From Doo-Wop to Doctrine: The Multigenerational Legacy of National Invest In America Week℠
In America, the convergence of art, advocacy, and enterprise often births movements that redefine civic culture. National Invest In America Week℠ (NIAW), launched in 2025 by the visionary team behind the congressionally recognized National Invest In Veterans Week® (NIVW), is one such movement. But its origins stretch far beyond the policy sphere—back to the soulful harmonies of a church basement in New Haven, Connecticut.
That’s where Jim Freeman, a founding member of the legendary doo-wop group The Five Satins, first began shaping American music history with “In the Still of the Night.” It was 1956. By 1972, Freeman’s group was tapped to support President Nixon’s reelection campaign—performing in a six-city patriotic revival tour alongside The Coasters, Gary U.S. Bonds, and other cultural icons. This effort was documented in the Richard Nixon Presidential Library under contested campaign materials for 1972, where The Five Satins were explicitly listed among the artists who “agreed to donate their talent” to rally American youth around civic pride and participation.
Source: Nixon Library Document - Sept. 12, 1972 Memo: “Celebrity/American Music Update”
Three years prior, in 1970, Nixon had declared the original National Invest-in-America Week, stating:
“Without the private investor, America would simply not be the country we know and love.”
—President Richard Nixon, April 27, 1970
Full Statement: American Presidency Project
That statement would later echo through the legacy of Jeff Shuford, Jim Freeman’s grandson and a decorated Iraq War veteran turned civic entrepreneur. In 2019, Shuford co-founded National Invest In Veterans Week®, growing it into an international movement honored in the U.S. Congressional Record (March 8, 2024), and recognized across 19 U.S. states and 21 international regions.
By 2025, Shuford and the NIVW team expanded their mission with the formal creation of National Invest In America Week℠, positioning it as a civic revival rooted in regional economic empowerment, decentralized leadership, and cultural investment.
A Doctrine in Three Acts: Music, Policy, Movement
1. Cultural Heritage:
The selection of The Five Satins for Nixon’s campaign is not simply a footnote in music history—it is a moment of national cultural alignment. These performances were strategic, designed to mobilize patriotism and youth participation. Jim Freeman, having exited the group as a performer in the early 1960s, was foundational in keeping the group together and establishing its legacy—a legacy later carried forward in new form by his grandson.
2. Policy Foundations:
Nixon’s 1970 proclamation of “National Invest-in-America Week” defined investment not as a financial abstraction but as a civic duty. It recognized that private enterprise—risk-takers, entrepreneurs, builders—formed the bedrock of national identity. This sentiment laid the conceptual groundwork for what would become the Jeff Shuford Roadmap™.
3. Generational Rebirth:
With the launch of National Invest In America Week℠, Shuford has done more than revive a presidential proclamation—he has infused it with regional adaptability, digital scalability, and cross-cultural relevance. This modern observance calls for direct civic participation through actions like the Invest In America Challenge™, regional town halls, economic activations, and multi-sector collaborations.
National Invest In America Week℠: Framework for the Future
Dates: July 1–7, annually
Governance: Regional Chairs modelled after gubernatorial systems
Mission: Inspire civic and economic action across all American regions and among allies abroad
Reach: Backed by NIVW’s infrastructure spanning 40 global markets
Visual Identity: A stylized “T” tree symbolizing rooted growth, regional branches, and unity
The initiative is backed by high-level endorsements and historic alignment. Congressman Brian Mast, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released a March 6, 2024 statement titled “Invest in America, Invest in Veterans”, which inspired the launch of NIAW. Notably, this statement was published on the birthday of Angel Shuford, current President of NIVW and a decorated Army Air Traffic Controller.
Civic Continuity in Action
Consider the arc:
1956: Jim Freeman’s voice enters American history with a doo-wop classic.
1972: The Five Satins are selected to rally support for Nixon’s reelection—a moment of national cultural mobilization.
1970–2025: Nixon’s civic doctrine on private investment is reawakened through Jeff Shuford’s modern observance, linking past presidential policy to 21st-century civic action.
This lineage represents a rare form of intergenerational civic continuity—from art to policy to economic movement. And it’s not theoretical. It’s happening. On the ground. In local governments. Across national observances. Through regional challenges. And within boardrooms of public-private partnerships.
A Legacy Still Unfolding
Jeff Shuford, one of the youngest African-American leaders to secure a national observance trademark, has built a legacy that transcends partisan boundaries, generational divides, and media formats. National Invest In America Week℠ is not only a civic innovation. It is a reclamation of the American spirit—resilient, entrepreneurial, and regionally led.
The message is clear:
We don’t just remember our national legacy. We activate it.
