Cotton Club showcases local gospel talent
Gospel music has been and continues to be a beacon of hope and strength in Black culture.
On Friday night, the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center Inc. at 837 SE Seventh Ave. hosted Gospel Night at the Museum to showcase talented singers and performers who are continuing that legacy.
The event was attended by dozens of people who showed up to listen to various choirs from throughout Gainesville and Alachua County.
“Gospel has always been a vital part of our community,” said Otis Stover, co-chair of the board of directors for the CCMCC and the co-organizer of the gospel extravaganza. “This event will help keep the heritage alive for the next generation. Gospel brought us a mighty long way.”
The event was a great way for churches to come together in fellowship, said the Rev. Helen Johnson-Ford, pastor of Mount Olive AME Church and co-organizer of the event.
“This event shows the unity of the church across denominations and the community,” Johnson-Ford said. “Church was an important part of the African American experience and the diaspora. That’s what brought us over — our faith.”
Johnson-Ford said that after the Trans Atlantic Slave trade, which transported over 10 million enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean, Africans within the diaspora are still unified through expressions in the arts.
“We have been here for over 400 years and we have the same semblance of rhythm and cadence,” Johnson-Ford said. “It is important we showcase our roots. There are a lot of denominations but we are still together. When it comes to worship and praise, we are the same.”
The Rev. Dr. Marie Herring, pastor of DaySpring Baptist church, presided over the event.
“He brought us through ups and downs,” Herring said. “He brought us through the pandemic and we’re grateful for his mercy.”
The Rev. Kathy Long-Richardson, pastor of Greater Love and Faith Ministries, led the opening prayer before the performances.
“We praise your holy name,” Long-Richardson said. “We pray for the anointing of the Holy Ghost. We thank you for the leaders and the board members. We pray for financial benefits so they can continue being a benefit in the Gainesville community.”
Herring talked about the history of Black Christian music that started while the enslaved Africans in the U.S. sung work songs in the field and then continued to sing in the church.
“Black gospel has been in the African American struggle for freedom,” Herring said. “It has roots in our communities and dance. We don’t care who’s watching because we can never get enough of His life.”
Those performing during the event included Joy Banks, founder of 1000 Voices of Florida; Gainesville trumpeter Lanard Perry; Greater Love and Faith Male Choir; Mount Olive AME Gospel Choir and Showers of Blessings Male Choir.
Clarence and Jacquelyn Collins, a married couple, attended the event to hear the choirs sing and to learn more about gospel music.
“I am supporting any event on the east side,” she said. “We came to hear the groups sing and express themselves and share what is in their hearts. Gospel was how we carried messages.”
Her husband said genres such as jazz and blues were inspired by gospel being played in the Black church.
“When you think of the gospel, you think of the history of the Black church,” he said. “Black music came from the Black church. Music was a means to communicate to each other. Many Black singers got their start in the church.”
Stover and Herring gave the closing remarks for the event and thanked Vivian Filer, founder and chair of the museum, for her vision of the museum and cultural center.
Herring said the evolution of gospel has transformed the Black church’s way of worship and perseverance.
“We went from singing in the fields to quartets and singing hymns,” Herring said. “He brought us a mighty long way.”
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: The Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center Inc. hosted 'Gospel Night at the Museum'
