{"id":88005,"date":"2025-02-14T16:14:29","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T16:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/american-history\/the-melody-fair-1958\/"},"modified":"2025-02-14T16:14:29","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T16:14:29","slug":"the-melody-fair-1958","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=88005","title":{"rendered":"The Melody Fair 1958"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, the NAACP, the &#8220;Little Rock Nine,&#8221; and a Poughkeepsie concert that pulled them all together; November 1, 1958.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>By Bill Kleppel<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Throughout my life, as an unapologetic history nerd, I\u2019ve been catching up with histories that seem to have relevance to what\u2019s transpiring today. It helps me make more sense of the world I\u2019m living in.<\/p>\n<p>History is a tool. It\u2019s a key to unlock the present. Yet, as I get older, I get the creeping sensation that I\u2019m not \u201ccatching up\u201d with history at all. History is catching up with me.<\/p>\n<p>Has history always been this cyclical? Do we learn anything from our past collective experiences? \u00a0Or are we resigned to the same fate as others that have lived in similar situations in the past? The outcomes from history repeating itself aren\u2019t very pretty.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, you can always unearth stories and events, no matter how small or inconsequential, which give glimmers of hope for our future. One small case in point happened here, at the Poughkeepsie High School Auditorium, on the night of November 1, 1958.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Melody Fair<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Eleanor Roosevelt, the Dutchess County Branch of the NAACP, and other local officials, decided to organize a concert to bring awareness to an active national campaign for the desegregation of public schools. All money earned from this benefit went directly to the NAACP\u2019s efforts for this cause.<\/p>\n<p>The Melody Fair concert would showcase a variety of musical genres from symphonic, to jazz, to rock \u2019n\u2019 roll. The professional and amateur talent included violinist Alice Smiley, pianist Helen Brainard, The Vassar Performing Dance Group, Lenny Kahn and his Orchestra, The IBM Male Chorus, the Bel-Aires, Clint McClain and The Rhythm- Aires, and many more.<\/p>\n<p>Eleanor Roosevelt, a board member of the NAACP since 1945, asked Jackie Robinson to be the show\u2019s Master of Ceremonies. Robinson had recently retired as the second baseman of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He\u2019ll forever be remembered as the first player to break Major League Baseball\u2019s color barrier in 1947. Robinson was a vital figure in the Civil Rights Movement, and became much more pro-active after his retirement.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\u201cJackie Robinson made my success possible. Without him, I would never have been able to do what I did.\u201d -Martin Luther King Jr.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37426\" style=\"width: 939px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37426\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-37426\" src=\"https:\/\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alice-M.-Smiley-Violinist-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Violinist Alice M. Smiley\" width=\"929\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27929%27%20height%3D%271200%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20929%201200%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27929%27%20height%3D%271200%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alice-M.-Smiley-Violinist-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C258&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alice-M.-Smiley-Violinist-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C517&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alice-M.-Smiley-Violinist-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C775&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alice-M.-Smiley-Violinist-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C992&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alice-M.-Smiley-Violinist-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C1034&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alice-M.-Smiley-Violinist-scaled.jpg?fit=929%2C1200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 929w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alice-M.-Smiley-Violinist-scaled.jpg?resize=1189%2C1536&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1189w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alice-M.-Smiley-Violinist-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C1551&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alice-M.-Smiley-Violinist-scaled.jpg?resize=1585%2C2048&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1585w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37426\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Violinist Alice M. Smiley (<em>Poughkeepsie Journal<\/em> Photo Archive)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_37428\" style=\"width: 506px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37428\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-37428\" src=\"https:\/\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/rocknroll-1950s.png\" alt=\"rock \u2019n\u2019 roll circa 1950\u2019s\" width=\"496\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27496%27%20height%3D%27532%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20496%20532%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27496%27%20height%3D%27532%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/rocknroll-1950s.png?resize=200%2C215&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/rocknroll-1950s.png?resize=400%2C429&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/rocknroll-1950s.png?fit=496%2C532&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 496w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 496px) 100vw, 496px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37428\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">rock \u2019n\u2019 roll circa 1950\u2019s<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>This night of music, dance, and revelry was being replicated in various ways throughout the nation. It was just another expression of non-violent activism that could bring people of every race, color, and religion together for positive causes.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, the pushback against this campaign, from large swaths of the South and the North, was swift, incredibly violent, and seething with racism and rage.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>The Little Rock Nine<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The idea for the Melody Fair concert was fueled by incidents stemming from the attempt to desegregate the schools of Little Rock, Arkansas. The \u201cLittle Rock Nine\u201d were the brave students who were registered to enter the city\u2019s Central High School in early September 1957.