6 Artists: Civil Rights Roundtable
THE QUESTION of what qualifications do artists and entertainers have to use their high visibility to comment on worldly affairs has been long debated. However that is the very essence of what defines an artist isn't it? An artist might be an entertainer, but an entertainer is not an artist. More and more, serious issues are given more attention and gravity when an entertainer postures on issues of social importance. An artist has an responsibility to express him- or herself with sincerity and truth. Though artists are given to idiosyncrasies, to be an artist is an honor and a responsibility. When one speaks, it should be with done with a degree of forethought and eloquence. August 28th, 1963, the date of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , six noteworthy artists met in a studio immediately after attending the march and witnessing "I Have A Dream" speech of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's (SCLC) leader, Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. :...