“Gays and Gospel”—a tribute to the LGBTQ+ community and all the contributions it has made to gospel music from its genesis in the 1920s until today—will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 11 (National Coming Out Day), at 7 p.m.
It will take place on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus at Alice Millar Chapel, 1870 Sheridan Rd.
E. Patrick Johnson, dean of the School of Communication at Northwestern, and Kent R. Brooks, director of special projects for the department of religious and spiritual life and assistant professor of instruction in the department of performance studies, will lead the 90-minute program. Students from the Bienen School of Music will also participate.
“Many people go through a phase where it is difficult to reconcile our spirituality with our sexuality,” said Johnson in a statement. “That’s a long process for many people. For some, it’s an ongoing process. It’s not unusual to have people still singing in the church who are still struggling, and it’s not uncommon to have people who are very famous now, who are still struggling.”
The free event is a combination of lecture and song. Johnson and Brooks will explore the tensions, challenges and triumphs of the LGBTQ+ community in gospel music. The event will also trace the origins of the gospel music genre in Chicago and reveal how gospel greats like Walter and Edwin Hawkins, Mahalia Jackson, Albertina Walker, Shirley Caesar and other recording artists, including Aretha Franklin, were influenced by and collaborated with the queer community.