Issue #1,044 Today In Black History, Monday, June 29, 2026
June is Black Music Appreciation Month. Black Music Month was initiated in 1979 by Philadelphia songwriter Kenny Gamble, pioneering radio DJ Ed Wright, and media strategist Dyana Williams. These three music icons successfully campaigned the idea to President Jimmy Carter, who held the first White House reception celebrating Black music on June 7, 1979.
This month in Today In Black History, we will highlight a few of the famous and lesser-known Black musicians.
Today, we publish the last of the 2026 Black Music Appreciation Month posts.
There’s a place on Livernois Avenue on Detroit’s west side where the music never really stops. Even when the doors are closed, the echoes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Ella Fitzgerald seem to linger in the walls — seasoned into the wood like decades of good smoke and better nights. That place is Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, located at 20510 Livernois Avenue on the “Avenue of Fashion,” and its story is as rich, layered, and enduring as the jazz it has championed since 1934.
Where It All Began
The story starts, humbly enough, with a sandwich. In 1933, Chris and Fannie Baker opened a small lunchtime restaurant on Detroit’s northwest side. Modest. Practical. Delicious, no doubt. But it was their son Clarence who heard something more in that little room — a frequency waiting to be tuned. In 1934, he began booking jazz pianists, and just like that, a legend was born.
Clarence had a gift beyond booking talent. He had presence. Working the house personally each night, he cultivated an atmosphere so warm and inviting that the world’s greatest musicians wanted to perform there. By the 1950s, Baker’s had become a magnet for jazz royalty. Art Tatum played those keys. Dave Brubeck swung through. Louis Armstrong blew the roof off. Nat King Cole, Oscar Peterson, Wes Montgomery, Chet Baker, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller — the list reads like a who’s who of the American musical canon.
A Global Jazz Landmark
It’s no small thing to call yourself the oldest continuously operating jazz club in the world. But that’s precisely what Baker’s Keyboard Lounge is — a distinction officially recognized by the International Association of Jazz Educators. In a music scene that has seen clubs come and go across New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and beyond, Baker’s has quietly, stubbornly, beautifully kept its doors open through it all.
A few years ago, Baker’s was actually featured on the TV game show “Jeopardy.”
Answer: What is the world’s oldest continually operating jazz club?
Question: Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit!
The club’s intimate “listening room” format — the kind of space where you can see the pianist’s hands and feel the bass in your chest — was the crucible in which jazz evolved from the 1930s through the 1960s. Baker’s didn’t just witness that evolution. It was part of it.
Detroit recognized this, too. The club was designated a Michigan Historic Site in 1986, and in 2016, the city named it a protected historic landmark. The famous piano-key-shaped bar, an icon in its own right, has served drinks to music lovers for nearly a century.
New Hands on the Keys
In 2011, Eric and Jacqueline Vaughn Whitaker (affectionately known as “Jackie Vaughn”) and Hugh William Smith became co-owners of Baker’s. They understood what they were inheriting — not just a business, but a sacred cultural institution — and have worked to honor that trust while carefully breathing new life into the space.
This past spring, Baker’s temporarily closed its doors for a focused renovation. The result? Nearly $100,000 in upgrades that refreshed the venue from the inside out without touching its soul. A brand-new outdoor patio invites guests to enjoy Detroit evenings under open skies. The bar area got a fresh facelift. New lighting gives the intimate room a warm, updated glow. And the furniture — comfortable, inviting, and fitting for a room this storied — got a welcome upgrade.
The menu evolved, offering an elevated culinary experience that now includes vegan, vegetarian, and healthier fare alongside the classic offerings. Same great spirit, broader welcome.
Keith and I were honored to attend the Media Preview the day before the official reopening weekend. It was glorious and awe-inspiring.
The Music Goes On
When Baker’s reopened after renovations, it didn’t just open its doors — it opened a chapter. The jazz is still live. The piano bar still gleams. The ghosts of the greats are still in the room.
Baker’s Keyboard Lounge has survived nine decades by doing one thing brilliantly: creating a space where music and community meet. In Detroit, that’s not just history. That’s home.
Today In Black History
In 1864, Samuel Crowther, the Bishop of Niger, became the first Black bishop of the Church of England.
In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the creator of Negro History Week, which expanded into Black History Month, won the NAACP Springarn Medal for his research into Black history.
In 1956, during the Olympic trials, Charles Dumas high-jumped 7’ ½”, becoming the first person to jump over 7 feet in U.S. Olympic history.
In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment and violated the Eighth Amendment. At that time, 81% of death row convicts were Black and other minority groups.
In 1976, the African Nation of Seychelles gained its independence from the United Kingdom.
In 1982, the 1865 Voting Rights Act (VRA) was extended.
In 2023, the Republican-majority Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that college race-based admissions programs used to increase diversity are illegal under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
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