Detroit’s Silent Secret Can Only Be Heard In Black Churches
You are free. Detroit’s spiritual community is the cradle of this hidden Black history, a history that’s always ready to be remembered and sung to uplift our spirits. Can you hear Spirit singing out to us?
Everyone calls Detroit “the Motor City.” But did you know that Detroit has a secret even older than the Motown sound?
Gospel music was uplifting our people even before Thomas Dorsey, Father of Gospel music, penned “Precious Lord.”
According to Detroit gospel musician Darius Twyman, Detroit will always be the cradle for gospel because Detroit is where Dorsey found his inspiration.
Dorsey composed “Precious Lord” in 1932, but throughout the 1930s, Black musicians experimented with sacred and secular music, blending spiritual hymns with soulful blues and underlying jazz notes.
Detroit’s rich Black church scene was also why the genre swept the city. Greater Grace Temple and its choir gave gospel its national and international clout.
Detroit was also home to many artists who contributed to the genre: The Winans, Mattie Moss-Clark, the Clark sisters, and, of course, Aretha Franklin.
So many places have a Black spiritual history that few of us know about. A fun and creative way to connect with Spirit is to research the Black spiritual history of your area.
We must not allow our Black spiritual histories to be overshadowed or forgotten. These sacred histories can teach us how to remain free in spirit, just as our ancestors did.
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