I started watching the Netflix Documentary “Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan” with very few expectations. Of course, I knew from various clips that he put on a “really big shew” and hosted watershed American cultural moments such as performances by the likes of Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Overall, he seemed like a stuffy fellow to me.
So, I was caught off guard and pleasantly surprised by how
inspiring his story was. With today’s political climate attempting to make words like
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion sour terms, I was encouraged to see how one
person was willing to take courageous stands to provide opportunities for
underrepresented artists in an even harsher environment than today.
I will not spoil the program by sharing too many details,
but time and again, Ed stood up to producers, network executives and sponsors
to bring African American musicians on to his show in a time when that was rarely
done in the mainstream.
While I do not have a platform that reaches millions of
people like Ed, I find myself wanting to do what I can to speak against the
reversal of racial progress in our country today. The notion of white supremacy
needs to be called out for the absurd and hurtful worldview it is. I am
embarrassed when Christianity gets linked with it because it goes against
everything that Jesus represents.
How will we begin to heal the division so prevalent in our
country today? I am not sure how it might be manifested, but this program also
spoke to another belief of mine. Smoky Robinson put this into words - “Music
is the international language. It’s the barrier breaker.” Looking back over
his career, Ed summed up his role in the culture by saying, “It seemed to me
that inasmuch as you’re using public air that the least you can do, in return
for this high privilege was to try to do something to bring people a little
closer together.”
In our own ways, with our own voices, this seems a very noble goal for us all. There is a song in our United Methodist hymnal that goes “Lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring; ring with the harmonies of liberty.”