Charrise Barron at Harvard Book Store
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
Admission: Free
Harvard Book Store welcomes Charrise Barron —minister, a gospel artist, and Assistant Professor of Music at Harvard University—for a discussion of her new book, The Platinum Age of Gospel: The Years When Crossover Music Changed Everything. She will be joined in conversation by Jeremy D. Battle —senior pastor at The Avenue: The Historic Massachusetts Avenue & Western Avenue Baptist Church. About The Platinum Age of Gospel The story of gospel music’s chartbusting mainstream success and the accompanying shifts in Black Christian theology. From the clandestine spirituals of the enslaved—songs that voiced sorrow, hope, and an unshakeable belief in divine deliverance—to the rousing anthems of the Civil Rights era, gospel music has shaped and reflected the deepest yearnings of Black Americans striving toward freedom. During gospel’s celebrated golden age (ca. 1945–1965), the music became inseparable from the struggle for racial justice. At the same time, the genre gained unprecedented visibility in Black churches and the American mainstream. Performers such as Clara Ward, Mahalia Jackson, and Sam Cooke expanded the reach of sacred music, carrying its message across cultural and religious…