Gospel Music Tells Story of Overcoming in Oakland

For the 70 members of Allen Temple's choir, every rehearsal is a chance to connect with their history, and their spirituality. Gospel music has long been an outlet to share the story of the Black community.

At one of the few historic churches that still has a strong choir, Allen Temple's 70-member chorus rehearsed for Sunday service, led by songwriter and composer Derrick Hall. "In churches like Allen Temple you're going to always hear spirituals and anthems," he said.

Hall, who has worked on songs with some of the greats, including Oakland gospel legend Edwin Hawkins, said music is the heart of the Black American experience. "When I'm feeling good or I'm feeling down, there's a song," Hall said.

He is also part of the oldest community choir in the Bay Area, the Northern California Chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, a group of hundreds of singers, composers, musicians, choir directors, and song writers where amateurs can learn from seasoned talent.

April Wright, also in the Nor Cal chapter, said the choir has a rich history dating back more than five decades. Now, it's not just a musical space for Black singers. "This is a place where everybody is somebody," she said. "So, it doesn't matter your sexual orientation, your gender, your religion, if you love gospel music and you're willing to learn, then this is the place for you."

Lerone Martin, an author and the Martin Luther King Jr. Centennial professor at Stanford, said the genre emerged during the Great Migration from negro spirituals, songs describing the experience of enslavement, escape, and freedom, set to blues and jazz notes.

During the golden age of gospel music in the 50s and 60s, musicians were inspired by Thomas Dorsey from Chicago, known as the Father of Gospel. Oakland's own Father of Gospel, Hawkins, still influences 21st-century music with his Grammy-winning hit "Oh Happy Day."

Throughout the ages, the messages in each song tell a story of overcoming. "While we tell our audience about our experiences, music makes it more palatable to accept some of the history," Wright said. "There is a special feeling and spirit that you get with gospel music that you can't get with other music."

"Now, in an age where people are trying to erase who we are, and they are removing items and literature and banning books, the music is still the constant," Wright said.