This Library Guide was created by a Historic Preservation graduate class including these students:
Lindsay Dascola
Annie Gaston
Heather Lehman
Alicia Whitcome
Alexander Whydell
The students would like to thank the following people. This exhibit would not have happened without them!
Thank you!
Patrick Barry, Jr.
Alexis Braun Marks
Debra Burke
Dr. Matthew Cook
Amber Davis
Dr. Debra Gombert
Larry Hutchinson
Matt Jones
Walter Kraft
Dr. Theresa Merrill
Luis Pena
Music Therapy Center
Martha Jean Cotton founded the Black Gospel Choir as a student in November 1972. The following year, the choir's first anniversary concert program listed 104 members. Cotton was one of the choir's pianists.
In 1973-74, the Black Gospel Choir participated in a concert exchange with the Kuumba Singers from Harvard. The Kuumba Singers performed at Eastern's campus in 1973, and the Black Gospel Choir performed at Harvard in 1974. The Kuumba Singers' president said that their visit to EMU was the highlight of their tour of Michigan.
The Black Gospel Choir changed its name to the EMU Gospel Choir sometime before the 1980s. Over the next few decades, the choir performed at various area churches and venues. It regularly performed at EMU events, including Black Solidarity Day celebrations and MLK Memorial Concerts and dinners.
The EMU Gospel Choir still serves Eastern and the greater Ypsilanti community through its performances. The choir's longevity demonstrates the power groups can have when students feel a need in their college campus and work together to fill it. The choir allows students to express their passion, culture, and spirituality.