Remember on Tuesday, when I told you big news was coming about the Dove Awards? Well, it came…
Word has it that the GMA’s Dove Awards will take place in Atlanta, GA in 2011, leaving its home of Nashville for the first time in the award program’s history. The event will take place at the Fox Theater on April 20, 2011.
In its press release, the GMA mentioned that Atlanta is home to many of the industry’s biggest names– and it included SEVERAL gospel artists, like Byron Cage, Canton Jones… even Dottie Peoples. And Bishop Paul Morton was quoted in the press release.
I hear inclusion and diversity comin’ on the horizon.
Now, the question is– will the gospel community RECIPROCATE it? The GMA has, historically, had extremely low membership among the “black gospel” community. They’re clearly putting a good foot forward, I think… what will our response be? Will we see their effort and raise ‘em a few, or will we say “y’all never include us”? I dunno…
What do you guys think about the move???
I been calling this for years and we need diversity both in the gospel industry and the CCM industry. The secular music industry does it all the time and both industries are the only ones that not accepting of one another. But the root of the problem is the church itself, not accepting of music styles. I wish people can listen to all musical styles of the body. People can learn something.
Here's my question...since the Dove Awards are traditionally a part of the GMA's convention, are they moving that to Atlanta, too? Just wondering...
GMA is basically the Grammys Of Gospel so It makes more since for there to be a mixture. But the black gospel community has no right to complain because when do we ever iinclude CCM artist? Their talking about acceptance, but shouldn't there be acceptance on both sides. Maybe back in the day this was a valid point, but after like 95' all of that racial stuff pretty much became a joke, because black Gospel became just as big as CCM with artist like Kirk Franklin and BeBe & CeCe Winans in the forefront.
Marshan and all, it is the fault or the body of Christ, which means all of us.
I guess CCM isn't pulling in the money as it used to.... I wonder why? Are black gospel fans more loyal? Nashville to Hotlanta is a significant attempt at a cultural shift, possibly to expand their reach to be more inclusive of other subgenres of Christian music. That's a nice thing. However, because of the lack of musical inclusion may make some of those in Black gospel reluctant to participate, the Black gospel music folks can't be blamed for their hesitancy. Let's remind ourselves why the Stellars came to be: REJECTION from those already established similar award shows. So now just because of this move to a more "urban" market, the Stellars are just supposed to drop 25 years and blend with everybody else? I think not. And they should not be forced to do so in the name of "acceptance" or "Christian love". What's love got to do with it? On both sides of the equation: it's about the MONEY. I say everybody do what's best that will help their bottom line... without committing anything sinful, illegal, immoral, or just downright trifling.
A lot of comments are making sense to be honest. I think that there should be a diversity within the gospel and ccm industry because we all are representing Jesus. Yes, there is a difference in the style of music between gospel and ccm but its talking about the same God. I think it's high time to tear down the walls and embrace all the different sounds of christian music period. I would even like to see the day where we just either call all the music either gospel or christian music :). That would be nice.
Tam Tam, if u are talking about blending in, the Stellars never reconized artists like Nicole C. Mullen or Mandisa or Michael Tait. And all of these artists of color, mind you. And again I say I also blame Christians both black and white
Tam Tam, you ain't nuthin but a truth teller! That is all.
Ok. Let's walk through this slowly. The Dove Awards began in 1969 (a very special year for me, BTW! LOL!) http://christianmusic.about.com/od/doves/a/dovehi... The Stellars began in 1985. This means that the organizers of the Dove Awards has a 16-year HEAD START to establish who and what they would honor about Christian music. 16 years to DEFINE what Christian music is. And the organizers are free to do what they did. They just didn't their awards show should have Black, urban, gospel music. Their choice. And so the Stellars, as pitiful as it has been at times, has made the strong effort to honor those whom they felt honor should be due. You mentioned Nicole C. Mullen. Ok. She got her first Dove in 1998 and to date, she's the ONLY African American artist to win the Dove Award for Song of the Year. The ONLY ONE. Mandisa and Michael Tait (who is he?). In the political world, they would be called TOKEN winners. Not to say they aren't deserving of the award per se, but that's not enough to establish a pattern of racial inclusion, in my humble opinion. This same pattern of racial exclusion happens a lot in organizations in society. What's not ok to me is when the White organizations finally want to be inclusive after YEARS of REJECTION and DISCRIMINATION, then the Black (or Hispanic, or Asian, or Native American) organizations are just supposed to drop what they're doing and be one big melting pot. Nah. Not so fast.
Typos! Argh! Here's what I meant to say: And the organizers of the Dove Awards were free to do what they did. Apparently they DID NOT desire to include or award Black/urban, gospel music.
