September is Gospel Music Heritage Month!
To celebrate, this site will… well, there’s going to be a conference on… wait, no… an awards show will honor…
Nevermind. September is Gospel Music Heritage Month and, every year, very little is done to celebrate it. I’m chiefly guilty of it– I think I may have attempted to begin thinking about doing something a couple of years back.
A bit of background… the country has been celebrating Gospel Music Heritage Month since 2008, after Congress passed legislation acknowledging September as the month to honor gospel music. The initiative was spearheaded by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) and the National Recording Academy for Arts & Sciences, Gospel Music Channel (now known as gmc) and the Gospel Music Association.
But did you even know it was Heritage Month? Do you support or celebrate it?
I bet you’re not among the 864 people who “like” its official Facebook fan page, nor are you among the 37 people who follow its official Twitter profile (don’t feel bad, I just learned of it as I wrote this). And I know you don’t visit the GospelMusicHeritage.com website, which now simply redirects to the homepage of gmc, the organization that hosted the web address as the movement grew.
Ok, it’s not completely as desolate as I’m making it seem.
At the top of this month, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosted its 3rd annual “Evolution of Gospel” celebration in honor of Heritage Month. With a “Kennedy Center Honors…” type of vibe, the night honored the contributions of Dr. Bobby Jones, Cathy Hughes and First Lady Michelle Obama, who was unable to attend. The evening featured performances by Kirk Franklin, Richard Smallwood, Marvin Sapp and more.
And Heritage Month’s social media properties are hinting at some OFFICIAL event taking place in Houston, TX this month, though they haven’t announced a date or location.
My thought is that, because the gospel music community does not have an official, unified trade organization representing it, there is no group charged with really celebrating anything in it, including Heritage Month. Plenty of organizations– from SAGMA to GMWA, GMA to BMI, NARAS to various acronyms in between– have done their part to honor the music and culture, but these groups are often overworked and understaffed, with other primary corporate objectives. Their celebrations are splintered across the country and across the calendar year. Who can plan a month’s worth of unified gospel music activities?!
Again, this is not a knock against anyone– GospelPundit.com hasn’t exactly been the hub of Heritage Month features, trivia and giveaways. I tend to tell myself “ahhh, next year!”
But my observations do raise the question– we don’t really celebrate Gospel Music Heritage Month, do we?
If you agree, fine. If you disagree, tell me where the party is and let’s have at it.
Either way, I think we all need to do a bit more.
I agree and think that next year we just may see a change as it has gained momentum from being held at the Kennedy Center. Your comments are on point!
Gospel music is dead.
You are certainly right E.J. I try to do my part by organizing what I call a "Hymn Sing" every year about this time or late August. Where we invite Local Gospel Artists to sing in a Gaither-style setting and present the Hymns of the church. We include the histories of the Hymns and the people who wrote them as well. I would like to expand it next year...Anyone wanna help. (cribbs@rock.com) Let me know!!