Singing the Story of John Lewis' "Chicken Church"
Photo: Michael Avedon
“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.”
The students were preparing for a trip to our nation’s capital, Washington D.C. Most of the girls had not been in America long, and were excited to be a part of this land of the free and the brave.
It was February 2010 when I implemented the music program at the newly formed Global Village School, a school housed in downtown Decatur, dedicated to teen refugee girls. Believing in the power of music to transform lives and fortify learning, I was determined to help these girls claim this land as their own and succeed. My friend and colleague, Elise Witt, soon joined me and we began a weekly Singing Class for the girls. Together, we made a concerted effort to link our curriculum with that of the schools’.
In preparation for the girls’ pilgrimage, we focused on songs of civil rights and the Constitution. Elise quickly penned a song about The 5 Freedoms, helping the girls learn their newly acquired rights of freedom in religion, speech, press, and the freedom to peaceably assemble and to petition the government. The girls took delight in singing these songs publicly for several groups while on their trip, claiming this country as their own.
Georgia’s Congressman John Lewis met with the Global Village School girls on their sojourn. Always a brilliant storyteller, he recited the much-loved story about his preaching and teaching to the chickens as a young boy on his family farm in Troy, Alabama. In fact, Lewis had a stutter, and preaching to the chickens was a way to practice voicing himself with confidence. Upon the students’ return, we created an improvised song reflecting on their trip, which included “Chicken Church,” and Lewis’ way of honing his leadership skills as a child.
From Bloody Sunday to the Black Lives Matters sign leading toward the White House on 16th Street just weeks before he died, Lewis was present. Like any great pilgrim or activist, putting one foot in front of another, tenacity and persistence were the name of the game. Mr. Lewis was my very own Congressman in Georgia’s District 5. To be in his presence, was to know love and goodness, and faith in action. His actions and presence often speaking much louder than words, but his words were always direct and powerful.
Last week I watched and wept as the nation laid Robert John Lewis to rest. In Atlanta’s legendary Ebenezer Baptist Church, I listened as my friend and Atlantan Trey Clegg offered his organ arrangement of “Fanfare for the Common Man,” colleague Kenny Banks, Sr. accompanied vocalist Kathleen Bertrand, Jennifer Holliday delivered her vocal lament and victory, and three previous presidents from both sides of the aisle honored this gentle giant. My district, my city, my colleagues, my nation - I wept as much for John’s death as the state of affairs of my country.
One of the most inspirational humans to have walked this planet and one of the Big 6 leaders of the civil rights movement, his path seemed clear and direct from the start. Whether bridging the divide between blacks and whites, or voicing and stepping up for gender, environment, or immigrant equality, Lewis made our nation a much, much better place. Thank you, Congressman John Lewis, for voicing aloud and fueling us with confidence to walk in your wake. Your dedication to the lives of many, your constituents, our nation, and the cause of civility and justice for all will echo and reverberate forever.
“We are one people, one family, the human family, and what affects one of us affects us all.”