A look at the Black Gospel Archive at Baylor University
Did you know that the largest register of Black gospel music and preaching in the world is located outside Dallas-Fort Worth?
Housed at Baylor University, the Black Gospel Archive is dedicated to collecting, preserving and making thousands of Black gospel recordings available.
"We discovered a lot of this music carries the story of God working with our humanity and the music was being lost, so we aimed to digitize as much of the music, as much of the story as we possibly can," said Stephen Newby, D.M.A., in a recent interview with CBS News Texas.
Newby serves as the Lev H. Prichard III endowed chair in the Study of Black Worship in the Baylor School of Music, professor of music and ambassador for the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program.
Newby said the Black Gospel Archive not only celebrates Black culture and preserves a legacy, it is accomplishing a critical work – preserving thousands of gospel records and its history.
"For so many years Black life was found in the Black church," he said. "The Black church was the epicenter of Black life and as we celebrate Black History Month and we're thinking about the Black church, you can't dismiss the music," he added.
The son of a minister of music and a pastor says the opportunity to steward what he calls a core part of the heart and soul of the Black community is a dream job.
"I grew up in an era where the Black church was the epicenter of Black life. We're preserving legacies. We are informing scholarship and we are also celebrating Black culture," he added.
A recent $2.48 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. will expand the Black Gospel Archive and Listening Center at the Baylor Libraries, offering new programming and exhibits.
"Lilly Endowment's support for the next phase of the Black Gospel Archive represents a game-changing opportunity for the Baylor University Libraries," said Jeffry Archer, dean of University Libraries, Museums and the Press. "After 20 years of groundbreaking work to locate, preserve and make accessible America's Black Gospel music heritage, this gift will propel the Black Gospel Archive to a new level of national visibility and further our understanding of the impact of African American worship on religious culture at large."
Newby said the additional effort will also help make the music more accessible to communities around the country.
"Telling the story of the gospel and how the gospel wants to lift us all up and make us better for one another [is important]," he said. "We here at Baylor are very proud of this space and we believe that we can engage the culture, I wouldn't say change the world [but] make the world a better space."
