When Jazz Great Dizzy Gillespie ran for President

It’s a little known fact that bebop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie actually ran for president of the United States back in 1964:

“What began as one of Dizzy’s famous practical jokes, and a way to raise money for CORE (Congress for Racial Equality) and other civil rights organizations became something more, a way for Dizzy’s fans to imagine an alternative to the “millionaire’s-only” club represented by Lyndon Johnson and Barry Goldwater.”

— Open Culture

The White House, henceforth to be known as the ‘Blues House’ would comprise the following cabinet:

• Duke Ellington (Secretary of State)
• Miles Davis (Director of the CIA)
• Max Roach (Secretary of Defense)
• Charles Mingus (Secretary of Peace)
• Ray Charles (Librarian of Congress)
• Louis Armstrong (Secretary of Agriculture)
• Mary Lou Williams (Ambassador to the Vatican)
• Thelonious Monk (Travelling Ambassador)
• Malcolm X (Attorney General).

I assume that Charles Mingus’ position as Secretary of Peace is a cheeky play on his fiery temperament. Dizzy said his running mate would be Phyllis Diller. (Source: Wikipedia)