This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.

Will the Circle Be Unbroken?: The Sacred Music of the African American Diaspora

Enter the Exhibit

This exhibit showcases the role Sacred Music plays in the cultural institutions of the African American communities of Los Angeles, as well as the ways in which those traditions have impacted the politics, social structures, and history of African Americans in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas.

The exhibit is made up of materials from the African Diaspora Sacred Music and Musicians (ADSMM) program and the Georgia & Nolan Payton Archive of Sacred Music. The Payton archive consists of music, books, periodicals, documents, audio & visual materials, posters, and photographs. The collections were donated to the CSUDH Gerth Archives and Special Collections by Dr. Hansonia Caldwell, emeritus professor at CSUDH, and Sallyanne Payton, one of the founders of the ADSMM and the Payton Archive. Both Caldwell and Payton are longtime supporters of the Gerth Archives and sponsors of this exhibit.

The primary goal of these collection is to facilitate research and documentation of collections of African Diaspora sacred music created and/or performed by the multicultural population of Southern California. The materials in the collections are available for research in the CSUDH Gerth Archives and Special Collections.

This page has paths:

Contents of this path:

Contents of this tag:

This case features the life and works of noted composer, conductor, and arranger Don Lee White. Among his many achievements, White was the music minister at Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church for almost 40 years and the founder of the dlw Community Chorale. Part of the "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" exhibit at California State University Dominguez Hills. Photo by Beth McDonald, February 2020.
The church has been a center of African American life since the earliest congregations were established in the 1700s and has also often been the center of the community’s musical traditions. This legacy was brought to California by ministers who arrived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from states that had strong African-American communities steeped in the musical culture of the African diaspora. Part of the "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" exhibit at California State University Dominguez Hills. Photo by Beth McDonald, February 2020.
The tradition of the concert spiritual – a more formal, arranged version of the songs sung by slaves – began with the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The popularity of the Fisk Singers and the warm reception of their music inspired other choirs to follow in their footsteps. The concert spiritual tradition continues at many historically black colleges, churches, and community choirs today. African American composers, past and present, who are masters of the concert spiritual include John Wesley Work, Jr. R. Nathaniel Dett, Hall Johnson, Jester Hairston, and Moses Hogan. Part of the "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" exhibit at California State University Domniguez Hills. Photo by Beth McDonald, February 2020.
This case contains books and albums that record a wide cross section of African American music and the musicians who popularized them from spirituals through gospel, ragtime, jazz, and modern pop. The artists in this case were trailbreakers for the musicians that came after them, making music so extraordinary it was impossible to ignore, regardless of race. Many of the modern variations of these genres are made up of earlier forms that have been merged and remixed, creating new styles for old stories. Part of the "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" exhibit at California State University Dominguez Hills. Photo by Beth McDonald, February 2020.
African American women have always been significant contributors to sacred music in all arenas from composition to performance, though their accomplishments are sometimes overshadowed by their male counterparts. In studying their achievements as part of a larger whole, we can truly celebrate and appreciate the scope of the impact that they have had. These women rewrote the songbook of African American sacred music, changing the musical landscape and leaving a legacy for future generations. Part of the "will the Circle Be Unbroken" exhibit at California State University Dominguez Hills. Photo by Beth McDonald, February 2020.

This page references:

Tour of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken: The Sacred Music of the African American Diaspora"