And the same people who was critical of Mullen being a token, the black folk at the Stellars lumped some hate on Martha Munizzi because she won her catagory. Race should not be an issue because of awards show. Have we learned something with Shirley Sherrod? The Christian music industries need to learn to tolarate each other or perish as fools. Oh and btw, Michael Tait was one of the lead singers of D.C. Talk and now he's currently a lead singer with the Newsboys.
For me, I don't think moving to Georgia means too much of anything, it's just another huge music city. That's just what I think. But I would be a more shocked if they were going somewhere like, New York or Los Angeles, but...it is what it is. I also don't believe that too much of the focus should be on the issue of race. Of course, we've seen the obvious problems & some have had issues with it throughout the years. But at least it's changing, as it has been for more than just a few past years. And I hope that both sides will embrace each other even more, as they should have in the first place.
Gayle & busy04: The case about Martha M. could be a reverse instance of tokenism? That's interesting, to say the least. And she actually won her category, huh? Mandisa and Michael did not, as I later discovered. The Dove Awards set the precedent for (racial) exclusion. I will not blame the Stellars for doing their own thing, including honoring Martha M. How does Shirley Sherrod fit into this conversation? Both political parties did her wrong. The Repubs lied on her and the Democrats believed the lie and fired her. And then when the truth came out, she didn't compromise ONE THING. She stood her ground. Her very story calls out the messiness, for lack of a better word of racism and more importantly, a rush to judgement, even from a (BLACK) president she supported (and still does). I believe our Lord does not tolerate injustice of any kind, including RACIAL injustice. In the big picture, the Lord doesn't care about these award shows. He's most concerned about souls. But at the same time, the Stellars shouldn't punk out and let other folks control who and what they (the Stellars) choose to celebrate.
@Tam Tam i think we're reading too deep into the move to ATL... maybe its just a change of scene. Just like the Grammy's have moved back and forth from NYC to LA. The Stellars have moved from Dallas (or one of those cities in Tx), ATL and Nashville. VMA's in Miami, LA, Vegas, etc... I mean, several gospel artists have won doves or have performed on the show over the past several years. And if you dont think that CCM fans are loyal, then you must not follow the genre much or attend their concerts. But anyway, the Christian Contemporary genre is just vastly bigger... so i wouldnt be surprised if they're artists win MORE awards or what have you. And also, I'm not saying that there weren't any racial FACTORS regarding the Dove awards years ago... but i think some Gospel music lovers live in a bubble at times. The Gospel music genre is SMALL! And back in the 70s it was even SMALLER. Majority of these artists that we want to have all this mainstream recognition are virtually unknown to the masses. And its not cause the Dove awards refuses to give them any shine.... its cuz the gospel genre isnt as impactful on the WORLD stage as people think.
and remember, black americans (carribean, african, etc)... we only make up less than 15% of the population in this country... of COURSE CCM music would have a wider audience. They have a broader reach just statically. So for only one or two black people to win song of the year at the Doves... that makes sense to me. I wouldnt say it was cause of racial factors.
I really don`t care about the new move,as long as they get new people performing and not the same people.
As I noted in my first post, the ultimate reason for the move, in my opinion, is FINANCIAL, although I do believe that the Dove Awards folk see an opportunity to expand into a market that they had previously IGNORED for various reasons (and I think race was/is one of those reasons). When you say "several gospel artists have won doves or performed on the show over the past several years", do you mean BLACK gospel artists? If so, who? How many is several? How many years? The show has been in existence for 41 YEARS! Another thing: the Doves RETIRED these TWO categories: Soul/Black Gospel Album (1977 - 1980) and Inspirational Black Gospel Album (1981 - 1983) so again, if the decision makers of the Doves wanted to celebrate Black gospel (in the way "we" define it), their audience members apparently did not. And the gospel music genre is not as small as you may think. Religious music (inclusive of Christian, Gospel, Inspirational, Religious, and Spiritual) ranked as the SIXTH top selling genre at 6.5 PERCENT (2008 Data). Source: RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). There's NOTHING SMALL about that.
I'm with Mee on this....maybe its really got nothing to do with race at all but rather movign to a bigger musical city....
Why is race even an issue in this, there are plenty of CCM artist that live in or near Atlanta. And nobody complains when the grammy's comes around and most of the performers, presenters, and winners are white. The dove awards have included gospel artist in it's shows and GMA week does showcase gospel music. Now I know people are gonna say that the dove's excluded us first but even after they included us how many times have a CCM artist performed on the stellar's? Yes they have presented but they have never performed. And Don Jackson (the guy who started the stellar's) helps with the dove awards. @Tam Tam Nicole C. Mullen has more black fans than she does white and according to the dove awards she is a gospel artist not CCM, but the stellar's don't recognize her and many others because they say their not "urban enough".
