Luvenia George: "One of the members of my church now grew up with Duke Ellington. He passed away. When he found out ten years ago I was doing research on Duke Ellington, he said, 'I went to high school with him.' Every Sunday when I went to church he'd have a new tale to tell me, something he would remember. 'We called him Duke because he dressed so good and talked real fast and he had business cards he was handing out and we were very impressed with him.' So, to dress well, to talk well, those were things that were instilled in young African American children in that aura, in that atmosphere. You were in the churches, you were taught how to act.
"This is the thing we want our young people to know about Duke Ellington. He is a man that was brought in up in an ordinary community, but yet he could speak with kings and queens and royalty. His heritage remained with him."
