Why “Amazing Grace” Is One Of Our Most Sacred Hymns

Reclaiming: 

In 1748, a white enslaver nearly died when his vessel was caught in a storm, killing many of the enslaved Africans on board. He wrote Amazing Grace in 1772.

In the early 19th century, the hymn grew in popularity, and generations of enslaved Africans claimed the song for themselves, finding God’s love for the oppressed in its lyrics. 

Church: 

Over the years, Amazing Grace poured from Black churches. Although it is still sung often, it is most commonly performed at funerals. 

Civil Rights Movement: 

When he felt dispirited, Martin Luther King would call the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and ask her to sing the song over the phone.  For him, the hymn was a reminder to keep the faith. 

Popular Figures: 

Aretha Franklin took us to church when she recorded her “Amazing Grace” album live from the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in 1972. The congregants in the background can be heard whooping and clapping.

In 2015 President Obama brought us back to church, surprising listeners by singing Amazing Grace at a memorial service for the nine people killed by a white supremacist inside Charleston’s Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of our oldest churches. 

Amazing Grace is a multigenerational testimony and a powerful invocation of God’s grace, the reason our ancestors continued to trust God when enduring unimaginable oppression.