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37430\" style=\"width: 668px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37430\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-37430\" src=\"https:\/\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine.png\" alt=\"Little Rock Nine Students, 1957\" width=\"658\" height=\"358\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27658%27%20height%3D%27358%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20658%20358%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27658%27%20height%3D%27358%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine.png?resize=200%2C109&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine.png?resize=400%2C218&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine.png?resize=600%2C326&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine.png?fit=658%2C358&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 658w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 658px) 100vw, 658px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37430\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Little Rock Nine Students, 1957<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>A swirling chaos on whether or not these kids could attend school played out between the Governor of Arkansas and the federal government, The National Guard and the state police, and the growing mass of protestors who wanted desperately to keep these African-American students from \u201cmixing\u201d with white students.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37432\" style=\"width: 686px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37432\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-37432\" src=\"https:\/\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine-Protests-at-State-Capital-1957.jpg\" alt=\"Segregationists Protesting at the State Capital; Little Rock, Arkansas, 1957\" width=\"676\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27676%27%20height%3D%27449%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20676%20449%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27676%27%20height%3D%27449%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine-Protests-at-State-Capital-1957.jpg?resize=200%2C133&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine-Protests-at-State-Capital-1957.jpg?resize=400%2C266&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine-Protests-at-State-Capital-1957.jpg?resize=600%2C399&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine-Protests-at-State-Capital-1957.jpg?fit=676%2C449&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 676w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37432\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Segregationists Protesting at the State Capital; Little Rock, Arkansas, 1957<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_37434\" style=\"width: 552px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37434\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-37434\" src=\"https:\/\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine-protesting-and-jeering-at-high-school.png\" alt=\"Elizabeth Eckford enduring racial slurs and being spit on while walking to Central High School; Little Rock, Arkansas, 1957\" width=\"542\" height=\"577\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27542%27%20height%3D%27577%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20542%20577%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27542%27%20height%3D%27577%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine-protesting-and-jeering-at-high-school.png?resize=200%2C213&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine-protesting-and-jeering-at-high-school.png?resize=400%2C426&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Little-Rock-Nine-protesting-and-jeering-at-high-school.png?fit=542%2C577&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 542w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 542px) 100vw, 542px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37434\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elizabeth Eckford enduring racial slurs and being spit on while walking to Central High School; Little Rock, Arkansas, 1957<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>On September 23, 1957, the students were finally let into the school by a side door. Over 1,000 white people rioted out front, and eventually the nine children had to be removed from the building. A few days later, after Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus dismissed the National Guard, President Eisenhower sent the US 101<sup>st<\/sup> Airborne Division to help escort the students back into the school.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37436\" style=\"width: 804px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37436\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-37436\" src=\"https:\/\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Arkansas-State-Press_-27-Sep-1957.png\" alt=\"Arkansas State Press (Little Rock, AR), September 27, 1957\" width=\"794\" height=\"550\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27794%27%20height%3D%27550%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20794%20550%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27794%27%20height%3D%27550%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Arkansas-State-Press_-27-Sep-1957.png?resize=200%2C139&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Arkansas-State-Press_-27-Sep-1957.png?resize=400%2C277&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Arkansas-State-Press_-27-Sep-1957.png?resize=600%2C416&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Arkansas-State-Press_-27-Sep-1957.png?resize=768%2C532&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Arkansas-State-Press_-27-Sep-1957.png?fit=794%2C550&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 794w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 794px) 100vw, 794px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37436\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Arkansas State Press<\/em> (Little Rock, AR), September 27, 1957<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The violence continued into the next year. Riots and bomb threats came from outside of the school, while physical and verbal abuse from students came from within. After the school year ended, a federal judge ruled in favor of a delay in the integration of Arkansas schools until 1961.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Success of the Melody Fair<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The lead up to the concert was greeted quickly and enthusiastically by supporters and the public at large. In a <em>Poughkeepsie Journal<\/em> op-ed from September 16, 1958, Mrs. W.G. Bouricious wrote:<\/p>\n<blockquote id=\"quote\" cite=\"#\">\n<p><strong>\u201cIndividuals supporting a project like this can know that they will be doing far more than giving aid to individuals who are suffering from discrimination practices<\/strong>\u2026, and that people are \u2026<strong>demonstrating that they themselves wish to live in a non-segregated society.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>She also added that the concert is a good opportunity:<\/p>\n<blockquote id=\"quote\" cite=\"#\">\n<p><strong>\u201c\u2026for individual citizens to demonstrate just how free from prejudice they really are.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In an October 28<sup>th \u00a0<\/sup>op-ed, the Dutchess County NAACP President, Jennie Reed, wrote:<\/p>\n<blockquote id=\"quote\" cite=\"#\">\n<p><strong>\u201cIt has been amazing that a group of citizens could become an organization overnight and accomplish so much.