Elm Grove Baptist Church

This week, Elm Grove Baptist Church is entering Freedom Week. As we count down to Juneteenth on June 19, we are exploring the music that carried a people through oppression and into liberation. From the spirituals that sustained the enslaved, to the freedom songs that fueled the civil rights movement, to the praise that rings out every June 19th, music and freedom have always moved together. Join us all week as we honor the sound of liberation.

We want to know: who is your all-time favorite gospel artist or group? Drop your answer in the comments and tell us which song of theirs ministers to you most.

In August 1932, Thomas Dorsey received a telegram while away on a preaching trip. His wife had died in childbirth. He rushed home only to find that his son had also passed. In that unspeakable grief, he sat at a piano and wrote the words that would become one of the most beloved songs in Christian history: “Precious Lord, take my hand. Lead me on. Let me stand.” Dr. King requested this song be sung at the program the evening before he was assassinated. It was then sung at his funeral. Some songs carry the full weight of our faith.



Source: Smithsonian NMAAHC | nmaahc.si.edu

Long before Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, or any recording studio, the Black church was the stage. It was where voices were trained, where harmonies were learned, where genres were born. Gospel gave way to R&B. Blues found its emotional vocabulary in the pew. Soul got its name from the spirit. The Black church did not just influence American music. It incubated it. We honor that legacy this month.



Source: Smithsonian NMAAHC | nmaahc.si.edu

When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was delivering his speech in Washington in 1963, it was Mahalia Jackson who called out from the crowd, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” She had sung at his side throughout the movement. Mahalia Jackson was not just a gospel singer. She was a force. Born in New Orleans, raised in the church, her voice was described as the most powerful contralto in the world. She used it for God and for freedom, never separating the two.

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Source: Smithsonian NMAAHC | nmaahc.si.edu

Gospel music, as a formal genre, was born in the early 20th century, when the traditions of the Black church began to merge with the sounds of the blues, jazz, and hymn composition. It was not just a new style. It was a declaration that Black joy and faith were worth celebrating loudly. This week, we explore The Rise, how gospel music emerged from the Great Migration and transformed American music forever.

Join New Sunlight Missionary Baptist Church for “Armed With Understanding” — Student Edition, a free Black Lives Matter Symposium focused on peace, communication, safety, and protecting our future.
📍 New Sunlight MBC
📅 June 8–12
⏰ 5:30–7:30 PM nightly
✅ Free registration online
Scan the QR code or visit: armedwithunderstanding.manus.space
Let’s get informed. Let’s stay safe. Let’s move with purpose.

In 1871, a group of formerly enslaved students from Fisk University set out on a tour that would change American music forever. The Fisk Jubilee Singers performed Black spirituals for audiences across the United States and Europe, including for President Ulysses S. Grant and Queen Victoria of England. They raised enough money to build Jubilee Hall, which still stands today. They did not just preserve Black music. They placed it on a world stage and demanded it be taken seriously.

Source: Fisk University & National Endowment for the Arts | fisk.edu | arts.gov

There is a reason the enslaved were sometimes forbidden from singing. Their music was more powerful than their enslavers understood. 'Follow the Drinking Gourd' gave directions by the North Star. 'Wade in the Water' told freedom seekers to travel through waterways to avoid detection. Every note was intentional. Every lyric was survival. Black music has always been resistance and resilience in equal measure.

Source: Smithsonian NMAAHC | nmaahc.si.edu