The League of American Orchestras mourns the loss of Congressman Elijah Cummings, who championed the capacity of the arts to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion. In powerful remarks at the League’s 2016 National Conference in Baltimore, Representative Cummings challenged us all to create communities where everyone can “be in the band,” and to leverage the unique capacity of music to generate compassion and to embrace the opportunities found in our nation’s diversity.
Representative Cummings died on the morning of Thursday, October 17 at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Baltimore, Maryland. He was 68.
Our thoughts are with his family, staff, and the constituents of Baltimore and throughout Maryland’s 7th Congressional District. The legacy of Representative Cummings’ leadership will continue to have a national reach and impact.
Click here to read excerpts from Representative Cummings’s address at the League’s 2016 National Conference, as published with his approval in Symphony magazine. Click here to watch Representative Cummings deliver his address at the League’s National Conference on June 11, 2016. To read the Baltimore Sun’s obituary of Representative Cummings, click here.
Posted October 18, 2019
In photo: Congressman Elijah E. Cummings delivers an address at the League of American Orchestras’ 2016 National Conference in Baltimore. Photo by Richard Lippenholz
