On Tuesday, Baylor University dedicated two new statues on its campus to the university’s first two Black graduates, the late Rev. Robert L. Gilbert, and Mrs. Barbara A. Walker. Dax Duncan, with the Baylor University Journalism Partnership with KWBU, covered the event.
Till Victory Is Won
Sandra Evers Manly (Courtesy Photo)
As I examine Black History Month 2021, and what may be accomplished during the shortest month of the year, I am reminded of a special song that continues to motivate generations since the late 1890’s. First commissioned as a poem, “Life Every Voice and Sing” was written by James Weldon Johnson, Principal of the segregated Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida. It was then set to music in 1905 by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson a composer who trained at the New England Conservatory of Music. These influential and talented brothers worked together all of their lives, both in show business and as critical players in the civil rights movement. They believed that “artistic and cultural excellence was key to Black Advancement in America.” I believe that we have all witnessed many examples of this cultural excellence from the past as well as today.