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>She thought the immediate reception of endorsements for the project was:<\/p>\n<blockquote id=\"quote\" cite=\"#\">\n<p><strong>\u201c\u2026simply miraculous.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In her \u201cMy Day\u201d column, Eleanor Roosevelt urged a large turnout. She had hoped for at least 800 to attend. Eleanor was impressed that residents of\u00a0 Dutchess County:<\/p>\n<blockquote id=\"quote\" cite=\"#\">\n<p><strong>\u201c\u2026felt strongly enough about the Little Rock situation to want to show that an interracial group could come together in this state and enjoy working in behalf of a serious purpose like this one.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A crowd of 1,500 turned out to attend the show. People were standing in the aisles and spilling into the outside corridors of the auditorium. So many Poughkeepsie citizens were involved in this program. Even the local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts volunteered to be ushers. The act that stood out to many was the saxophone playing of Clint McClain. Jackie Robinson later proclaimed that Clint, \u201cbrought down the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The benefit received $3,500.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Little Rock Nine in 2017<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A 60<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary celebration for the Little Rock Nine was held in Denver, Colorado, in 2017. The mayor of Denver at the time, Michael B. Hancock, wrote this:<\/p>\n<blockquote id=\"quote\" cite=\"#\">\n<p><strong>\u201cThe emotional weekend was a reminder of how incredibly important it is that our youth remain connected to our history. Whether it\u2019s our fight for independence, the Holocaust, the Little Rock Nine, slavery or the Sand Creek Massacre, our young people need to understand that someone fought hard, often paying the ultimate price for rights that they would never fully enjoy themselves, so that we may enjoy them freely today. These moments should educate, inform, and inspire our youth, so that they avoid repeating the mistakes of previous generations.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_37438\" style=\"width: 594px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37438\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-37438\" src=\"https:\/\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/The-reminaing-Little-Rock-Nine-Students-60-years-Later-2017.png\" alt=\"The remaining Little Rock Nine Students, 60 years Later - 2017\" width=\"584\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27584%27%20height%3D%27398%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20584%20398%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27584%27%20height%3D%27398%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/The-reminaing-Little-Rock-Nine-Students-60-years-Later-2017.png?resize=200%2C136&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/The-reminaing-Little-Rock-Nine-Students-60-years-Later-2017.png?resize=400%2C273&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/The-reminaing-Little-Rock-Nine-Students-60-years-Later-2017.png?fit=584%2C398&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1 584w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37438\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The remaining Little Rock Nine Students, 60 years Later &#8211; 2017<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>After learning more about the Little Rock Nine, and the events of one Saturday night in Poughkeepsie in 1958, I\u2019ll ask you this: Have we all become so cynical? Have the lessons we\u2019ve learned from such heroic acts and community activism devolved to have such little value? Have we forgotten to understand that events like these transformed our society, and have given all of us the opportunities we have today?<\/p>\n<p>All of us.<\/p>\n<p>Our family, friends, home, and the town or city we live in, are all extremely important and should be cherished.<\/p>\n<p>But this alone is not all of us. It doesn\u2019t define our entire country. We must work together in order for all of us to exist and prosper. Our democracy depends on it.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37440\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37440\" class=\"lazyload size-full wp-image-37440\" src=\"https:\/\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jackie-Robinson-Rotunda-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"The Jackie Robinson Rotunda; Citi Field, Flushing, Queens, NY (taken by author)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271200%27%20height%3D%27506%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201200%20506%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271200%27%20height%3D%27506%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jackie-Robinson-Rotunda-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C84&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jackie-Robinson-Rotunda-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C169&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jackie-Robinson-Rotunda-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C253&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jackie-Robinson-Rotunda-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C324&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jackie-Robinson-Rotunda-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C337&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jackie-Robinson-Rotunda-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C506&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/poklib.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jackie-Robinson-Rotunda-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C648&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1536w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37440\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Jackie Robinson Rotunda; Citi Field, Flushing, Queens, NY (taken by author)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>\u201cA Life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives\u201d \u2013 Jackie Robinson<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, the NAACP, the &#8220;Little Rock Nine,&#8221; and a Poughkeepsie concert that pulled them all together; November 1, 1958. By Bill Kleppel Throughout my life, as an unapologetic history nerd, I\u2019ve been catching up with histories that seem to have relevance to what\u2019s transpiring today. It helps me make more sense of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12032],"tags":[4365,8761],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-88005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-history","tag-fair","tag-melody"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Melody Fair 1958 - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=88005\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Melody Fair 1958 - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, the NAACP, the &#8220;Little Rock Nine,&#8221; and a Poughkeepsie concert that pulled them all together; November 1, 1958. 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