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Celebrating Milestones, Keeping the Music Alive

THE AFRO — Twenty years ago Jason Moran’s jazz trio, The Bandwagon wowed audiences with their unique sound and artistic mash-ups, and for eight years the Kennedy Center’s jazz programming has been under his tutelage. With such a seasoned career in jazz, Moran, 44, took a moment to reflect on his music, role at the Kennedy Center and overall duty as an artist to contribute to the growth of jazz in the District and beyond.

Published

6 years ago

October 22, 2019

Oakland Post

Musician and the Kennedy Center’s Artistic Director for Jazz, Jason Moran (of Jason Moran & The Bandwagon (pictured above) sat down with the AFRO for an exclusive interview about his career and what’s to come. (Courtesy Photo)

By Micha Green

Twenty years ago Jason Moran’s jazz trio, The Bandwagon wowed audiences with their unique sound and artistic mash-ups, and for eight years the Kennedy Center’s jazz programming has been under his tutelage. With such a seasoned career in jazz, Moran, 44, took a moment to reflect on his music, role at the Kennedy Center and overall duty as an artist to contribute to the growth of jazz in the District and beyond.

“Every season at the Kennedy Center we have a real duty to recognize how the music has been developed and also a keen responsibility to mark how it is changing, because jazz is a rare American gem- meaning born on the shores here- and it takes a different documentation,” Moran told the AFRO.

In his eighth season as the Kennedy Center’s Artistic Director for Jazz, Moran is continuing to uphold the institution’s jazz legacy, while also bringing a newness of sound and artistry to the beloved artistic gathering place for locals, tourists and international audiences alike. Moran explained that part of the jazz program’s growth is remembering its roots.

“My predecessor Dr. Billy Taylor, was from D.C. and also a serious historian, a serious activist and also a serious educator. So that was the kind of programming he set up even before I got there. And once he passed, I felt like it had to continue to be the duty to make sure the jazz programming had a breadth of understanding of how it got to where it is. And we can’t isolate traditions- from Ragtime to Avant Garde and Free Jazz, but that is also an aspect of America that America has to confront too,” Moran said.

The 44-year-old musican said that jazz has the ability to serve as the thermostat for the status of America’s health. “The music always someway forecasts and gives a temperature reading of where the country is. How sick or how well it is,” Moran explained.

Through his artistic curation of performances for The Kennedy Center, Moran hopes to expand the breadth of jazz music to which audiences are exposed.

“This year we’re bringing the art ensemble of Chicago- a pioneering group [celebrating] their 50th anniversary. Here’s an ensemble that’s been around for 50 years and have never played the Kennedy Center,” Moran said with both surprise and a hint of disappointment. “So there’s still these gaps of programming that I try to make sure we acknowledge as an institution.”

The musician, artistic director and entrepreneur, who co-owns YES RECORDS with his wife, mezzo-soprano Alicia Hall Moran, hopes that through the artistry coming to the Kennedy Center, ‘that [people] kind of wake up to what [Americans] have not been dealing with.”

As Moran enters his eighth season with the Kennedy Center, he also celebrates the milestone of 20 years of his jazz trio, The Bandwagon. Two decades ago, Moran, who has seamlessly meshed Hip-Hop, rap and jazz, had no idea he’d be part of an-award winning jazz trio. The group was actually part of the rhythm section of another band, yet “we had the best chemistry,’ said Moran. After 20 years of creating with The Bandwagon, Moran also has seen the changes in jazz and its role in feeding the souls of music lovers throughout the world.

“[Twenty years ago], much of [the music] sounded like dinner jazz- like you hear at a restaurant, meant to help you digest food,” Moran said only mildly jokingly. He explained that he and The Bandwagon wanted to get as far away from that kind of jazz music as possible.

“So we started building on the language…but also worked with repertoire that dealt with where Black music is- and for many decades, not just the recent ones,” he said. “And then I think overtime it started to form and change where we would position ourselves– whether it was with an art museum or a dance company, or whether it was with a poet. You might hear the band anywhere, in any kind of setting that was more provocative,” Moran added.

“As we grew, after 20 years we know a lot about each other. We’re also aging so we’re continuing to figure out what the chapters are to hold. I think a lot of our future continues to revolve around collaboration because that’s what, I think, helps to propel the band.”

With Moran as the institution’s artistic director for jazz, the trio will be showcasing 20 years of making music and will continue to collaborate with other artists in this season’s programming at the Kennedy Center.

