The Jenkins Orphanage, now officially known as the Jenkins Institute For Children, was established in 1891 by Rev. Daniel Joseph Jenkins in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. Jenkins was a businessman and Baptist minister who encountered

street children Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policym ...

and decided to organize an orphanage for young African Americans. The original site of the orphanage was 660 King Street, but the number of orphans quickly outpaced the facilities. In 1893, the orphanage moved to the Old Marine Hospital at 20 Franklin Street. This National Historic Landmark, designed by Robert Mills, served as home of the orphanage until 1937. Its present-day location is in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Jenkins Orphanage Bands

The orphanage took in donations of musical instruments and Jenkins hired two local Charleston musicians — P.M. "Hatsie" Logan and Francis Eugene Mikell — to tutor the children in music. Upon its establishment, it became the only black instrumental group organized in South Carolina. The band's debut was on the streets of Charleston with the permission of the mayor, police chief, and

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

. The Jenkins Orphanage Band, wearing discarded Citadel uniforms, performed throughout the United States and even toured England raising money for the support of the orphanage. It played in inaugural parades of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft. It appeared at the St. Louis Exposition and the Anglo-American Exposition in 1914. It toured the United States from coast to coast, and played in Paris, Berlin, Rome, London, and Vienna. As many as five bands were on tour during the 1920s. The band ceased to exist in the 1980s. The orphanage published the ''Charleston Messenger'' newspaper. In 2003, a 10-minute Fox Movietone News newsreel feature about the band, filmed on November 22, 1928, was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

William "Cat" Anderson William Alonzo "Cat" Anderson (September 12, 1916 – April 29, 1981) was an American jazz trumpeter known for his long period as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra and for his wide range, especially his ability to play in the altissimo r ...

, Jabbo Smith, Tom Delaney, and Freddie Green are notable alumni.

References

Bibliography

* John Chilton (1980) ''A Jazz Nursery: The Story of the Jenkins' Orphanage Bands of Charleston, South Carolina'', 60 p., London, U.K.: Bloomsbury, .

External links

*''Fox Movietone News: Jenkins Orphanage Band'' essay by Julie Hubbert at National Film Registrybr>
*''Fox Movietone News: Jenkins Orphanage Band'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 153-15
Jenkins Institute For ChildrenAvery Research CenterThe Charleston Jazz InitiativeSouth Carolina Music Hall of FameCharleston Jazz by Jack McCray
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at the South Carolina University Libraries Moving Image Research Collections {{Authority control African-American history in Charleston, South Carolina Orphanages in the United States Buildings and structures in Charleston, South Carolina