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Softness Was Always Ours

Big Bethel A.M.E. Church Choir, undated

Item

Source
Henry J. & Florine D. Furlow Papers
Creator
Unknown
Title
Big Bethel A.M.E. Church Choir, undated
Date
c. 1946 - 1953
Description
Group photograph of the choir of Big Bethel A.M.E. Church in Atlanta, Georgia, taken between approximately 1946 and 1953. The image shows a choir of men and women standing in several rows on a stage while a conductor leads them in song. The singers wear coordinated dark attire with light collars, typical of mid-twentieth-century church choir uniforms.

The conductor stands at the left foreground with his arm raised, directing the performance. A microphone positioned near the front suggests the performance may have been part of a recorded broadcast, public program, or special church event. Big Bethel A.M.E. Church, founded in 1847, has long served as one of Atlanta’s most prominent African American congregations and a center of religious, cultural, and civic life in the city.

Church choirs such as this played an important role in African American communities during the mid-twentieth century, contributing to worship services while also fostering musical training, fellowship, and community identity.
Type
Still image.
Subject
African American church choirs
Gospel music
Church music programs
African American churches
Atlanta (Ga.)
20th-century African American religious life
Format
8 × 10 inch black-and-white photographic print.
Rights
This image is made available for research and educational use. Reproduction or publication requires permission from the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.
Rights Holder
Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, Fulton County Library System

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