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https://www.change.org/p/unt-jazz-program-rename-kenton-hall-at-unt?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_22926594_en-US%3A1&recruiter=1121149850&recruited_by_id=22c3d860-b1a2-11ea-bad7-6574c66e65d5&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&fbclid=IwAR1dtL47sxGqSP3JzMSv7b6AAusoRFNMofsAExtokn7rp0AQ44GSBU0Gl6A I know at least one of our regulars went to UNT, but all are welcome to comment. It's not unconnected to events in the wider world, but let's try to keep this as non-political as it reasonably can be. A comment from a friend of a friend: Colin Avery Hinton Yesterday at 10:22 AM This post is difficult for me to write as I risk alienating myself from my alma mater and a few of my mentors, but after several days of thinking about it I believe it needs to be written. This is a long read. CW - rape, racism Kenton Hall at University of North Texas needs to be renamed. Kenton's MULTIPLE racist comments in published magazines over the course of a decade are NOT okay. On top of that, an entire book has been written by his daughter wherein she alleges Stan repeatedly raped her from ages 11-13. The arguments I see against this seem to come from a few places - 1) But he did a lot of great things for jazz education! 2) I worked in Kenton's band for X number of years and I never heard him say/do anything racist. 3) These youngsters just don't know the history of the music or Kenton's legacy! or 4) This is a "hit job" that is surfacing because of liberal politics and what one person referred to on Jay Saunder's post as "the church of woke" and then complained about tearing down statues of Christopher Columbus, and 5) Making light of rape allegations. I'll address all of these. First, a bit of info about myself since I've been receiving a multitude of friends requests from staff/faculty/students at North Texas that I don't personally know. I am a drummer/composer/percussionist/educator in Brooklyn, NY. I attended UNT from 2006-2011. I never played in the One O' clock, but sat in the Two or Three for three years (the running joke was that I was the Three O' Clock "house drummer"). I make a living playing and teaching Black American Music and have been very fortunate to play regularly with many of my idols since relocating to Brooklyn in 2011. When I started at UNT in 2006, there was only one black professor. He taught the trombone studio and was also split between his responsibility teaching in the classical section of the school. I maybe had one interaction with him in my five years of attendance. In 2008, UNT hired Brad Leali, who I worked, talked, and hung out with extensively. While I was at North Texas, I would say there were less than 15 black jazz students at the school when I was attending. I've thought about this a lot and I honestly struggle to remember even 10, but I'm going to give the program the benefit of the doubt since I didn't know everyone. I also remember less than 15 women jazz instrumentalists in the school while I was attending. These numbers matter because UNT is a HUGE music program. The jazz program had nine big bands (seven of them had two rhythm sections), and a tenth sometimes-big band that did repertoire, three guitar ensembles, three vocal ensembles, a fusion ensemble, a latin-jazz band, multiple brazilian/afro-cuban ensembles, and a south-indian ensemble, and there was still a huge portion of the school that wasn't able to audition into ensembles. That puts BIPOC and women representation at well under 5% of the student body... UNT was an overwhelmingly white male music school. I've also seen the argument pop up where someone has said "many people of color attended North Texas! We're very inclusive and diverse!" For every time I see that comment appearing in the future I will post a random picture of an all white all male One O' Clock lab band from a different year. This will not be difficult to find. Why does that matter for this argument? In promoting a school as being inclusive and diverse (and trying to get more BIPOC and women involved), this stuff matters. If I'm a high school aged BIPOC/woman musician that is looking for a good and affordable music school to attend for college, and say I'm looking at two options - UNT, and for this example let's say University of Michigan, this is what I would see... UNT promotes the legacy of Stan Kenton, someone who openly published racist comments in major publications and has a rape allegation hanging over him... and UofM, who had Geri Allen as a main professor for years... It's not a hard choice. 1) Kenton did a lot of great things for jazz education. Yes. This is undeniable. He helped build the program at North Texas and make it the school it is today. He also used his band to recruit people straight from the One O' Clock to give them work straight after college. He was one of the first people (if not the first) to begin the summer jazz workshops that are now so prevalent across the country. He left his entire library of charts to UNT - great! I played tons of them. There is no question that Kenton was invested in music education, but like all of us (especially white people who play Black American Music), Kenton had blind spots. These are glaring and huge if you look at his letters to publications, especially when he accuses a new trend of "white people being a minority" in Black American Music. The irony... 2) Utmost respect for those of you who worked in Kenton's band. That is great that you had that opportunity. However, if you take these comments directed at Kenton as a direct attack on yourself... ask yourself, "Why"? Finding out that your idols did some really shitty things SUCKS. Trust me - I've found out more than I care to think about. Also, as a mentor and friend of mine that worked with Kenton pointed out, just because YOU (a white person) never experienced Kenton being racist/saying racist things, does not mean it did not happen. Also important to note - white people can (and often) do racist things. This does not inherently make you a racist. The dichotomy of "if someone does or says something racist, they are racist, and racists are bad" is wrong. White people are all inherently racist as we benefit from a power system meant to benefit us (and marginalize everyone else), so that argument is out the window. White people often do stupid racist shit without realizing how bad it is (I have been guilty of this and still am). While that does not mean that X person is a racist to the likes of a nazi, klan member, etc, it is still something that needs to be addressed, as it is hugely harmful to the BIPOC community. 3) Regarding the history of the music and Kenton's influence on UNT... I am in my 30's and am someone who is known as having an extensive record collection and somewhat of an encyclopedic knowledge of records. I know the history of the music and of Kenton's legacy. I'm angry... so I'll be blunt. If you come at me with this "you're young and don't know anything" bullshit regarding the history of the music or the legacy of certain people, I WILL respond. And I will be very fucking pointed. For every question like this I receive, I will respond with something like "Name one member of the AACM", "Name one member of BAG", "Tell me what either of those acronyms, stand for"... or we could even go simpler and just say "name one member of the Cecil Taylor's Unit Structure band and tell me why it's important". I have very little tolerance for this kind of attitude and will respond accordingly. 4) Regarding this being a "hit job" or angry "woke people". Times are changing and people have less tolerance for ignorance. Yes, the arts are full of problematic people. There are ways we can still celebrate their contributions without holding them on a pedestal or making them a central figure of an institution that claims to uphold "diversity and inclusion". Kenton's legacy will live on without having the main classroom named after him. 5) Jay Saunder's blasé response to Stan Kenton's daughter's allegation of sexual abuse and rape against her are alarming and upsetting for so many reasons. I don't really know what to say about that one other than this.... do better. Your past students deserve it. The legacy of the school deserves it. Every woman you EVER taught deserves it. Thank you for reading all of this. Long story short - UNT... you can do better. I respect this school immensely and my five years spent there made me into the musician I am today. If you take these comments about Stan and his legacy personally... ask yourself why? This is about the future of education and of the school... and quite frankly this shit doesn't fit into that equation anymore. Times are changing. Enough is enough. Happy Juneteenth. Black Lives Matter. Defund the Police.