[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 133 (Friday, August 1, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING DR. DINA BENNETT FOR HER DISTINGUISHED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE 
                          AMERICAN JAZZ MUSEUM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 1, 2025

  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Dina Bennett, 
Director and visionary of the American Jazz Museum (AJM), as she bids 
farewell to the iconic institution and transitions to new professional 
ambitions.
  Dr. Bennett's dedication to sustaining, cultivating, and celebrating 
music has echoed throughout her life. Growing up in a music family, 
music was always around her; her father was in a band with her uncle, 
and as a young girl she attended the Fun Factory of the Arts, a program 
that aimed to nurture the talents of children with an interest in 
music. The camp not only gave her a space to begin exploring the 
artistry of music, but it recognized a capacity within her that was 
needed to sing. As a result, she was offered a scholarship for piano 
lessons, which gave her a consistent and formal setting to refine her 
skills. In addition to her love for music, service was an equal part of 
her life, starting with sharing her newfound expertise in piano. She 
went on to become a Minister of Music at her Baptist church, playing 
for Sunday school, for the choir, and for her dad before sermon.
  Once Dr. Bennett hit thirty, her childhood passion began to beat 
louder, and she decided it could no longer be a side-gig, music and the 
arts would be her contribution to the world. This led her to pursue her 
PhD in Folklore and Ethnomusicology, with a minor in African American 
and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University. Dr. Bennett chose 
to study jazz; her fieldwork and dissertation took her, not to the 
birthplace of jazz, but to where it was raised: Kansas City. She did 
her anthropological work in the 18th and Vine District, and it is 
beyond fitting that her career in museum curation led her back to our 
beloved Jazz District, starting as Deputy Director of AJM and leaving 
as Director.
  AJM is a cultural touchstone of Kansas City and a beacon of the Black 
community, history and legacy. As Dr. Bennett says, ``In African 
American music, music is part of everything from birth to the grave.'' 
The strength of jazz is in its variability, in riffs and chord changes 
that demand improvisation and invention. Its melodies can serve as an 
anthem of joy, a requiem of pain, and a force of creativity and 
evolution. AJM appreciates and preserves jazz as an art form, with all 
its whims and caprices. The museum showcases legendary musicians; 
Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, and countless others who have played a 
pivotal part in composing the symphony ofAmerican jazz. Beyond 
recounting the rich history of jazz in the United States, AJM carries 
the art form into the modern era by offering jazz instruction to middle 
and high school students and orchestrating The Blue Room, a jazz club 
that hosts professional artists and community jam sessions.
  These contributions could not come to fruition without an outstanding 
conductor ensuring all the pieces move together in harmony. That is 
where Dr. Dina Bennett has so spectacularly shined. As an employee of 
AJM for nearly five years and now its Director, Dr. Bennett, has 
orchestrated the success of many remarkable exhibits at the museum. To 
mark their 25th anniversary, the museum created a timeline of jazz that 
allowed visitors to engage and share their own memories and moments in 
history, creating a community record of jazz in Kansas City. Dr Bennett 
also worked on an exhibit that partnered with Disney to examine the 
significance of the movie Soul and incorporated an interactive piano 
for guests to play themselves. In these examples and many more, the 
skill and influence of Dr. Bennett resound. She has been instrumental 
in maintaining and refining our beloved American Jazz Museum that 
Kansas City enjoys today. Dr. Bennett has set AJM on a new course, one 
that will strum new engagement with jazz and its cultural wellspring, 
while supporting the never-ending transformation of the art form in 
Kansas City and beyond.
  The time, effort, and sacrifice that Dr. Bennett has invested in the 
museum will not be forgotten and her impact will continue to ring 
through AJM and our 18th and Vine District for many years to come. With 
a surplus of gratitude, we thank her and watch with anticipation as she 
continues to be a formative voice in the legacy of jazz and Black 
music.

                          ____________________