“I was there that night in a filled-to-capacity crowd. It was a long show filled with many jazz artists whom I do not remember now. I remember when her group came on stage, it was relatively quiet for a jazz concert. The audience was almost entirely white. There was thunderous applause. She played a few bars and asked "Are you here"? Of course, everyone applauded and yelled "Yes." She turned to the audience and said, "Are you really here"? Everyone knew what she meant. 1968 was such a different time. But, that night everyone was there. Great music certainly helped us begin to learn to appreciate and accept one another.
Mable Taylor, NCSU Alumni
