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It was my great honor recently to participate in a dinner held on the stage of the historic Apollo Theatre. We were there to express our appreciation to a group of individuals who had stuck with the Theatre during the hardest of times, and welcomed others who are joining us for a new beginning at Harlem’s greatest landmark.
Percy Sutton was given a special tribute. At considerable personal sacrifice, Sutton had reopened the abandoned Theatre in the 1980’s. Without his vision and commitment, the Apollo Theatre would not exist today. We recognized and thanked the faithful members of the original Board of Directors. We then honored Richard Parsons, the President of Time Warner, and my friend of 25 years, whose commitment to a partnership with the Apollo was made even while the Theatre’s board was under political attack by the former Attorney General of New York.
And of course, there was applause for Ossie Davis, who for us has been a greater real life hero than any he has played in the movies. I had served with him on the Board of the Foundation when I was the chair. On this night, I passed him the gavel, symbolizing his leadership as the new Chairman of the Board.
The new members of his Board of Directors are:
Val Assoli, Co-Chairman of a successful record company, The Atlantic Group; Nicole Bernard, Counsel to Davis, Shapiro & Lewis; Keith Clinksdale, former Editor of VIBE Magazine; Howard Dodson, Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Toni Faye, Vice President of Time Warner; Quincy Jones of Quincy Jones Productions, Inc; Byron Lewis, CEO of UniWorld Group; Jonelle Procope, Counsel to Blackground Entertainment, Inc; Beverly Sills, Chair of the Board of the Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts; Bill Stephany, President of StepSun Music Entertainment; Keith Walton, Secretary to the Board of Trustees of Columbia University; George Wein of Festival Productions, Inc; and George Weissman, former chairman of the Philip Morris Companies, Inc.
They join original Board members: George Dalley, Partner, Holland & Knight; George Goody, Vice President, Coca-Cola Co; Richard Greene, President & CEO (Ret.), Carver Federal Savings; Arthur Hill, Vice President (Ret.), United Parcel Service; Rev. William James, Executive Director, Urban Institute for Life Environment/Riverside Center; Mariane Spraggins, Managing Director, Smith Barney; and Lloyd Williams, President, Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce.
I am very pleased about the new relationship between the Apollo Theatre Foundation and Time Warner. It will provide new expertise and resources for revitalization of the theatre and security for its future.
The new arrangement coincides with the ending of the action which was brought by former Attorney General Vacco against me and my fellow members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
The Board has been fully vindicated. After a complete investigation, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has concluded that the chairman and the Board have acted in good faith and fullfilled its responsibilities to the Foundation, the Theatre and the community. With this conclusion, he rejected allegations by former Attorney General Vacco that there had been a “sweetheart” deal between the Board and Percy Sutton and that the Foundation was due $4 million from the producer, a groundless allegation spread far and wide by the Daily News.
The relentless efforts of political adversaries and the editorial board of the New York Daily News to impugn my integrity and the reputations of my colleagues on the Board have failed.
The new relationship with Time Warner is the culmination of years of discussion with Gerry Levin, chairman of Time Warner, and Richard Parsons, whom I had earlier persuaded to chair our Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone. Resources, which had been frozen by the Attorney General’s suit, will now become available through the Empowerment Zone from the city, state and Federal governments. New monies will certainly flow from innovative programming and other anticipated uses of the great neame and fame of the Apollo Theatre. Under a new contract with Percy Sutton to produce “Showtime” additional resources will be made available to the Theatre over the next three years.
There are no “Time Warner-appointed” or “community-appointed” members of the Board of Directors. Because of their love of the Theatre and desire to see it succeed, every member has made the same commitment: to give of their time and energy to the Apollo without compensation.
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