Quincy Jones Lobbies For Secretary of Culture Position

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:42:05

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Quincy Jones has decided to revisit his long-running idea of establishing a Secretary of Culture in the presidential Cabinet. Speaking to the Washington Post, the music industry icon explained, "The people abroad know more about our culture than we do. A month ago at my high school in Seattle, I asked a student if he knew who Louie Armstrong was. He said he had heard his name. I asked him about Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. He didn’t even know their names. That hurts me a lot."

Fifteen different organizations have paired up with Americans for the Arts to ask Barack Obama and Joe Biden's transitional team to discuss the potential Cabient position with Congress. In a statement released last month, the coalition of lobbyists cited Dizzy Gillespie and Armstrong's role as cultural ambassadors in the Cold War, saying, "Artists can be utilized again to help us win the war of ideas against Islamic extremism."

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
01.19.09