Two Black Scholars Honored by Music Association

Founded in Chicago in 1919, the National Association of Negro Musicians Inc. is the country’s oldest organization dedicated to the preservation, encouragement, and advocacy of all genres of the music of African Americans. Recently the organization held its annual convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The association honored two African Americans with ties to the academic community:

• Booker T. Scruggs II served for 35 years as an administrator for the Upward Bound program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He now teaches sociology at the university. A gifted clarinetist, he has recorded two CDs.

• Ralph Simpson served as chair of the music department at Tennessee State University for 22 years. A graduate of Alabama State University, he was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in music from Michigan State University.

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