by guest contributor Janet Staihar
Photo credit: Tony Brown
In the spirit of politics, country singing legend Larry Gatlin said of one of the honorees at the America’s Promise Alliance Gala: “I am announcing tonight an exploratory committee for a presidential run for Wes Moore.” That was after Moore, who founded BridgeEdU and is an Army combat vet, gave a humble talk from the stage about how his mission is to help young people succeed and make the right choices in life. Gatlin then launched into song: “All The Gold in California is in the bank in Beverly Hills in someone else’s name” and later “Misty.”
Larry Gatlin
To give some history of how he wrote “All The Gold” Gatlin recalled how a high school teacher encouraged him to read and one of the books was, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, a story of Midwestern migrants in dilapidated cars and trucks headed to California to look for work. It was brought to mind, he said, as he was stuck in a traffic jam in Los Angeles. “I saw all the poor people going over the bridge and I pulled over to the side of the road…and wrote that song in 8 minutes.”
Before breaking into ‘Misty,” Gatlin recalled a show he played in Texas where Ella Fitzgerald—who put “Misty” on the musical map — was on before the Gatlin Brothers’ gig. “She stayed to watch our show,” and he said he’ll always remember her sticking around to listen to them.
Barbara Harrison
Right into the swing of things emcee Barbara Harrison, NBC4 TV anchor, gave a nod to the history of the venue where the gala was held: “I’m especially excited to be here at the Howard Theatre, which only recently reopened its doors after lying dormant for 30 years. Not only was this building the first major African American theatre in the country, but big names like Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, and the Supremes all got their start here.”
The gala drew 300 people to the awards ceremony organized by the Alliance, which was founded by retired Gen. Colin Powell and Mrs. Alma Powell who is the Alliance’s board chair.
The Wednesday night event raised nearly $1 million, a sum that one social expert, called “an unheard of amount” for an inaugural gala in D.C.
After Gatlin was introduced onstage, he looked up at the big event screen with the Alliance’s logo of a little red wagon, and marveled that coincidentally: “Under my desk in my office I have a little red wagon with a long black handle.”
Lamar Alexander, Alma Powell, General Colin Powell
Mrs. Powell, in her remarks, said: “The success of our country depends on the success of our youth. Our honorees are paving the way for many of our young people to thrive in school and in life. Tonight, we recognize their efforts, the progress we’ve made as a country, and the work that remains, so that every child has the opportunity and support to reach their full potential and pursue their American dream.”
Honorees were: Randall Stephenson, AT&T president & CEO; The Honorable Lamar Alexander, U.S. Senator (TN); Wes Moore, author and founder of BridgeEdU; Beatrice Welters, co-founder of AnBryce Foundation; Anthony Welters, co-founder of AnBryce Foundation
