Marvin Gilmore
100 yrs old
On June 6 1944 #DDay his all #Black antiaircraft artillery battalion stormed the beaches of #Normandy
“War is gruesome. And I think most soldiers who came back, we don’t talk about it. We really don’t. It’s just, it’s beyond, it’s just beyond your imagination"
His grandparents were born into #slavery
He cofounded the first Black owned and operated commercial #bank in #NewEngland:
They denied him a home loan
@benroyce@mastodon.socialMarvin Gilmore is also part of #MusicHistory
He opened the Western Front (we know what inspired that name!), an integrated #jazz club in #Boston. Over the years it also played #reggae, #reggaeton, #LatinJazz, #gospel, and #rockandroll, and eventually #electronica, #deephouse, and #hiphop
Helping to launch the careers of Cassandra Wilson, First Edition, Webster Lewis, the Kelvinators, James Montgomery, Peter Bell, Akrobatik, Mr Lif, RipShop, and many others
