For the past month, congregations nationwide celebrated Black History Month with a newly composed hymn honoring the Christian anthems that fueled the Civil Rights Movement.
From the historic pews of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, once home to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr… to the rolling hills of Louisville, Kentucky, a familiar sound played throughout sanctuaries this February, a new composition with echoes from the past.
The hymn, titled “Just Like Selma,” and the award-winning accompanying music video is based on a famous quote from Martin Luther King Jr. and pays tribute to the three Civil Rights marches from Selma to Montgomery.
The official version features gospel artists Zacardi Cortez and Beverly Crawford along with the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church Mass Choir.
Composer Nolan Williams Jr. says the song brings together the feel of historic freedom anthems.
“‘This Little Light of Mine’ and ‘Oh, Freedom!’ and ‘We Shall Overcome’ — in a new way,” Williams said.
A Lifelong Connection to Hymns
Williams has studied African American hymns for decades and comes from a long line of Baptist preachers.
He recalls a weekly Sunday prayer service in his childhood home.
“We had a weekly prayer time service on Sundays where we would have to shut down the TV and come into my parents’ room and sit at the foot of their bed with our Bibles,” he said. “We sang hymns and songs and read Scripture and prayed as a family. That was mandatory.”
That upbringing spurred a deep appreciation for the power of music.
“It’s through hymns that we learn theological concepts,” Williams said. “Through the text of hymns, we’re taught.”
The Soundtrack of the Movement
From Selma to the March on Washington, gospel artists like The Staple Singers and Mahalia Jackson led a bugle call in the fight for freedom.
Hymns such as “We Shall Not Be Moved” and “We Shall Overcome” galvanized each step.
“They adapted the spirituals,” Williams said. “As opposed to saying, ‘Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus,’ they said, ‘Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom.'”
The Selma marches reached a climax during the now-infamous Bloody Sunday. The violence of that day sparked national outrage and helped lead to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Williams said the fact that parts of the law are now being challenged before the Supreme Court was not lost on him, inspiring the song and his ongoing fight for democracy.
“A hymn just seemed like a different and yet meaningful way to teach, to inspire people to think, to convene inconvenient conversations, to remind people of this history,” he said.
A History That Runs Deep
At Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, D.C., the song carries added meaning among the choir.
“One of our choir members’ father marched on Bloody Sunday,” said Elder Armand Peterson.
The church once served as a pulpit for abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Civil Rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune and hosted the funeral of Civil Rights leader A. Philip Randolph… making the performance especially fitting.
“This church stands on the shoulders of our ancestors who fought tirelessly to make certain that we had the rights that we have today,” Peterson said.
Williams said several churches saw that history as motivation, helping the song continue to spread.
“We have folk who are dealing with some serious challenges and are feeling bullied and intimidated about speaking out. We have folk speaking in silos, you know, but I’ve been looking around like, well, why are we not coming together more?” Williams wondered.
“And then being reminded…music has the power to do that,” he finished.
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