Peace Be Still: Rev. James Cleveland and The Paradox of Peace in the Modern Civil Rights Movement
Rev. James Cleveland was a singer, pianist, composer, conductor, preacher, pastor, entrepreneur, and founder of the Gospel Music Workshop (GMWA). Cleveland’s 1963 release, Peace Be Still is a song about peace but it is not a peaceful song.
In his talk, Dr. Johari Jabir, PhD, Associate Professor of African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will use this paradox and its Civil Rights context to historicize the queerness in Black working class religious culture. Popular memory of Rev. Cleveland is mired in the public secret of his sexuality. Yet, Cleveland’s legacy is larger than his identity as it offers to us lessons of accompaniment, and a sankofa spirituality in the service of social medicine.
A reception will follow Dr. Jabir’s lecture. This event is free and open to the public. Click here for any lecture updates.