@ Christina, it should not be a racial issue at all. I agree with you
I don't recall myself speaking about any of the people you mentioned, I didn't even pay attention to names being called in the first place. I made a general statement regarding the move, according to how I PERSONALLY feel...so I don't see where I fit in this response. I'm happy that both Gospel & CCM communities are moving forward now. My opinion isn't changing their plans. I won't change how I feel & I don't expect everyone else to feel the way I do. I quote myself: "Of course, we've seen the obvious problems & some have had issues with it throughout the years. But at least it's CHANGING, as it has been for more than just a few past years. And I hope that BOTH SIDES WILL EMBRACE each other even more, as they should have in THE FIRST PLACE." There is nothing wrong with moving beyond whatever barriers were set in place.
@Christina I agree on all points made.
So noted.
"@Tam Tam Nicole C. Mullen has more black fans than she does white and according to the dove awards she is a gospel artist not CCM, but the stellar's don't recognize her and many others because they say their not "urban enough". It would be quite useful for you to demonstrate this. How could this be known? Are you aware of the Black and White buying patterns of gospel music? It would be great if you could share those numbers. And how about this: count me in because I have at least TWO (2) of Nicole's CDs (including her Christmas album). I was invited to one of her concerts years ago and liked her music.
The Grammy comparison is as apples to oranges because the Grammys never focused exclusively on one genre of music as does the Doves and the Stellars. As I said upthread: 1. I believe the MAIN reason for the Doves moving to the ATL is FINANCIAL, or else why move at all? Nobody is trying to spend money they don't have to spend, esp. in this economy. And as you say, if they have more CCM artists living in the ATL, all the more reason, although I don't believe that or that it really matters in the big picture. 2. the Doves had a 16-year HEAD START to welcome ALL genres of Christian music (including Black gospel) into their show. They chose not to. Their perrogative. And apparently Blacks didn't start winning Doves until AFTER the Stellars began in 1985. But race has nothing to do with it, huh?
Some have asked about race being a part of this conversation. EJ's headline says "I hear diversity comin'!" If anyone has worked in any corporate arena or even participated in the most recent presidential election, one code word for "diversity" is the "race" issue, particularly about Black folk. I had to explore for myself this notion of "racial tension" I perceive surrounds the Dove Awards. I came across this article in the March 9, 1996 issue of Billboard Magazine written by Deborah Evans Price. To summarize, the article addresses a decision by the GMA Awards to change the names of several categories in response to "complaints from negroes" about the use of the term "Black" in some of the categories. The Southern Gospel Music Guild believes that removing the term "Black" from the category known as "Black Gospel" would cause confusion. Hmmmm.... Negroes? In 1996? Negroes? Really? Wowwwwww... The article has quotes from Bobby Jones and Gospel Today publisher Teresa Hairston. These two have different opinions on the matter.
@ Tam Tam Can you cite the article you are referencing?
Please re-read my post and in the second paragraph, you will see the following: "I came across this article in the March 9, 1996 issue of Billboard Magazine written by Deborah Evans Price." Publication: Billboard Magazine Date: March 9, 1996 Author: Deborah Evans Price
I do sincerely apologize for not including the title of the article in my previous posts. Here it is: "Opinion divided on new category names for Doves. (1996 Dove Awards)."
Hi, About the move, it doesn't really matter to me. But just because I don't see the cause in it, doesn't mean it isn't there.
Hi, Just in response to the second statement. The Dove Awards actually began awarding black gospel music in 1974 & has continued to do so every year after. And before 1974 ( in 1971, to be exact), some gospel artists even performed on the show or presented (of course being in that time it wasn’t a major production as it is now, so the actual number of BG artist participants were few). I know that may not be a huge difference to anyone, but I’m just sharing facts.
Thank you M.Danielle for those facts
Ah yes, the award show equivalent of "I'm not racist. One of my best friends is Black!" Sigh....
Hmmm.... T'is all.... Quote from GMA Chairman of the Board Ed Leonard: "Moving to Atlanta is a way to better embrace the black gospel community," Leonard said. GMA Dove Awards' move to Atlanta met with shock, disappointment in Nashville Music City has hosted annual Gospel Music Association awards show for many years By Anita Wadhwani • THE TENNESSEAN • July 28, 2010 Link here: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100728/BUSINE...
I think as Christians and the gospel community especially need to move on. GMA made their decision. And Christians should pray for them and support it.
The Doves (GMAs) has ALWAYS included black Gospel artists. Just last year Jonathan Nelson was not only nominated, but performed, and in the past everyone from the Winans to Kirk Franklin and more have performed on the show. Black Gospel always cries racism, but the Stellars is the more racist out of the two shows. I have NEVER seen a CCM artist do even as much as present an award on the show. As a matter of fact, I grew up watching the stellars annually and I didn't even know who any CCM artists were until Star 99.1 launched in the NY/NJ area.