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Honoring and recognizing Wynne Alexander for her impressive career as a journalist, author, composer, civil rights activist, and international recording artist, and commending her on the accomplishment of her ground-breaking new book, Get It From The Drums.
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WHEREAS, At just under nineteen, Wynne Alexander joined the prestigious news staff at radio station, WDAS AM-FM in Philadelphia, where she covered hard-hitting news including interviews and stories on Coretta Scott King, Muhammad Ali, Rosa Parks, Ambassador Andrew Young and B.B. King, to name just a few; and
WHEREAS, Wynne is the author of the first and only music-infused civil rights curriculum in the United States, contained in her ground-breaking new book, Get It From The Drums; and
WHEREAS, That important work was originally commissioned by Dr. Dennis Creedon, Director of Creative and Performing Arts for the School District of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Get It From The Drums focuses on the history of the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s and 1970s and the music that was a profound part of those movements; and
WHEREAS, A total of seventeen legendary music stars, including John Lennon, Marvin Gaye, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Pete Seeger and Kenny Gamble donated the rights to their music and lyrics on behalf of history and learning in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, During her career, Wynne was active in the community, volunteering her time to young people and providing refuge and guidance to runaways and their distressed parents; and
WHEREAS, In the words of Message-Music's founding father, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member, Grammy-winner Kenny Gamble, Wynne's impressive work established her as a voice for social justice--and at a very young age,; and
WHEREAS, She is writer/producer of WDASHistory.org chronicling the enormous social impact of this cultural institution and the revolutionary milestones it set in Civil Rights, Broadcasting and Music History, the website preserves the historic record, making it available throughout the world; and
WHEREAS, Wynne developed her fighting spirit and abilities watching and continuing the Civil Rights work of her father and grandfather, continuing their cultural legacy; and
WHEREAS, She became WDAS' Station Historian, including producing two documentaries and being interviewed by national media on the station's fifty years of civil rights and music history; and
WHEREAS, Wynne conducted an investigation for Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, [Georgia, 4th District] into the manufacture, selling and U.S. government purchases of the clinically faulty Tamiflu by then sitting Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, whose company owns and marketed the drug in the first place; and
WHEREAS, Her professional experience includes working for Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice, Robert N.C. Nix, Jr., as information officer and speech writer and Pennsylvania State Representative Reverend Louise Williams-Bishop, as a speech writer; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Alexander's creative talents include work as a composer and international recording artist whose music has been critically acclaimed from Philadelphia to Paris, France; and
WHEREAS, Her music CDs are in Cote d'Ivoire, Australia, Russia, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, France, Canada and Greece; and
WHEREAS, Whenever Wynne and drummer, fellow Philadelphian Robert Lee are on stage, they send an immediate signal of cultural embrace, artistic excellence and unity; and
WHEREAS, They are following the tradition set forth by the great Louis Armstrong, serving as musical ambassadors, bridging cultural differences and bringing people together; now therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the City Council of Philadelphia honors and recognizes Wynne Alexander for her impressive career as a composer, journalist, author, civil rights activist, and international recording artist, and commends her on the accomplishment of her ground-breaking book, Get It From The Drums; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Wynne Alexander as a sincere expression of City Council's recognition and appreciation.
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