Historical re-enactor Marvin Jefferson brings to life jazz musician Louis Armstrong.
Louis Armstrong, one of the most influential musical artists of the 20th century, transformed American music with his groundbreaking trumpet playing and singing. Born on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Armstrong grew up in extreme poverty in a neighborhood known as “The Battlefield.” Despite his challenging upbringing with a father he rarely spoke of and a mother who worked tirelessly to support her family, Armstrong cherished the life lessons of resilience and respect he learned from her. His early life was shaped not only by his family but also by the Karnofsky family, who were Jewish employers who treated him like one of their own, helped him buy his first cornet, and exposed him to the broader realities of prejudice. These experiences, combined with the rich cultural mosaic of New Orleans, forged an artist whose legacy spanned the globe. Join Armstrong as he recounts his humble beginnings to becoming a self-made man adored worldwide.
Marvin Jefferson has an extensive background as an educator, professional actor/director, and living history scholar. From 1995 to 2018, he taught acting at Bloomfield College, a private liberal arts college in Bloomfield, New Jersey, and he attended and studied acting at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He has devoted many years to studying the lives of Paul Robeson and Martin Luther King, Jr. Since 1997, he has engaged audiences nationwide with his popular Chautauqua performances of these two important historical figures. In 2012, he was commissioned to portray York for Ohio Chautauqua, and, most recently, Jefferson toured Colorado as Martin Luther King, Jr. in February 2024 as part of Black History Live sponsored by Colorado Humanities. Jefferson began his training as a Chautauqua scholar with the help and guidance of two nationally renowned scholars, the late Giles R. Wright and Dr. Clement A. Price.
Presented in partnership with Colorado Humanities' Black History Live Tour.
Now in its 16th year, Colorado Humanities’ Black History Live tour is an annual recognition each February of the significant contributions African Americans have made and continue to make to art, culture, economic development, education, human rights, medicine, public services, politics, and sports.
About Colorado Humanities
Established in 1974, Colorado Humanities is the only Colorado organization exclusively dedicated to supporting humanities education for adults and children statewide. Also the home of the Colorado Center for the Book, Colorado Humanities, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, partners with hundreds of community partners across the state, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Library of Congress Center for the Book, and the Smithsonian Institution.