“In a few months we have Ingrid Laubrock, and we’re going to dedicate it to a record we made with a saxophone master called Sam Rivers. But Ingrid will play his part now that he’s passed on. Then finally we’re bringing in Cassandra Wilson… They’re work is groundbreaking and sometimes subtle, and sometimes forceful. And they are forces to be reckoned with that I think The Bandwagon can learn from, and we look forward to learning their music.”

With the addition of The Reach, a new multipurpose arts space part of The Kennedy Center, Moran is excited about the potential of expanding artistic programming and introducing new audiences to the world of jazz.

“The possibilities of the way I consider the institution can breathe now, is like a gill on a fish. It has a new way to get oxygen, Moran said. “I’m excited about really curating films for jazz, that covers jazz history, that I think we should be able to see more frequently. I’m loving that we have a space that audiences can stand up and dance, and it’s dedicated to that– with Studio K– and that we can continue to build a more chorus way for the institution to work.”

He hopes that through intersectional and educational jazz programming at The Reach, fresh ears can learn the beauty of jazz music.

“I think it’s around intersection. Would you just jump on the jazz highway, and get in the third lane and go fast? There has to be an on ramp,” Moran explained. One form of intergenerational programming offered at The Reach will be a Jazz Doodle Jam with Jason Moran & The Bandwagon and host Mo Willems in mid-March.

“Parents and children can come and draw for an hour as we lead them through exercises with art and sound. And I think those entry points are really important for us to magnify,” he told the AFRO.

The 2019-2020 jazz season kicked off on Oct. 4 with Joe Chambers’ M’boom, and continues until June 6, with programming featuring local, national and international musicians within spaces at The Kennedy Center and The Reach. Jason Moran & The Bandwagon’s next performance at The Kennedy Center is scheduled for Nov. 9 with Ingrid Laubrock in the Family Theater.

For more information on jazz programming at The Kennedy Center visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/genre/JAZ and to keep up with all things Jason Moran check out his website, http://www.jasonmoran.com.

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

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OP-ED: The Dream Cannot be Realized Without Financial Freedom

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Dr. King spent the final chapter of his life pushing the country to face economic injustice. The day before he was tragically assassinated, Dr. King stood with sanitation workers in Memphis to call for economic equality. He helped launch the Poor People’s Campaign because he knew freedom hollowed out by poverty is not freedom at all. Dr. King kept pushing America to match its promises with practical pathways.

Published

1 day ago

January 19, 2026

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By Ben Crump

We honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. each January with speeches, service projects, and by reciting powerful quotes we know by heart.

But too many Black families will spend much of MLK Day the same way they spend most Mondays.

With the gas tank hovering near empty, hoping the car can go until the next paycheck arrives. With a prescription waiting at the pharmacy counter because they cannot afford the cost.

With a paycheck that has to stretch further than what seems possible.

Dr. King understood that true dignity means being able to afford and build a good life. In one of his clearest reminders, he asked what it means to “eat at an integrated lunch counter” if you cannot “buy a hamburger and a cup of coffee.”

That question still carries weight for many. Personal freedom will not be achieved without financial freedom.

Dr. King spent the final chapter of his life pushing the country to face economic injustice. The day before he was tragically assassinated, Dr. King stood with sanitation workers in Memphis to call for economic equality. He helped launch the Poor People’s Campaign because he knew freedom hollowed out by poverty is not freedom at all. Dr. King kept pushing America to match its promises with practical pathways.

That is the part of his legacy we should sit with this MLK Day.

This work has never been more important or needed. The cost of groceries, rent, and childcare have become an increased burden. And many families go from stable to scrambling with just one unexpected expense.

These realities are on display in a recent national survey commissioned by DreamFi, echoing what so many families already feel so deeply. More than one in four respondents told us they used check-cashing services in the past year. This finding makes it clear that too many households still need simpler and more accessible options for moving money.

The survey also shows how unexpected expenses impact families. Only 41% of Black respondents said they could cover a $1,000 emergency, compared with 56% of white respondents. When a tire blows out, when a child gets sick, when hours get cut, the question is not theoretical. The question is immediate and the impact is real.

We must shine a light on this struggle and work to equip families with tools to build better futures. We must recognize Dr. King’s wisdom and acknowledge that financial stability is a civil rights issue, because financial instability limits the ability to have choices.

