Legend, who says his exposure to music as a child at his Pentecostal church in Springfield, Ohio, inspired his singing career, says the Black church has long been a bulwark in tumultuous times. Gates, the host of PBS' "Finding Your Roots" and a Harvard professor, says the documentary's message of "race and resilience, struggle and redemption, hope and healing" resonates deeply after the events of 2020, which saw the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people at the hands of police officers and a higher rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths among people of color, including the Black community. It also inspired the title, as "This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song" is a slightly altered lyric from the 1873 hymn, "Blessed Assurance."ĭecision maker: How Oprah picked the title for PBS documentary on the Black church in AmericaĪs closely associated as music is with the Black church, it's just one part of an examination of the religious, political and cultural institution's 400-year history in America that also features interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Bishop Michael Curry, the Rev. Music plays a central role in the Black church and the documentary, which features interviews with Legend, Adams, Jennifer Hudson, BeBe Winans and Pastor Shirley Caesar.
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