"When we embrace a song, when we embrace the music; when we embrace the spirit of the music, we are connected in a way that only music can connect us." Those words of Rev. James Watkins and that same spirit framed Gonzaga Prep’s Black History Month celebration of Love and Harmony last week at Scarpelli Gym.

It was a special con that also highlighted reflections by members of the Black Student Union, as well as the vocal talents of visiting members of New Hope Baptist Church Jacquelynne Sandoval and Yolanda Kinlow-Jones.

Sandoval opened with “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black National Anthem, bringing the crowd to its feet before handing off to choirmate Yolanda Kinlow-Jones, who sang a rousing rendition of “Amazing Grace.” ASB co-president Ephraim Watkins and his father, Rev. James Watkins shared reflections on the capacity of music to connect us each to our higher power.

To close the morning, Gonzaga Prep’s symphonic choir and Campus Ministry music team together performed “Ain’t Nobody Gonna Turn Me Around” written by James Mercer Langston Hughes. Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. The song is a chant of freedom taken up by protesters and activists during the civil rights movement of the 1960s and again following the death of George Floyd in 2020.