The survey also found hope that can guide how we move forward.

Black families are not turning away from the idea of building stability. In fact, they are reaching for it. In the survey, 79% of Black respondents said they sought out financial education in the past six months. Ours is a community hungry for tools and a fair shot at creating a better tomorrow.

So, what does it mean to honor Dr. King right now?

It means we get practical.

It means we expand access to clear, trustworthy financial education that respects people’s time and speaks to real solutions. It means we support savings pathways that help families prepare for emergencies before emergencies arrive. It means we encourage options that make routine transactions easier and less costly, so a family is not paying extra simply to manage their own money.

Most of all, it means we stop treating financial instability as normal. Because normal is not the same as acceptable.

Dr. King asked America to make its promises real. The best way to honor him now is to provide opportunities for everyone to achieve Dr. King’s dream.

Ben Crump is a nationally renowned civil rights attorney and founder of Ben Crump Law. Known as “Black America’s attorney general,” he has represented families in some of the most high-profile civil rights cases of our time, including those of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tyre Nichols, and Ahmaud Arbery. He is also co-founder of DreamFi, a financial empowerment platform focused on helping everyday people build stability through practical resources.

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Four Stolen Futures: Will H-E-B Do The Right Thing?

BLACKPRESSUSA – An 18-wheeler carrying H-E-B merchandise struck a disabled car on US 87 near Dalhart, resulting in the deaths of four young Texas women. Dashcam footage shows their hazard lights flashing before impact. As H-E-B points to subsidiary distance, families wait for accountability.

Published

2 days ago

January 18, 2026

Oakland Post

By TotallyRandie
Social Media Correspondent, BlackPressUSA

Eighty thousand pounds of steel doesn’t just collide—it obliterates. While corporate lawyers hide behind the sterile jargon of liability and subsidiaries, four Houston families are left haunted by viral footage of a tragedy that should never have happened. On November 5, 2025, a stretch of US 87 became a crime scene of corporate negligence, claiming four vibrant Texan futures in a heartbeat.

The dashcam footage is a nightmare in real-time. A black Nissan Altima, hazards blinking in a desperate plea for space, crawls along the right lane near Dalhart. The four young women inside did exactly what we are taught to do during an emergency: slowed down and put on hazards. They were then met by an 18-wheeler hauling H-E-B merchandise. The truck plowed into them at full speed—no brakes, no swerve, no mercy.

The lives of Breanna Brantley, Taylor White, Myunique Johnson, and Lakeisha Brown were not just lost; they were stolen. To understand the gravity of this loss, you have to realize these women were just starting their lives.

Breanna Brantley (30): A woman entering the prime of her life, a new chapter of wisdom and growth.
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Taylor White (27): A wanderlust traveler and the “glue” for her younger siblings; she was their primary mother figure.
Myunique Johnson (20): Affectionately known as Mimi. Her life was just starting to bloom
Lakeisha Brown (19): A basketball standout set for Blinn College this spring—the beacon of hope meant to rewrite her family’s financial history.

In Texas, political math often attempts to cap the value of a human life, but the $250,000 ceiling suggested by current tort reform is an insult to these families. Breanna, Taylor, Myunique, and Lakeisha were more than just Black women; they were daughters, sisters, and athletes whose lives were abruptly taken away. They deserved milestones—graduations, weddings, and the simple right to grow old—not to be reduced to an apology for a “tragic loss.”

While the dashcam footage suggests an open-and-shut case, Attorney Rodney Jones of Rodney Jones Law Group P.C. revealed in our exclusive interview that reality is far more tangled. The road to justice could be a long, drawn-out process depending on how HEB decides to handle the case.

“This is a senseless accident that could have easily been prevented,” Jones says. “They had the right to possess that lane, and that truck driver had the responsibility to pay attention”. H-E-B is a Texas institution, but its response has triggered deep public outcry. While issuing an apology, the company quickly distanced itself, claiming the carrier wasn’t a “direct” H-E-B truck—despite hauling H-E-B products and being operated by Parkway, a known H-E-B subsidiary.

The driver, Guadalupe Villarreal, reportedly has a history of speeding and prior rear-end accidents. Jones is firm: “I’m looking strictly at his ability to be behind that 18-wheeler. This is a simple matter of a grossly negligent driver and the companies that put him on the road being held accountable.”

