By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The former church at 2656 42nd SW filled with spirit again Thursday night as gospel songs outnumbered speeches at the Washington State Black Legacy Institute‘s first-anniversary celebration. WSBLI president Kateesha Atterberry introduced singer Dee Scott to open the program with “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem:
Lifting the voices of the Black community, past, present, and future, is at the heart of the WSBLI’s mission, Atterberry explained:
The institute’s work for the “preservation, empowerment, and future of the Black legacy,” as Atterberry described it, was lauded by the guest speaker who preceded Atterberry, District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka, calling WSBLI “a unique community gem”:
The music, too, came with a history lesson. Before the Brilliance Interfaith Gospel Choir‘s first song, its director Kent Stevenson talked about how a cornerstone of gospel music came from a communication invention by enslaved people when their “overseers” tried to keep them from communicating – the spiritual:
The choir is less than a year old. A much deeper history in local gospel music belongs to Dr. Rose Wallace-Croone, who interspersed her first songs with historical reminiscences about how her family came to this state in the ’40s, drawn by the prospect for good jobs:
More celebration of Black achievement came in a preview of upcoming Impact Awards – Alvertis Brooks, Jr., of the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, talked about recipients WSBLI and Percy The Barber from nearby Rain City Barbershop:
Brooks noted that the RVCDF will be active in helping West Seattle businesses not just survive, but thrive, with light rail (they’re hosting weekly drop-in sessions at WSBLI). Thriving through adversity was in the spirit of the choir’s performance of “The Storm Is Passing Over”:
And the program closed with both the choir and soloist Wallace-Croone:
While he wasn’t in the speaking lineup, WSBLI’s continuously on-site leader Roger Evans was praised by Atterberry, who also had a major announcement: For those who’ve tried to find out more online about WSBLI, it’s been a challenge until now, but that’s changed, because they’ve launched a website at wsbli.com. That’s where you can learn more about what WSBLI is doing and how to support it.