by Echelle Avelar
Staff Writer
Perfumed with the rich smell of incense, postured with the faces of infinite African Americans, clothed by the colorful fabrics of the motherland and consumed with rich gospel music, Founders Auditorium was the selected “spot” Monday night for the Black History Month music celebration otherwise known as Gospelfest.
“I thought it was such a nice idea. Music is the foundation of a lot of African Americans. It goes all the way back to the slavery days when they would use it for warning signals, so they would be able to try and run at night,” said Harvel Lewis, coordinator of minority student affairs.
The old-fashioned gospel hour was an arrangement of enthralling music and inspirational speeches.
Filling the air with their voices, the gospel group Reverence kicked off the merriment with the spiritual song “The Anointing.”
With the universal theme “We’ve Come This Far by Faith” entwined throughout the program, the audience was encouraged to “clap if the Holy Spirit hits you, or wave your hands,” said Lewis.
Following a silent reflection, a short speech entitled “Remembering Our Ancestors” led to the calling out loud of names of the audience’s ancestors.
Then came an uplifting speech by Marian Fussey, Los Angeles County Archdiocesan administrator.
She gave an overview of the “great dream of peace and equality” throughout black history recalling the 350 years that African Americans have resided in the United States.
“We’ve come this far by faith, one world or none. We must struggle together,” said Fussey.
Reverence took over the rest of the night’s events with an array of spiritual songs, including “Walk in the Light,” “The Angels” and “Dwell in Me.”
With the crowd’s hands clasped together, lifting their voices with rejoice and acknowledgements going to the Minority Student Affairs, Campus Ministry and Fussey, the night came to a successful close.
Echelle Avelar
