The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING AHMET AND NESUHI ERTEGUN FOR THEIR FIGHT AGAINST RACIAL
INJUSTICE THROUGH THE POWER OF MUSIC
______
HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS
of florida
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Mr. HASTINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to an article that appeared on January 20, 2021 in the Washington Post entitled, ``These Turkish brothers found their calling in D.C., championing the Black music scene'' by David Taylor. The article highlights the contributions made by Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, two Turkish brothers who fought against racial injustice. The Ertegun brothers were the sons of Turkish Ambassador, Mehmet Munir Ertegun, and navigated the heavily segregated and complex Washington, D.C. These two young Turkish men dismissed racist comments and individuals, and instead familiarized themselves with the black neighborhoods of Washington.
The two quickly realized how racially divided the city was, and in order to satisfy their love for jazz, the brothers became familiar with jazz clubs on U street, record shops on Seventh Street, and were regulars at the famous ``Waxie Maxie,'' where they would meet fellow jazz enthusiasts. Ignoring the racial barriers which divided the city and country, they unapologetically hosted jam sessions at the Turkish Embassy. The Turkish Ambassador received complaints from irritated neighbors, but simply ignored those who called the music
``disturbing''. Enamored by jazz music the Ertegun brothers organized the first integrated jazz concert at the Jewish Community Center in the 1940s.
Eventually, the Ertegun brothers founded Atlantic Records in 1947 and the record company became the most successful independent label in the country. Atlantic Records went on to work with Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, La Vern Baker, the Drifters, the Coasters, Aretha Franklin, and Led Zeppelin. The list of music icons also included Stevie Wonder and Mick Jagger. In 1995, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum announced that its main exhibition hall would be named after Ahmet Ertegun.
Madam Speaker, as we celebrate Black History Month, I hope that my colleagues will join me in honoring Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun. Their story is a wonderful reminder that despite numerous differences there is always a common unifying force between people. Especially during these times when we find ourselves deeply divided, we must remember that we are able to come together despite our differences, and work for a better future as the Ertegun brothers did through the power of music.
These Turkish Brothers Found Their Calling in D.C., Championing the
Black Music Scene
(By David A. Taylor)
Turkish filmmaker Umran Safter has a special place in her heart for Washington. She had the international premiere of her first documentary feature, ``Eye of Istanbul,'' at the 2016 Washington, DC Independent Film Festival, where it won the award for best of the festival.
Her new film brought her back to D.C. for the story of Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, the brothers behind Atlantic Records, and their early years as sons of Turkish ambassador Mehmet Munir Ertegun. The Erteguns, she says, ``resisted all sorts of political pressure in the 1930s and 1940s'' as they regularly hosted ``Black jazz artists on special jazz evenings at the Turkish Embassy in Washington.''
As teenagers, Ahmet and Nesuhi were smitten by jazz when they heard Duke Ellington play in London and were excited about moving to his hometown. But when they arrived, they were disappointed to find how racially segregated the city was. ``When I first came to Washington, the stores downtown didn't carry any jazz records or blues records,'' Ahmet said in a 2002 interview. ``I had to go to the Black section of Washington for the shops that sold records of the music we wanted to buy.''
He visited jazz clubs on U Street and record shops on Seventh Street, and became a regular at Waxie Maxie, the music shop owned by Max Silverman, who built the store into a leading music retail chain. There, Ertegun found other jazz fans, such as Washington Post photographer and reporter Bill Gottlieb, later a writer for the influential Down Beat music magazine, and Billy Taylor, who would go on to become a bandleader and for decades directed jazz at the Kennedy Center.
Safter, 51, had read about the jazz concerts the Erteguns organized at the embassy. ``It's a great story. I said to myself, `Let's do this story as a documentary.' '' For the film (working title: ``Leave the Door Open''), she tracked down everyone she could find who knew them. In New York, she spoke with Atlantic Records colleague Bob Porter as well as Renee Pappas, ex-wife of Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler. Pappas had been friends with both brothers and had vivid stories. (Nesuhi Ertegun died in 1989; Ahmet, in 2006.)
Safter and her small crew arrived in Washington in February 2020 for filming. Everett House in Sheridan Circle--which served as the embassy during the Erteguns' era in D.C., and is now the residence of the Turkish ambassador--opened its doors to them. Safter also had sit-down interviews with jazz historians and radio DJs Willard Jenkins and Larry Appelbaum. And she interviewed people who had interviewed Ahmet
(including me).
She pieced together a story of race in Washington, exploring how the Erteguns cracked barriers in segregation and the blowback they faced. When they invited Black musicians to Sheridan Circle, the ambassador got complaints from White neighbors. ``They were saying, `Oh, the music coming from the embassy is so disturbing!' '' Pappas told Safter. `` `Who are these people?' ''
The ambassador, opting for diplomacy, replied: ``My sons are studying anthropology. That's why they have all these people coming.'' Still, he was stunned when the embassy's White staff balked at eating meals at the same table as Black staff members. As his daughter Selma explained to Safter, segregation ``was not something we were used to.''
The stories and images create a complex portrait of 1940s Washington. Historian Maurice Jackson described to Safter an Ertegun-organized concert at the Jewish community center:
``Two Muslim brothers bringing Black music to the center belonging to our Jewish brothers and sisters. This is historic.''
While in D.C. last year, Safter had planned to film a concert in the Ertegun Jazz Series at the Turkish Embassy, but it was canceled because of political events in Turkey. However, the crew filmed a jazz concert at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Southwest Washington. They returned home just ahead of covid-19 travel restrictions. Passengers on their flight to Istanbul were already wearing masks.
Safter counts herself lucky that her crew managed to complete most of the filming before the pandemic lockdown. But work on the documentary dragged. ``It's not possible to meet with the rest of my crew,'' she explained in April.
``And the main challenge is I can't sit next to my editor.'' She was working with Omer Leventoglu, who edited her 2019 film ``On the Wings of Hope,'' about Iraqi Kurdish refugees.
``He's a great editor,'' she said, but they could talk only by Skype or WhatsApp.
Eventually during the summer they cobbled together a new editing process and went into postproduction in September. Now with a rough cut, Safter hopes to have a finished film very soon.
But other hurdles loom, including financing and distribution. Movie theaters remain closed. ``This is a very difficult time for filmmakers,'' Safter says. In darker moments, she thinks back to her D.C. premiere five years ago.
``Because it was my first feature-length documentary film,'' she recalls, ``it encouraged me. That's the reason I produced the second film.'' She has submitted a rough cut of her new film to several U.S. competitions, including the DC Independent Film Festival and FilmFest DC. She hopes she will be able to return to the city that gave her that first boost.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 19
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