I think that music for the theater has reached a bottom. You're at Tin Pan Alley and that's it. These are some of the only people we hear about, when really some of the best popular songs have been written by black American writers. I'm hopeful that there will be a black renaissance in the theater, particularly in the musical theater where we do have such outstanding potential. Because it destroys free competition in the open market, it reduces the quality of theater proportionately.
Racism is rampant all over.
Right here in the Valley, the commercial radio stations just don't play black music. I think it's a cumulative process. I think the clubs are more like gymnasiums than anything. I think partly the fault of the black entrepreneur, who doesn't see the full possibilities or potential of his own art form. They've made enough money off popular music recordings to absorb any kind of loss or risk which might be incurred with other forms of music.