A reader writes:
I wanted to add, music is one of this country's greatest exports; American music is the most popular music around the world. And the types of music that are so well loved around the world are African-American origin: jazz, blues, rock, hip-hop, soul, ragtime, on and on. And beyond American forms, probably the other most popular musical sources are latin: Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica, etc. Again, all black African originated and influenced. And of course lots of good African music. Our popular culture is profoundly black, and so well loved by us and the rest of the world that nobody can get enough of it.
As a white jazz player I am profoundly respectful of the great cultural gifts we have all inherited.
The Dish 