunity to refocus the mission, scope, programs, and vision of IAJE (or whatever succeeds it) to better meet the needs of our members and the jazz community not only today but looking toward the future.

I am, in no way, suggesting the membership turn a blind eye towards the need for an independent inquiry into causes and ultimately assigning responsibility for this situation. I ask you recognize the court appointed trustee, who will have access to all necessary documents and facts, is charged with that task. Our efforts and our passion, should be to collectively rally the community to recognize the importance IAJE has had and continues to have in the life and development of jazz and jazz education - seeking new strategic partnerships, new government structures, and a revitalized mission that embraces current needs.

Already there are efforts to do just that. I know that Mary Jo Papich, who would have begun serving her term as President of IAJE beginning this July, is dedicated to recreating such an association. As many know, Mary Jo has been a tireless advocate for IAJE, serving it long and well. You will, undoubtedly, be hearing from her in the near future. When she does contact you, I urge you to join me in offering her every support and assistance. Of course, others may also seek to fill this void by promoting alternative visions for empowering, serving, and gathering the jazz community. While I generally believe such diversity is quite healthy, I would strongly encourage all such efforts and leaders to attempt to collaborate and seek ways to unite us in spirit and strength.

Finally, I would encourage you to recognize and remember IAJE for all the tremendous good it has done in the past 40 years. Many individuals have contributed along the way, often at considerable personal sacrifice of their time and resources, to establish and advance the work of this association. Much has been achieved that can never be taken away! Therefore, the vision, effort, and shared passion that have fueled the growth of IAJE and its programs should not be forgotten or considered in vain. Rather, the spirit that is IAJE must be rekindled into a new vision for the future.
Sincerely,

The IAJE Board - Chuck Owen, President

Black and I'm Proud

Detroit: Only 32% graduate from High School

The Education Policy Center at Michigan State University, looked at how many ninth-graders in Detroit and the state as a whole left high school with diplomas after four years. The study found the graduation rate for boys enrolled in Detroit Public Schools were lower: just 25 percent, compared with 39 percent of girls—a discrepancy that mirrors national trends.

The Resurrection of Michael Donald

The Resurrection of Michael Donald

I'm a man don't you see me

Not your Mandingo

Not your prison convict

Not your blackface in your minstrel show

Black and Blue

I am a man

See me

Bold and Free

Why don't you see me?

I have an education

I have a brilliant mind

Invisible

'Cause my hair is not fine

I've lived through the ages

My cloak is not pale

You can tell I'm black

But my heart is blue

'Cause you still see through

me

Invisible

All you see is my skin

I bleed red blood

But not your brother or kin

You lock me up in a cell

When the ghettos all fail

To raise me into the man I should be

I am a man

Yes black you can see

In his image He created me

Bold and free

Not your slave or your field hand

Not three fifths of a man

Keep your slur of nigger and brand

'Cause I am a man

And I can be seen!

by C. Rance Redman

copyright 2008

All Rights Reserved

FREE AMERICA

Harper's Weekly 02/18/1865.

A SHOUT of joy is ringing through the land,

And men long bowed and broken rise and stand,

As if uplifted by God's bared right hand

—Our country shall be free!

The great decree enfolds the final deed;

No doubtful future closes round our need;

The blessed fruit hangs ripe within the seed

—Our country now is free!

Our mighty sacrifice has wafted sweet

Prevailing incense to God's judgment-seat;

Our martyrs sitting by the angels' feet

Know their earth-home is free.

God said, “Let Freedom be,” as erst “Let Light,”

And burst a new creation on our sight,

Created in our hearts, and named aright

America the Free!

By this we pass from pain to realms of balm,

Striking our lessening tumult through with calm,

Harmonious, holy, happy, with the psalm

—Our native land is free.

O'er life's warm heights within the luminous sky,

Through death's cold vales where endless shadows lie,

Ring forth the psalm to all who live and die

—Our land—our land is free!

Almighty God! we swear by Thy high throne,

Though pain, blood, peril in our path be sown,

This glorious land we now may call our own

Shall be forever free!

The Audacity of Hopeless People

Will our next president address the concerns of the general public as well as his people? Poverty, Prison, education, economic empowerment are my concerns. Will our next president demonstrate a need to address the social reforms that ails us? Healthcare, judicial injustice, drugs, guns, urban decay are my concerns. Will our next president reach beyond audacity and show the tenacity to inspire hope with tangible results? Race wasn't a factor until the candidates were forced to address it. For those of us men still teetering on the wall of survival in Detroit, will you address our concerns or ridicule our votes with patronizing speeches for the masses?

Alumnus’ Novel Inspired by Trials and Triumphs

3/28/2008

By Deonshay Danson, student writer
Accomplished musician, writer and Alabama State University alumnus Carlos Rance Redman published his first fiction novel, Young Hearts Run Free.
Set on a fictitious depiction of ASU called HBCU, Young Hearts Run Free is the story of Heart, a troubled young man whose journey into manhood is shaped by his anger and bitter resentment towards his absent father.
The novel is inspired by Redman’s own personal trials and triumphs. Redman says the book was sparked by his relationship with his father.
“Very often I wondered how different my life would have been had we made a connection. I felt it was a solitary problem until I began teaching. There are millions of young men who are yearning for a rapport with their paternal legacy, and fill the void with rebellion”, said Redman.
Redman’s unique writing style and method of story telling utilizing his musical background brings Heart’s story alive, as this gripping tale addresses some of the contemporary issues that plague the hearts of young men – commitment, education, manhood and legacy.
When asked what people should take away from his book, Redman said, “Young hearts should triumph over adversity by learning from their experiences. They survive, not by using them as negative affects, but as a symbolism of endurance”.
Redman, a Detroit native, graduated from Alabama State University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts... Redman is the recipient of several literary awards, including the Detroit Optimist Scholar Award, the National American Appreciation Award, and twice the African American History Award for Literature from Alabama State University. Redman has two jazz albums, “Remix” and “Love Letters”.
Young Hearts Run Free was released February 28 and is published by Southern Pleasures Books, and can be found at the following retailers: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Target, and Borders.

Protest Black Entertainment Television

We are teaching our children that the hierarchy of life is based on the dollar. We do not give lessons on moral servitude to their family and community. We are teaching our children a prematurely dead legacy that turns us into an endangered species. Encouraged to connote strife as justification to sell drugs and denigrate women, we teach them that manhood equals money. We teach them that assets equal visibility. We teach them to watch BET.

STOP!

The New SlaveryAmerica's New Chattel

America's New Chattel

The U.S. war on drugs is big business -- a multi-billion dollar public/private venture that radically inflates the value of illegal drugs and criminalizes the poorest people of color, trapping them in a vicious cycle of addiction, unemployment and incarceration

$9.4 billion in 2000 to imprison close to 500,000 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses, 75% of whom are Black.