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other of a top popular song of the day.

Washington was also the captiol [[capitol]] of Black religion and the Reverend Elder Lightfoot Mischaux broadcasted from his radio church of God pulpit. Hid broadcasts were heard all up and down the Eastern Sea Board.

Elder Mischeaux was the brother of Louis Mischaux, of the Harlem Book of Knowledge bookstore on Seventh Avenue at 125th Street. His bookstore wa [[was]] headquarters for Negro scholars and historians who gathered their facts from the numerous volumes of books on Negro history--he stored them.

In fact, I met Malcolm X in the rear of the store there studying from the Koran Louis had there.

Washington of the early forties had alvin [[Alvin]] 'Chick' Webb working in one of the departments there. Webb was a Negro newspaper Columnist who had a penchant for producing fashion shows and beauty contests among the government ladies at Sparrow beach in Maryland.

It was a town where Walter White could never get a direct audience with Franklin Roosevelt. Walter uses Roosevelt's colored Butler to send messages to Franklin Delano Roosevelt while serving his breakfast. The butler has hastily removed from his post by Harry Hopkin, one of Roosevelt white advisors who did not like the butler's actions.

Washington 1940 was the town where Negro theatre aside from Howard University was dominated by Ralph Matthews, the theatrical Editor of the Afro American newspaper. Ralph fought the Howard University players to a standstill and this was a feat. It was a town where Beanie Butcher and Ann Cook taught theatre and presenting the arts on campus at Howard University. One of their prize students was Ed Hall of Connecticut who won a philip Morris College players contest and was brought to New York to be presented in the play "Outward Bound" which co-starred Boris Barkloff, the hollywood actor.

It was the town where Goldie Ahern, a short fast talking cigar smoking propmoter well connected in Philadelphia and New York promoted prized fights at a place called Turners Arena.

Mr. Ahern, who befriended me, also promoted "Negro Shows" between fight dates at his arena and fought the TOBA circuit for his attrations [[attractions]]. I met a young man named Nat King Cole who had just recorded the songs "Route 66" and "Straighten Up and Fly Right" at Turners arena. Nat and I hit it off right away because he, too, was just beginning his career. We kept in touch with one another from that day of our first meeting until Nat's death. I always felt that Nat and Ezzard Charles, the heavy weight champion of the world, were two young men who were in the wrong professions because they were gentlemen. 

And it was a town where a small sized free distributed newspaper called the "Gaily News," kept tabs on what the government girls and Washington Society were doing. The Gaily News distributed from an office in the Lincoln Theatre building lasted for quite a number of years.

Washington during the war years was the place where Lloyd Von Blaine, who fought C.C. Coley for prominence in the restaurant business, created a spot called the Bengasi for the elites.

The foyer of the Bengasi had a waterfall in it and patrons were encouraged to throw coins in the waterfall. I never found out what happened to those coins or who removed them from the foundtain.

Washington was during the early forties, the town where Ms.Berthune fought for Negro education and her national youth administration program which helped a lot of us get through school; starting with me. And including doctos [[doctors]] Wiley Martin, Matthew Carter and Furto Holt who attended Howard Medical School, Oscar Catlin from Birmingham who went back home to become a legendary basketball genius at Tuskegee and later Alabama at Birmingham. 

It was the place where Ruth Rehmond from Spelman College married 'Sweetpea' Hall from Florida and were the first Black couple to buy a home of a former Congressman from Ruth home in Rock Creek Park.

It was the town where Percy Ifill (the Architect who with his parters [[partners]] Johnson and Handshard designed the State Office Building in New York) worked for Hilyard Robinson, one for the top architect of the day. 

Washington ws [[was]] the town under Roosevelt where Harold Jackson was the top Black radio announcer at WOK, WOS7, AND WOE.

Harold later moved on to report performances on a larger scale in New York and presently is Vice President of Inner City Broadcasting.

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[[caption]] William Barry--Present Mayor [[/caption]]

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