J. B L A N TO N B E L K It’s an unfinished world, and it’s still in the making…
Battle Ground, Washington Pediment Publishing 2020
Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc., Battle Ground, Washington 98604 pediment.com © 2020 J. Blanton Belk Jr. All rights reserved. Published 2020. Printed in Canada. Library of Congress Control Number: 2020907826 ISBN: 978-1-59725-912-5 No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher. Permission for lyric in subtitle “Unfinished World” music by Herbert Allen and Pat Murphy, lyrics by Paul Colwell and Pat Murphy. ©1987 by Up with People. Used by permission. Photo credits Dust jacket photos: Front cover: Photo by Chris Mooney, Chris Mooney Photography ©2020. Inside front flap: Betty and Blanton Belk at the 2016 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta hosted by Linda Weil and Up with People, Cast 76E. Photo courtesy Up with People, Cast 76E. Back cover: Photo by Ajay Gupta. Dedication (opposite): Top: Photo courtesy of Chameli and Surina Belk-Gupta. Bottom: Photo courtesy of Belk-Arenas family.
CONTENTS
Foreword.............................................................................................viii Preface....................................................................................................1 Prologue: My Grandfather’s Funeral.......................................................5 The Preacher’s Son..................................................................................9 Youthful (Mis)Adventures....................................................................20 Growing Up in the South.....................................................................29 Navy Days............................................................................................34 Falling in Love......................................................................................46 Peacetime.............................................................................................49 Citizens’ Diplomacy in India................................................................58 Our Marriage.......................................................................................68 Charles Preston Howard.......................................................................73 The Statesman’s Mission.......................................................................79 Meeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr......................................................91 Washington, DC, and Eisenhower.......................................................99 The Tiger.............................................................................................105 “Tomorrow’s America” Conference.....................................................113 Sing-Out Explosion............................................................................122 Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.............................................................131 Growth and Incorporation of Up with People....................................136 The Further We Reach Out................................................................148 A Show at the White House...............................................................164 Jesse Owens and the Munich Olympics..............................................168 Moving to Brussels.............................................................................174 First Americans/First Nation..............................................................186
Moon Rider: Captain USN Eugene Cernan.......................................191 Bicentennial Year and Super Bowls.....................................................202 Board of Directors..............................................................................207 México and Up with People...............................................................217 People’s Republic of China.................................................................223 Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.......................................................235 Up with People’s 25th Silver Anniversary Celebration and the Move to Denver...............................................................244 Our Life in México............................................................................255 Friendships.........................................................................................266 Our Daughters’ Weddings..................................................................279 The Next Frontier...............................................................................286 Sandhill Farm.....................................................................................298 Epilogue.............................................................................................305 Acknowledgments..............................................................................307 A Special Thank You...........................................................................310 Music Permissions..............................................................................312 Endnotes............................................................................................314 Bibliography.......................................................................................319 Index..................................................................................................324 Photos follow page 278
F O R E WO R D
“He would like to bring Up with People to México,” is the message I received from Wes Christopherson, Chairman and CEO of the Jewel Companies. Jewel was a business partner in our innovative “all under one roof self-service stores” in México in the early 1970s. Wes and I shared a belief in the power of active citizen participation to contribute to a better world, which led him to introduce me to Blanton Belk. After a short conversation, it became immediately clear that Blanton was a passionate and tireless promoter of these ideals with an ongoing project of international dimension. It was called Up with People. That is why I accepted to serve on his Board of Directors and later, the International Advisory Board of Up with People for more than two decades. During that time I came to know and appreciate the many qualities that made Blanton such a charismatic leader. From the early days of the organization, he proclaimed that casts would travel to many countries, even those with closed borders such as China, Russia, and Cuba. Over the years he made good on that promise and in October of 2014, I had the privilege to join him and the cast in Havana. He was closing in on his 90th birthday with no decline in his contagious enthusiasm and energy. I am grateful and honored to have met Blanton and through him, many world leaders. I will never forget standing next to astronaut Gene Cernan as he shook hands with Pope John Paul II who expressed his admiration at meeting someone who had landed on the Moon. Tenacious, charming, curious, joyful, loyal, and down to earth are just a few of the words that come to mind to describe Blanton. I believe you will see them reflected in these pages that recount a life well-lived with
purpose and generosity. Incredible experiences will give the reader a glimpse into the impact he has had on thousands of young people from across the globe, sparking a multiplying effect for generations to come. I am proud to be Blanton’s friend, along with the inseparable Betty, his life companion and guiding light of a close and exemplary family. Manuel Arango A. Founder Mexican Center for Philanthropy
P R E FAC E
I find myself writing this book with one foot in the past and the other pointed firmly toward the future, looking forward through the lens of lessons well learned. I was born and brought up in the provincial South, and I grew up with an ever-expanding global vision. I realize there are many reasons for that as I look back over the first 95 years of my life. I have worked around the world for more than 70 of those years, trying to help convert a vision of global peace and understanding into an international reality. As a boy growing up in Florida, Virginia, and South Carolina, I fished and hunted with my dad, a Presbyterian minister who encouraged me to think for myself and whose ideas spawned controversy. I spent idyllic summer vacations with my Wannamaker grandparents in South Carolina. I shared college days with my Belk cousins, some of whom later headed the Belk’s Department Stores throughout the South. During my college years, I went through the Naval V-12 Program, which trained and supplied officers to the US Navy during the war years. I served as an officer on active duty on a PCC boat in the Philippines just after the end of World War II. After concluding my time with the Navy, following my father’s example, I set out to see what one man could do to make a positive difference in the world. This led me to participate in the leadership of Moral Re-Armament (MRA). MRA was founded in 1938 as an international movement for moral and spiritual renewal. It was active in bringing the nations of the world together into peaceful dialogue and establishing programs that helped rebuild war-ravaged Europe and Asia. Living in other cultures awoke in me a vision and brought me in touch with the lives, hopes, and struggles of millions worldwide. During this
time, I met and fell in love with Betty Wilkes, a Yankee girl who has been my wife, partner, and best friend for over 65 years. During the turbulent decade of the 1960s, colleges and universities became the battleground for students demonstrating what they were against and what they wanted to change. I was one of a small group who said, “We know what students are against. Let’s find out what they are for and give them a voice.” This turned out to be a tipping point and led to the creation of first Sing-Out, then Up with People, a unique nonprofit global educational organization and leadership program. It brought young people from around the world together to present a dynamic musical demonstration of their hopes for the future. There were important, deep relationships along the way that guided my efforts. President Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer of Germany, the great Olympic athlete Jesse Owens, and DeWitt Wallace, founder of Reader’s Digest, were among those who guided me as we incorporated Up with People in 1968. Our goal was to equip young people with the leadership qualities of global perspective, integrity, and motivation to serve others. Over 22,000 students from more than 138 countries have participated, 800,000 families worldwide have opened their homes to these dedicated young people, and 1.1 billion have seen a performance or been touched by their message. When the Bamboo Curtain came down, Up with People was the first international group of students to be invited to travel and perform in the People’s Republic of China. When the Iron Curtain began to crumble, we again led the way in bringing our casts to the Soviet Union, traveling, interacting with, and performing for the Soviet people. Earlier, at the Munich Olympics in 1972, Up with People lifted the spirits of the athletes in the Olympic Village following the tragic assassination of members of the Israeli team. I’ve received thousands of letters from men and women who shared these Up with People experiences and are now making a difference in their communities around the world. Although I am no longer involved in the day-to-day operations as Chairman of the Board and President of Up with People, I remain as