The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation in public places, and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Monday afternoon in Hopkinsville, only 61 years later, and on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, whites and blacks together packed the historic Alhambra Theatre for one common goal: to take in the award-winning Fisk University Jubilee Singers.
Hailing from one of the nation’s oldest Historical Black Colleges and Universities, the troupe brought its repertoire of “Negro Spirituals” to life.
Appointed as the group’s director in 2023, Dr. G. Preston Wilson, Jr., recounted the history of Fisk University — which first opened its doors near Nashville, Tennessee, in 1866.
That $40, he noted, eventually got the students a gig in Cincinnati, where they earned $50 — a return of $10.
Those students took that $50, however, and sent it to residents of Chicago — who were under duress from the Great Fire of 1871.
So in 1873, Wilson said White tried again — this time with 11 students on an international trip to Europe.
And, thus, he said, the Jubilee Singers were born, today bringing historic slave hymns to ears worldwide.
Among their performance, came “O the Rocks and the Mountains.”
Raychel Farmer, director of the Hopkinsville-Christian County Human Rights Commission, also announced the winners of this year’s children’s MLK Art Contest.
+ For the elementary pre-K to second grade division, third place to Pembroke Elementary first grader Lexi Chambers, second place to Sinking Fork Elementary School second grader Robert Davenport, and first place to Pembroke Elementary second grader Everett Coffey
+ For the intermediate third to fifth grade division, third place to Sinking Fork Elementary School third grader Miracle McGee, second place to Indian Hills Elementary School fifth grader Kenzi Brown, and first place to Pembroke Elementary School fifth grader Amani Williams
+ For the middle school division, second place to Christian County Middle School’s Payton Arwine, and first place to Christian County Middle School’s Ryan Becker
+ And for the high school division, third place to Christian County High School’s Brittan Joiner, second place to Christian County High School’s Jasmine Beckwith, and first place to Christian County High School’s Reyna Price. All three of these students are currently studying under CCHS Art Teacher Paula Gieseke.
National Anthem:
No More:
O The Rocks And Mountains:
Rockin’ Jerusalem:
Steal Away:
