Are you with me now” A J Ryder
After the BPL staff meeting, I was watching The Lioness and somehow Zoë Saldaña’s character put out a message to me about BPL:
“The skill sets need to support the mission, not the other way around”
Then, when I got my copy of Just Mercy for the book club, the quote that starts the book off was:
Love is the motive, but justice is the instrument – Reinhold Niebuhr
Given the week we’ve all had, there’s lots to discuss just with these statements.
This week, I drove from San Diego with Anthonette to meet Pam Roy at Working Wardrobes in Orange County where we took the next steps in setting up a B-Unbound Center and B-U Fellows. More to come on these initiatives. Then, I headed to LAX to catch a red eye to Providence where I met the Big Bang/Met 30th anniversary planning team.
We started our meetings at the Public Street Campus where we normally meet but when I mentioned our school on Peace Street, I found out that no one had ever been there and that piqued the BPL crew’s curiosity. The next day we went over to Peace Street and wow, what a great visit. The reaction was kind of like where have you been all my BPL life. I was the first principal of this school and was followed by Charlie Plant and Sonn Sam. Peace Street was the first facility that we designed as a small school. Now Mike Ferrer is principal and he amazed everyone with his love for the students, staff, the building and community. Yes, it is a standalone small school, not a complex but it is still part of The Met and BPL network. I was really happy at the response our team had to Peace Street. All of a sudden, the wheels started spinning about how Peace Street could be part of Big Bang. Who knew?
Below is most of our team with Peace Street principal, Mike Ferrer. Zelia Gonzales was on a call and missed the photo op.
Here, I’m with Joahluis Molina aka Joe Louis, one of the students from Peace Street. Joe recently won the New England Regional National For Teaching Entrepreneurship contest for his start-up company That Junk Removal Company. Also, Victor Duque (bottom) took second place with GoLyte, a wall-mounted electrolyte dispenser to elevate the hydration needs of all.
How did Quincy Jones remain innovative all these years? Why was he so sought after by younger generations of musicians? It was an amazing feat to stay fresh and at the edge as you always declare that edge as your new center. It didn’t matter the genre. He played, arranged, composed, wrote and orchestrated in all of them. Perhaps one of the main reasons for his work with younger musicians was his own journey. Clark Terry was Quincy’s mentor from the time he was 13 years old. They maintained a lifelong friendship. For those who think 13 is too young for mentoring, think again.
On Q …..
The other night, I was in Providence with Katrina and Chris at a small jazz club connected to the Omni Hotel. They stayed for a while but I lingered because out of the corner of my eye I saw that a trumpet player was about to join them. Sure enough when he came on, he started with Comin’ Home Baby! Now my bet is that not one person in the club knew that song was composed by Quincy Jones but I did and sure enough in his subtle and sublime way he was paying homage to one of the coolest and hippest cats ever. He knew and I knew and we kept it between us. This week’s election events conjured up many of his tunes. Even in his passing he was sending a message into the future. You can pick your own for the times we are in.
Next week, I’ll be in San Diego putting the pieces together for our upcoming work here.
Be well!
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