[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 19 (Tuesday, February 2, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E88-E89]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   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.

               [From the Washington Post, Jan. 20, 2021]

  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

[[Page E89]]

     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.

                          ____________________