WE WON! I am beyond thankful to share that the court has ruled in our favor. Our music and mission will continue - and we will remain Hendrix Music Academy. I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who has supported me through this confusing and difficult experience. All I have ever wanted to do is to help kids in our neighborhood. I saw a problem, and I wanted to use what little resources I have to fix it. And being able to celebrate my uncle's legacy and music is truly an honor and a responsibility that I have always taken very seriously. I know he would be proud of all that we've accomplished and that we will continue to share his love of music with children from all walks of life. Please donate today to help us offset the legal expenses.
Sincerely,Tina Hendrix

My father drew beautiful images of his big brother, Jimi, throughout my entire life. It was therapeutic to him. I remember as a small child, "enhancing" some of his art with my crayons, and he never got upset about it. My dad has given me those works of art to use at the Hendrix Music Academy.

Experience Hendrix, LLC.,  is run by my grandfather Al's second wife, June Jinka's daughter, Janie. Janie has no blood relation to Jimi or Leon, but has taken the Hendrix name as her own, along with Jimi's estate, causing much confusion about the legacy, and who Jimi's family really is.

Janie and Experience Hendrix, LLC, has successfully sued Jimi's brother, Leon, my dad, to prevent us from using my dad’s art in the future. Hendrix Music Academy can no longer use any of my dad's art for our student's and volunteer's uniforms.  The students in the picture are wearing my dad's t-shirt art. We can no longer do so.

I just don’t understand how any of this is harming Janie or her Corporations.

Janie Jinka has control of Jimi's estate. She has used Jimi's money to sue Jimi's own brother to the point of near destitution. What hurts more is her dilution of our family name by herself and her sons. This is so heartbreaking and painful for the original biological Hendrix Family. It's confusing to the fans, and totally misleading.

To make things more confusing, Experience Hendrix LLC has recently stolen the Hendrix Music Academy name to create a website called hendrixmusicacademy.com that diverts our supporters to her website.  We are a small not-for profit being bullied by a multi-million dollar corporation, but still we rise!

I'm sure Jimi would have preferred to have his hard earned legacy take care of his loved ones, his family, his baby brother, the real Hendrix family.  But unfortunately, Janie only uses Jimi's legacy to make millions in profits, sue Jimi's own brother, and niece, and benefit herself and her 5 sons who have also hijacked the family name.

I am determined to continue to honor Jimi by providing much needed educational services to kids from Jimi's old neighborhoods. I really need your help! Please donate today!

Background: We are a small non-profit with one part-time employee, and 4 volunteers.  At a time when COVID has weakened our organization to the brink, The Hendrix Music Academy has zero budget to defend ourselves against the powerful lawyers that Experience Hendrix and Authentic Hendrix LLC have dispatched against us. 

They are literally asking us to change our name and our website after operating under this name and website since we were incorporated in 2010.  They also seek to have us destroy all of the t-shirts, posters banners, logos and other materials that our organization has used to further our mission. They also seek to prevent us from using the name Jimi Hendrix, or any images of him, including his own biological  brother’s artwork of Jimi’s face, although Jimi Hendrix  is the central reason that we are able and willing to run the Hendrix Music Academy.

Jimi’s fans are responsible for 90% of all of our small donations and musical instruments received for kids.  I highly doubt that if we remove my uncle Jimi from our operations, that we will be able to continue.  Jimi is the reason that people donate and want to see kids benefit in his name.  They are giving to this charity to thank Jimi for whatever he did to enhance their lives. There have been multiple fans to tell me that Jimi’s music had actually saved their lives. 

Also, I have a great sense of pride surrounding my Hendrix name and my family, especially my uncle Jimi.  It is a part of my personality. I was born with the last name Hendrix and with the Hendrix blood flowing in my veins. 

The right to be able to use my own last name is very important to me.    So, for her to try to stop me from using my own name is actually very traumatizing.  I also have children and grandchildren with the Hendrix name.  For them it is also traumatizing that other people are using the Hendrix name while trying to stop us.  It’s honestly hard to talk about.  It’s very convoluted due to the fact that Janie (Jinka) Hendrix, CEO of Experience Hendrix, LLC.,  was not born a Hendrix and has no blood relation to the Hendrix Family.  She received the Hendrix name only by virtue of adoption by my grandfather, Al, when he married his second wife, her mother, June Jinka. Now, even Janie’s five sons use the Hendrix last name. This only confuses the fans. It's unfair and dishonest for them to call themselves "the Hendrix Family" and claim that Experience Hendrix is a family run corporation.  It is more truthful to say that Experience Hendrix is ran by Al Hendrix's second wife's family.

The first Memorial that we ever presented was Jimi’s 40th Anniversary Memorial in 2010.  The Hendrix Music Academy has been presenting annual memorials since then. The Jimi Hendrix 50th  Memorial Peace and Love March and Rally was a free public memorial, as all of them are,  at Jimi Hendrix Park, and was designed to benefit the HMA. The chosen vendors were local small businesses being run by  women of color entrepreneurs and only had to make a symbolic donation of $50 cash or $50 worth of merchandise to the Hendrix Music Academy. Most of the musicians performed without compensation and simply wanted to pay tribute to their hero.  There were also many local artists who painted beautiful portraits of Jimi, at the memorial, in the pouring down rain! That shows some of the dedication that Jimi’s fans have to him and our mission.

I have celebrated my uncle’s life during my entire life.  I grew up playing around his gravesite as my father spent a lot of time at his brother’s grave and his mother's grave and always had his kids in tow. You see, my dad lost his mother when he was just 10 year old, and he lost his brother when he was just 21 and Jimi was 27.  He is still traumatized at the unspeakable loss. 

Jimi’s music made the money that put me through college.  His music made the money that bought my parent’s first house.  If it weren’t for Jimi Hendrix, I don’t know what kind of life I would’ve had. Without Jimi,  I’m just a mixed black girl from Seattle.  He enhanced my life and the lives of so many of his adoring fans across the world.  I owe my uncle a lot and the best thing that I could ever do for him is to teach kids about Jimi, his music and his message of Peace and Love at the Hendrix Music Academy.