45 Years of Song and Social Justice with Sweet Honey in the Rock

45 YEARS of Song and Social Justice with Sweet Honey in the Rock

By Margo Streibeg

During the first week of Grammy Award-winning a cappaella ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock’s residency at the University of Chicago, both the singers and audience members were moved to tears sharing stories of struggle and resiliency, and how they’ve used music to keep them going. The feeling of love was palpable, and the positive, peaceful, and socially conscious spirit that Sweet Honey In The Rock embodies resonated across the community.

Sweet Honey In The Rock is known as one of the most vibrant and versatile musical collectives in America, composed of talented artists and powerful activists. Formed in Washington, D.C. in the early 1970s, the group has always been deeply committed to social justice issues. Founded by Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, a civil rights activist and former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Freedom Singer, as part of the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company, the group strives to preserve the heritage of Black America through its gospel hymns and freedom songs.

The women of Sweet Honey are prolific entertainers: they have performed on almost every continent and in many of the world’s most prestigious venues; have taken the stage at Carnegie Hall more than 30 times; and were invited to sing at the White House by longtime fans President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. According to Mrs. Obama, Sweet Honey are one of her “favorite groups in the whole wide world, Sweet Honey In The Rock. Doesn’t that name sound good?”

This year, as a part of their 45th anniversary, Sweet Honey brings its mission of empowerment, education, and entertainment to UChicago as the 2018-19 Don Michael Randel Ensemble-in-Residence. Throughout the residency, they are presenting a variety of workshops, panel discussions, master classes, and public performances. In addition to community programs, Sweet Honey will work with students in the Department of Music’s choral ensembles—the Motet Choir, Women’s Ensemble, University Chorus, and Rockefeller Chapel Choir. As the first choral ensemble to hold the position, Sweet Honey provides UChicago’s singers the opportunity to engage, workshop, and perform with a world-class ensemble.

Through their music, Sweet Honey seeks to preserve and extend the traditions of African American vocal music, and to inspire an intergenerational audience to use their voices to address the critical issues of our time, celebrating our common humanity. The ensemble’s name is derived from a line in a song by Mamie Forehand, based on Psalm 81:16: “But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” The verse tells of a land so rich that when rocks are cracked open, honey flows from them; as such, when the women first harmonized their voices, the feeling was so powerful that there was no doubt about their name.

Sweet Honey’s music radiates energy and innovation, combining finely-honed a cappella, world, gospel, and folk roots with elements of hip hop, jazz, and R&B. Their extensive repertoire includes an impressive collection of original material and timeless covers, which they have recorded on 24 albums, several specifically for children. Themes from the group’s most recent album, #LoveInEvolution, come from today’s headlines of today’s world news, addressing systemic injustice as it pertains to people of color— police brutality, gun control, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Beyond the music, the ensemble has built a reputation as powerful storytellers, vocally and visually, prioritizing inclusion. Their dynamic performances incorporate American Sign Language interpretation by Barbara Hunt for those who are deaf and hearingimpaired.

Though the Civil Rights Movement may have ended in 1968, Sweet Honey In The Rock has continued fighting for justice since its founding in 1973. Even when its founder Bernice Johnson Reagon retired in 2004, Sweet Honey committed to keeping the group alive. The current ensemble features four core members: Louise Robinson, Aisha Kahlil, Nitanju Bolade Casel, and Carol Maillard, along with vocalist Rochelle Rice and bassist Romeir Mendez.

In November, ensemble members shared stories from their four-decade history as activists during an Artists Live discussion, moderated by historian, writer, professor, and longtime political activist Barbara Ransby. They held an Arts & Activism community presentation at Rockefeller Chapel to continue educating future activists. The group coled a Community Song Circle with the Chicago Black Catholic Choir involving artists, vocal groups, choral students, and others to share music from the folk and gospel traditions that energize people around social justice and community transformation. Finally, members of two UChicago choirs—University Chorus and Women’s Ensemble—shared the stage at Rockefeller Chapel with Sweet Honey In The Rock and the Chicago Children’s Choir Hyde Park Presto ensemble in a colorful concert with over 1,300 people in attendance.

Sweet Honey In The Rock returns to campus February 4–10 for a masterclass, panel, and a concert with UChicago Presents. Thew final week of their threeweek residency will take place May 6–11, culminating in a public performance.

WINTER RESIDENCY EVENTS Tue, Feb 5: Meet Sweet Honey; Thu, Feb 7: Panel Discussion with Sweet Honey; Fri, Feb 8, 7:30pm: Meet Sweet Honey. See pgs. 23 and 24 for more information about these events. Learn more about Sweet Honey at sweethoneyintherock.org.

Clockwise from top left: Aisha Kahill, Carol Maillard, Nitanju Bolade Casel, and Louise Robinson. Photos: Howard T. Cash.