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This is the story of the Jenkins Orphanage Band. The Jenkins Orphanage was established in 1891 by Rev. Daniel J. Jenkins in Charleston, South Carolina. Jenkins was a former slave turned minister who, upon stumbling across homeless youths, decided to organize an orphanage for young African American children, the first of its kind in Charleston., The orphanage took in donations of musical instruments. Not being a musician, Jenkins hired two local Charleston musicians to tutor the boys in music. Upon its establishment, the band became the only black instrumental group organized in South Carolina. The band's debut was on the streets of Charleston with the permission of the mayor, police chief, and Chamber of Commerce. The Jenkins Orphanage Band, wearing discarded uniforms from The Citadel (the local military college), performed throughout the United States and even toured England raising money for the support of the orphanage. The band played in inaugural parades of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft. It
appeared at the St. Louis Exposition and the Anglo-American Exposition in 1914. It toured the USA from coast to coast and played in Paris, Berlin, Rome, London, and Vienna.