An event held on the Indiana University campus last week is drawing national listeners from across the nation. The Black Church Mixtape: A Virtual Listening Party was held on Feb. 11, 2022.
Hosted by the Archives of African American Music and Culture and the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center in Bloomington, Indiana, the listening party was an interactive celebration of the rich, musical legacy of the Black church. It is now available for listeners at the AAMC Facebook page. www.facebook.com/IUAAAMC/
The collection of songs played during the event are representative of the various eras of Black sacred music. Artists including Aretha Franklin, Kirk Franklin and Mahalia Jackson were featured, along with gospel pioneers Rev. Charles Albert Tindley and Thomas A. Dorsey.
The Neal-Marshall Center is commemorating Black History Month with the theme of the Black church. AAAMC Director Dr. Tyron Cooper said the collaboration with the Neal-Marshall is important in giving students an opportunity to understand the music contextually.
“The AAAMC accounts as a micro-artistic arm of this celebration by providing a peek into the musical continuum of the Black church,” Cooper said.
Dr. Gloria Howell, director of the Neal-Marshall, grew up with Black church music in Mississippi. She said Black church music is a foundational component of the Black experience and what we know as quality creativity.
“The music of the Black church has transcended time,” Dr. Howell said. “The music has evolved and has taken different forms, but the messages of resilience and hope are still the same.”
AAAMC graduate assistant Nia I’man Smith said the virtual listening party served as an introduction into Black sacred music and a way for the community to engage with the archives.
“We really want to give people a taste of Black music within the church and the history of the Black church,” Smith said.
Smith and her fellow graduate assistant colleagues at AAAMC, Bobby E. Davis Jr., Chloe McCormick and Mia Watts, played crucial roles in helping to select the featured collections and musical pieces featured.
“Through this event, we’re encouraging the student body and broader community to think deeper about Black music, Black culture, Black church and the Black experience,” Cooper said.