“H-E-B can’t bring them back, but they can make sure this never happens again,” Jones argues. “There is no price for a life, but there must be a price for negligence. It’s time for H-E-B to stop pointing fingers and start vetting their drivers properly to protect the public.”

While the public demands criminal charges, Jones notes that the legal wheel turns slowly. However, in the civil arena, H-E-B’s silence is deafening; the company has yet to contact the families directly.

“We desire a speedy resolution so we don’t have to drag this out,” Jones concluded. “H-E-B is a beloved chain here in Texas. Hopefully, they come to the table to resolve this fast. I feel like the longer they make these families wait for closure, the more it should cost.”

The ball is in H-E-B’s court. Will they live up to the Texas-strong values they advertise, or will they let a legal loophole define their legacy?

Bell @TotallyRandie
Multimedia Correspondent & Digital Creator
BlackPressUsa.Com/TotallyRandie.com /Stylemagazine.com

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Travis Scott Teaches Us How to Give Forward

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE It’s not just about the gift under the tree in December; it’s about the skills, the confidence, and the opportunities provided in the months leading up to it.

Published

4 days ago

January 16, 2026

Oakland Post

By TotallyRandie

The fourth quarter of the year is often dubbed “giving season,” and for good reason. As October fades into November, the cultural zeitgeist shifts toward gratitude and the spirit of the holidays. For most, this means making a yearly donation to a local food bank or participating in a toy drive for the less fortunate. But for Houston’s own Travis Scott, “giving season” isn’t a seasonal trend—it’s a sophisticated, year-round blueprint for community empowerment.

Since launching the Cactus Jack Foundation in November 2020 alongside his sister, Jordan Webster, Scott has moved beyond the traditional celebrity check-writing model. While the world watches his every move on global stages, his foundation has been quietly and consistently pouring into the soil that raised him. Whether it’s supporting SWAC baseball athletes or funding the Waymon Webster Scholarship Fund for HBCU students, the mission is clear: provide the resources for the next generation to not just survive, but to lead.

From the Streets to the Stars

This past fall, the foundation took its most ambitious leap yet. In October 2025, Cactus Jack partnered with Space Center Houston—the official visitor center of NASA Johnson Space Center—to launch a first-of-its-kind STEM incubator.

The program was specifically designed for students within the Houston Independent School District (HISD), many of whom come from underserved communities where a career in aerospace often feels like a light-year away. For eight weeks, these middle schoolers weren’t just reading about science; they were living it.

Through a mix of virtual workshops and hands-on sessions at the Cact.Us Design Center and TXRX Labs, students were paired with actual NASA engineers. They weren’t tasked with busywork; they were challenged to solve real-world problems of space habitation, including:

Lunar Water Filtration: Designing systems to purify water on the moon.
Space Habitats: Creating structures designed for food preservation in extreme environments.
Robotics: Developing rovers capable of navigating uneven lunar terrain.

The Power of Being Present

The program culminated in a private showcase at Space Center Houston this past December. Standing alongside retired NASA astronaut and Chief Science Officer Megan McArthur, Scott watched as HISD students presented high-fidelity prototypes. In that room, the disparity usually associated with these neighborhoods vanished, replaced by the technical language of CAD modeling and systems thinking.

But the work didn’t stop at the laboratory. The 6th Annual “Winter Wonderland Toy Drive” at Texas Southern University took place the very next day, showcasing the foundation’s dual-threat approach to philanthropy. While the STEM program looked toward the future, the toy drive took care of the present, putting smiles on the faces of thousands of Houston families with toys, groceries, and essential goods.

“Opportunities like this are being offered to help enrich our students’ lives and inspire them to pursue careers in fields where they can not only thrive but also bring back solutions to their communities.” — Travis Scott

More Than a Headline

Critics and social media skeptics often tweet that “Travis Scott is everywhere but Houston.” The data and the faces of the students at Space Center Houston suggest otherwise. While his music may be a global export, his legacy is being built brick by brick (and circuit by circuit) in HISD classrooms.

By bridging the gap between hip-hop culture and NASA’s high-tech corridors, the Cactus Jack Foundation is teaching us a vital lesson in giving forward. It’s not just about the gift under the tree in December; it’s about the skills, the confidence, and the “out of this world” opportunities provided in the months leading up to it.

Travis Scott may be a global icon, but in Houston, he’s becoming something much more important: a catalyst for the next generation of innovators.