Frank, Happy Birthday!

I also look forward to reading any book you would write about your life and musings about folk (meaning "people" and not just the music people make and share).

Here is my response to the comment that you addressed to me:

I know next to nothing about either Hobart Smith or Furry Lewis. Perhaps those two musicians decided to ignore everything but the music to perform together. But I wonder in his heart of hearts if Furry Lewis could truly ignore Hobart Smith's racism-even if Smith treated him as "the exception to the rule". It's difficult for me to imagine that Lewis wasn't bothered by Smith's racism. Perhaps Lewis truly liked the music that he and Smith made together, but his decision to play with a man who was a known racist was driven by the economic and socio-political realities of that time.

I know in the past Black musicians even had to blacking up (wear black cork/paint) to perform. And I assume that it was economics and socio-political realities that drove that decision. Sometimes you do what you have to do to get over. But, I would hope that times have changed for the better since then.

In today's 24 hour media world where even what brand of beer famous people drink is heavily scrutinized, I think that if a Black person or another Person of Color teams up (as a musical act) with a known racist or a known fascist, his or her doing so would be used to aid & comfort racist or fascist positions. And I believe that including separate acts (performing groups or individual performers) who are known to be racist or fascist in a concert or other programming events such as a television show would give too much publicity to those performers and their causes. I also believe that doing supporters of known racist or fascist organizations would use the inclusion of people of their persuasian as publicity for their views and would push the view that the sponsors of that concert or programming are supportive of their racist/fascist positions.

I think that it's not just about the music anymore-if it ever was just about the music.