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Black Music Month Exhibit Opening Reception

Exhibition: Doo Wop in DC and Checkin' Out Mingering Mike

The MLK Library is excited to host a reception featuring ​Sounds of Harmony featuring Ron "Poozie" Miles of The Rainbows and The DC Legendary Musicians for our Black Music Month Exhibit Opening.

Produced in coordination with the opening of the DC Public Library Special Exhibitions for summer 2024, this event kicks off Black Music Month with performances and exhibits of local artists in celebration of D.C.’s musical heritage, with a spotlight on Doo Wop, Rhythm and Blues, and soul. The event celebrates two music-themed exhibits in the Great Hall: Doo Wop in D.C.: From the Street Corner to the Stage, curated by the African American Music Association, and Checkin’ Out Mingering Mike: Washington D.C.’s Imaginary Soul Superstar, curated by Hemphill Artworks and featuring hand-drawn album covers and lyrics born in the imagination of a self-taught teenaged daydreamer in Southeast D.C., whose artwork is now held at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.

The event will open with an acapella performance of 3 classic Doo Wop songs by Sounds of Harmony featuring Ron "Poozie" Miles of The Rainbows, introduced by the African American Music Association, followed by an R&B performance curated by the founder of DC Legendary Musicians, Sandra Butler Truesdale.

This event is made possible in part thanks to support from the DC Public Library Foundation.

We hope you can join us for this exciting exhibit opening and reception. Learn more about the exhibit and performers below. Register to reserve your spot!

Beverly Lindsay Johnson, African American Music Association

Curator of the Exhibit DC Doo Wop and the Executive Director of the African American Music Association in Washington, DC, Lindsay Johnson is an Emmy Award Winning television producer, with 16 years of television broadcast production, public affairs and documentary production. To preserve early Rhythm and Blues, Doo-wop and vocal group harmony, she arranges performances and public panel discussions for many of the artists who continue to perform today.  

The African American Music Association, Inc. (AAMA), a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) entity, was established in 1992 to preserve, protect, promote, and foster the continued development of African American music and the legacy of those who compose, record, and perform the music. The AAMA is organized exclusively for charitable, cultural, and educational purposes. Previous and ongoing activities include the Marvin Gaye Day Celebration in the District of Columbia, a youth music entrepreneurship program, a scholarship fund, and music-related workshops and networking events. The AAMA strives to offer programs that promote a better quality of life for persons pursuing performing arts as a career. The “total well-being” of the artist, through human and personal development, is paramount.

Rev. Dr. Sandra Butler Truesdale, DC Legendary Musicians

Rev. Dr. Sandra Butler-Truesdale, a native Washingtonian, is an ordained, licensed minister serving as Assistant Minister and Local Deacon at Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, DC. She is the Founder and Chair of the DC Legendary Musicians, Inc., a 501c3 service organization, and a former member of the Howard Theatre Board. Currently, she serves as chairperson of the Howard Theatre Community Committee. She is the programmer, writer, & producer of “Don’t Forget the Blues” on Wednesdays on WPFW Radio, 89.3 FM. 

Dr. Butler-Truesdale is a DC historian and Rhythm and Blues historian. She has worked for several musicians, including the late Ray Charles and James Brown. She continues to work to document the history of this great music and the musicians of the DMV. Dr. Butler-Truesdale is a co-author of the book Washington DC Jazz. 

AAMADC featured performer:

​Sounds of Harmony featuring Ron "Poozie" Miles of The Rainbows

The Sounds of Harmony, a DC-based group, was established in 2000 by its members Larry Jordan, James Faison, Jr., Mike Gilbert, Reamer Shedrick, and George Spann.  Each group member has sung with some of the most noted vocal groups in Doo-Wop and early R&B, making their sounds of harmony unique.  The Sounds of Harmony are also accomplished musicians in their own right. Their song list covers the golden age of Doo-Wop with such classics as I Only Have Eyes For You and Daddy’s Home. 

The Sounds of Harmony members have been friends for over 50 years, and all hail from Washington, DC.  Joining The Sounds of Harmony is Ron "Poozie" Miles, an original member of The Rainbows, a DC-based group formed in the 1950s.  Miles is the last remaining member of the original Rainbows.

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