The scant coverage by The American regarding the National Blues Museum continues, especially in the face of the recent “resignation” of Jeffery Hardin as the executive director. Although Bernie Hayes is a solid choice as interim director, I found it odd how the vitriol and controversy between Hardin and virtually everyone associated with the museum (including local blues star Marquis Knox) received zero attention on your pages.
Given the historic divide between church folks and blues music/blues culture, the choice of Mr. Hardin (someone with no background in blues, but who claimed blues music came entirely out of the church and was a music of “depression,” while displaying the personality of a disapproving stiff-necked deacon on Sunday) was an outright misfire last spring on the part of the museum’s board. Mr. Hardin even alienated the BBQ joint next door (hint: if whoever is in charge of a blues museum cut ties to the popular next-door BBQ place, that might be an indication of a bad fit).
I find odd The American‘s non-coverage of this situation – not even one paragraph in your Party Line column. This was a scoop covered in the Post-Dispatch, yet not in the city’s black weekly publication. Why was that?
Tom Ray
St. Louis
