Reverend William H. Lamar IV, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church and Sharon Percy Rockefeller, president and chief executive officer, WETA invite you to attend a celebratory evening with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to preview segments from the new documentary GOSPEL.
Friday, January 26 at 7 p.m.
Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church
1518 M Street, NW, Washington D.C.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with open seating in the sanctuary.
The event is free; please let us know you’re coming!
About the Show
GOSPEL, a new four-hour docuseries exploring the rich history of Black spirituality through sermon and song from executive producer, host, and writer Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., premieres February 12 and 13, 2024, at 8 pm ET on PBS, PBS.org, and the PBS App.
In GOSPEL, Gates, speaks with dozens of clergymen, singers, and scholars about their connection to the music that has transcended its origins and now spreads “the good word” all around the world. The series features interviews with notable names, including Dionne Warwick, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, Rev. Otis Moss III, professor Michael Eric Dyson, and awe-inspiring musical performances of Gospel favorites “Can’t Nobody Do Me Like Jesus,” “Total Praise,” and others from talents including The Belle Singers, Cory Henry, Celisse, and more.
Throughout its four hours, GOSPEL looks at the history of Black religious music and preaching, showcasing the symbiotic relationship of words and songs in any Black church. The series examines the origin of Black gospel music, which blended the sacred spirituals with the blues tradition and soared to new heights during the Great Migration. This music served as an outlet for the anger and frustration of living as a Black person in America, which remains true today. The series also explores the evolution of preaching styles over time and the impact of class, gender, cultural innovations, and consumer technologies that shaped the development of the gospel since its conception.
Extended Trailer
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic, and institution builder, Professor Gates has published numerous books and produced and hosted an array of documentary films. The Black Church (PBS) and Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches (HBO), which he executive produced, each received Emmy nominations. In January 2024, Finding Your Roots, Gates’s groundbreaking genealogy and genetics series, will return for its tenth season on PBS in January 2024. His next history series for PBS, Gospel, will premiere in February 2024.
Gates is a recipient of a number of honorary degrees, including his alma mater, the University of Cambridge. Gates was a member of the first class awarded “genius grants” by the MacArthur Foundation in 1981, and in 1998 he became the first African American scholar to be awarded the National Humanities Medal. In 2001 he discovered the first novel written by a Black female author, The Bondwoman’s Narrative, by Hannah Craft.
A native of Piedmont, West Virginia, Gates earned his B.A. in History, summa cum laude, from Yale University in 1973, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in English Literature from Clare College at Cambridge in 1979, where he is also an Honorary Fellow. A former chair of the Pulitzer Prize board, he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and serves on a wide array of boards, including the New York Public Library, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Aspen Institute, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Library of America, and The Studio Museum of Harlem. In 2011, his portrait, by Yuqi Wang, was hung in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.
GOSPEL Spotify Playlist
GOSPEL Live!
Tune in to GOSPEL’s companion program – GOSPEL Live! Presented by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., premiering February 9, at 9 PM is a one-of-a-kind musical celebration that honors the legacy and influence of Gospel music in America. Contemporary artists will join celebrated gospel singers to perform their favorite gospel classics. The event, co-hosted by Gates and Erica Campbell, and featuring John Legend, is a GOSPEL Live! features performances by Erica Campbell, John Legend, Anthony Hamilton and The Ton3s, LaTocha, Mali Music, Lena Byrd Miles, Sheléa and Tauren Wells.