Louis Armstrong donated coal to needy blacks

Trumpeter and band leader Louis Armstrong announced his arrival in Baltimore by giving away 300 bags of coal in a poor black neighborhood. He offered the coal to those who appeared at the Royal Theatre’s doors on the morning of Dec. 11, 1931.

Armstrong would play concerts at the theater starting the next day and then for a week. The theater’s concert program stated that the coal would be given away free to those who could not afford to buy it, and a preference would be given to women.

A photo, taken at 1329 Pennsylvania Ave., appeared in the Baltimore AfroAmerican and showed a woman being handed her coal from the Royal’s manager, Morris Flax.

Armstrong, then a nationally acclaimed musician with a weekly radio show and numerous recordings, had recently appeared in Washington and Philadelphia.

Ads, hailing Armstrong as “the world’s greatest trumpeter,” said he would play on the stage and be accompanied by 50 performers. The evening prices included his stage show, a comedy act and the Marx Brothers film “Monkey Business,” and ranged from 15 to 50 cents.

Ads for his performances appeared both in the Afro-American and The Sun. There was also a Wednesday and Saturday midnight show and a live broadcast over AM radio station WCBM. Armstrong also took his band to other Baltimore venues for appearances.