Editing Elmo Hope (section)

==Early life==
Elmo Hope was born on June 27, 1923, in New York City.{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=328}} His parents, Simon and Gertrude Hope,{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1940|pp=1, 6}} were immigrants from the Caribbean,{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=328}} and had several children.<ref name="Bertha" /> Elmo began playing the piano aged seven.{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=308}} He had classical music lessons as a child, and won solo piano recital contests from 1938.{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=328}} Fellow pianist [[Bud Powell]] was a childhood friend;{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=328}} together, they played and listened to jazz and classical music.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1993|p=55}} Hope attended [[Benjamin Franklin High School (New York City)|Benjamin Franklin High School]], which was known for its music program.{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1940|p=1}}{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=80}} He developed an excellent understanding of harmony, and composed jazz and classical pieces at school.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=80}}

At the age of 17, Hope was shot by a New York policeman.{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1940|p=1}} He was taken to [[Sydenham Hospital]], where doctors reported that the bullet had narrowly missed his spine.{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1940|p=1}} Six weeks later, after Hope had been released from the hospital, he appeared in court, charged with "assault, attempted robbery and violation of the [[Sullivan Act|Sullivan Law]]".{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1941|p=1}} The police officers involved testified in court that Hope had been part of a group of five involved in a mugging.{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1941|p=8}} None of the other four, or any of the three alleged white victims, was identified by police; Hope stated that he had been running away with other passers-by after police started shooting, and was hit while trying to enter a hallway.{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1941|p=8}} The judge dismissed the charges against Hope,{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1941|p=8}} after which Hope's attorney described the shooting as an "outrage", and the charges as "an attempted frameup".{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1941|p=1}}

Hope's recovery was slow, and he did not go back to school.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=80}} Instead, he played the piano in an assortment of [[taxi dance hall]]s and other establishments in the city.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=80}} Hope and Powell met fellow pianist [[Thelonious Monk]] in 1942, and the three young men spent much time together.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|pp=80, 147}} This was interrupted in March 1943, when Hope enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=480}}<ref name="army">[https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&q=%2232825643%22&bc=&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=3328850 "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 – 1946 (Enlistment Records)"]. ''The National Archives''. Retrieved January 30, 2014.</ref> In the enlistment records, Hope was listed as being single, with dependents.<ref name="army" /> He had been married and had a son, who died.<ref name="ANBO">Kernfeld, Barry (February 2000). [http://www.anb.org/articles/18/18-02983.html "Hope, Elmo"]. ''American National Biography Online''. Oxford University Press.</ref> The terms of enlistment stated that Hope would be in the army "for the duration of the War [[World War II|[World War II]]] or other emergency, plus six months".<ref name="army" />