How To Be Ten Toes Down With Spirit

^“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.” — Psalm 98. 

Fisk University opened in 1866 to educate Black students. Within five years the school was bankrupt. Professor George White crafted a plan no one saw, or heard, coming. 

White, who taught in the music department, invited nine of his best students to sing together. The ensemble toured the country, with proceeds going directly to keep Fisk open. 

But white audiences became furious when they realized that the Fisk singers were not a  bunch of minstrels to be laughed at and ridiculed.

To restore the singers’ morale, White turned to the bible to select an official name for them. 

He chose “The Jubilee Singers,” a nod to the “year of jubilee,” in which all those enslaved were to be set free. This reminded the group that their purpose was greater than all of them.

Over time audiences came to welcome their performances. 

The mainstays of their repertoire were  “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “Steal Away to Jesus.” After touring the U.S., the Jubilee Singers toured Europe. More than 150 years later, Fisk University is still educating Black students. 

Black liberation means standing on business even when our goal seems impossible.  We know that Spirit will get us there.