From Slavery and the Spirituals to Civil Rights and Gospel, Journey Promises Education and Inspiration

Dr. Daniel E. Walker

Victory Baptist

Los Angeles, CA (BlackNews.com 4/7/09) - Seeking to remind the nation and the world of the central role of the Black church in African American and American history, the Black Voice Foundation announces the Psalms of Freedom African American Church History and Music Tour. Taking place June 13-20, 2009, the excursion allows participants to experience the uplifting history and one-of-a-kind music of the African American church from its African foundations to the present-day. Starting in Memphis, Tennessee and traveling through Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, the tour includes everything from slavery and the spirituals to Gospel music, the Civil Rights Movement, and the contemporary church.

"The African American church is the most important institution in the African American community," says Dr. Daniel E. Walker, tour guide, award-winning historian and Founding Director of the Gospel Music History Project. "This is a life-changing journey that will inspire individuals to go back to their communities with a renewed sense of commitment, purpose, and vision."

The tour embraces the creation of every major African American religious denomination and the continuing influence of sacred music styles such as traditional, contemporary, and Hip Hop Gospel. Over the course of the week, participants will enjoy an uplifting educational experience with visits to historic sites including: Mason Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC National Headquarters and the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" Speech); The Stax Museum of American Soul Music; Beale Street (the center of early urban Blues); The Lorraine Motel; The Mississippi Delta (birthplace of the Blues and individuals such as Sam Cooke, the Staples Singers, and the Reverend C.L. Franklin); Mound Bayou Church of Christ; Jackson State University; Malaco Records; Money, Mississippi (The location of the lynching of Emmett Till); Brown Chapel A.M.E.; The Edmund Pettus Bridge (site of Bloody Sunday); The 16th Street Baptist Church (the place where a bomb killed four young girls in 1963); The King Center for Non-Violent Social Change; and The Interdenominational Theological Center.

Given the heated public discussions about the African American Church that occurred during the election of President Barack Obama, this tour is both timely and relevant. As Dr. Walker states, "Witnessing the monumental change that this country has undergone in recent months, it is important for everyone to fully understand and appreciate the road that got us here."

For more information and a full itinerary go to www.ourperfectworks.com

About Dr. Daniel E. Walker (www.ourperfectworks.com)
Dr. Daniel E. Walker (PhD with distinction in History) is the author of the highly reviewed book No More, No More: Slavery and Cultural Resistance in Havana and New Orleans (University of Minnesota Press), the Founding Director of the Gospel Music History Project, and a Research Associate at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California. The former Associate Director of the African American Studies Program at the University of Houston and Co-Creator of one of the nation's only PhD programs in the history of the African Diaspora (Indiana University), he has received fellowships, awards, and grants from entities such as the Louisville Institute, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Texas State Historical Association, the Southern Conference on African American Studies, the African American Public Policy Institute, the Historical Society of Southern California, the Haynes Foundation, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.

About the Black Voice Foundation (www.blackvoicenews.com)
The Black Voice Foundation Inc. was founded by pioneering Black Voice News publishers Hardy and Cheryl Brown with a mission to train and educate individuals in print media. With the digital revolution, the rapid growth of technology in the world of communications, and a desire to impact lives through a diverse set of multimedia platforms, the Black Voice Foundation expanded its mission to include digital and electronic media and a burgeoning set of projects in the fields of art, culture, and historic preservation.