Dr. Cedric Dent Shares...

He's got the whole world in His hands!
He's Got the whole wide world in His hands!
He's Got the whole world in His Hands!
He's got the whole world in His hands!

He's got you and me in His hands!
He's Got you and me in His hands
He's got you and me right in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands!

"Negro Spirituals have such a rich heritage and are so profound that I can't pick just one as my favorite. So let me choose ONE of my favorites - 'He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." In its simplicity and repetitiveness, this little folk song captures the majesty and bigness of God. I find great comfort in knowing that I serve a really big God. For He said Himself (speaking of His bigness) in Isaiah 66, "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.' Nahum adds "the clouds are the dust of His feet' (1:3). And the Psalmist intones in Ps. 104:3 that 'He rides on the wings of the wind." I once heard someone else say 'His center is everywhere and His circumference is nowhere.' I declare that a God this big is God all by Himself! And if I had a thousand tongues, and sang every spiritual that uplifts His name, it still wouldn't be enough to praise Him!"


Dr. Cedric Dent, member of the award-winning vocal a capella group Take 6 ,is a vocal arranger, producer, composer , and gifted pianist.
Cedric currently serves as a Professor at Middle Tennessee State University

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Michael Johnson Shares:

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.


"This is a most appropriate song because it recognizes the fact that the only reason we rise each morning is because "the Lord sustained me" (Psalms 3:5) and so who better should be on our lips and in our minds the moment we are conscious. The divine life-support machine kept us throughout the night, allowing the body to heal itself and be ready for action; we're fearfully and wonderfully made."

Mike Johnson is a producer of live production, public speaker and radio personality from the U.K.
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Sibusiso Victor Masondo Shares...

Walk with Me Lord, Walk with me
Walk with Me Lord, Walk with me
While I'm on this pilgrim journey
I want Jesus (Everyday of my life,)
to Walk with Me!


"These spirituals even sung today still carry the urgency and brings you into an era where a simple walk needed Jesus to walk with as it was always unpredictable what would happen anywhere, anytime. Sounds familiar even today, Negro spirituals were the ultimate of intimacy in prayers set to music. We cannot afford to forget where we've come from lest we get too comfortable in EGYPT!!"

Subisiso Victor Masondo is an award winning producer, arranger ,composer , bassist and symphony conductor living in South Africa
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Oleta Adams Shares:

Walk with Me Lord!
Walk With Me!
Walk with Me Lord!
Walk With Me~
While I'm on this pilgrim journey.
I want Jesus to walk with me.

I believe the Negro Spiritual is as relevant for today's times as it was for my generation growing up in helping to understand the faith and belief systems and cultures of our forefathers, and for understanding and remembering the history of the African American. It was the strength of this spiritual belief that helped our ancestors survive.

The Negro spirituals are beautiful, poignant songs that served as a healing balm on the battered souls of generations of my people in the past. I can still hear some of the old "Mothers of the church" singing these songs with tears streaming down their eyes, as they sang of the promise of a more peaceful tomorrow, or they were comforted by the thought that these were the songs their mothers and fathers used to sing. It's like passing down a family quilt.

Walk With Me Lord (It is a current prayer to ask God to walk before, beside, behind, above, below....)

Swing Low Sweet Chariot (the first song I sang in the Tot choir as a child)

Sweet Little Jesus Boy (a song I learned in school and I still sing this as a solo at Christmas time)

He Never Said A Mumblin' Word ( We sang this at communion time each time when I was a child)

Note: Last year I listened to a special collection of Mahalia Jackson that I have, meaning to listen to one or two songs. I listened for at least half of the day. Even though I listened to her when I was a young girl, I appreciate her even more now. The emotion, heart and soul that I put into my music is largely because of people like Mahalia Jackson. She made you shout and made you cry! That seemed to be so important to me- that you reach the core of each person.

Oleta Adams is a performer, songwriter and recording artist respected the world over living in the U.S.

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Clifton Baker Shares:

Follow, follow, rise up, shepherd, and follow.
Follow the Star of Bethlehem,
Rise up, shepherd, and follow.

"I thought I might participate by attaching a copy of Rise up Shepherd. There is no doubt that Negro Spirituals are still relevant and will always be! Inherent in these songs are dimensions of life’s historical journey, not just for one ethic group, but for all those who are interested in how God will work with all people. These songs will always be interwoven in the fabric of the multifaceted American story!"

Clifton Baker,producer ,conductor and gifted chorale arranger of black gospel music and spirituals
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Terrie Williams Shares:

In the morning when I rise
In the morning when I rise
In the morning when I rise
Give Me Jesus!

Yes! the Negro Spirituals are relevant! We can't afford to ever forget how Blacks were treated during 400 years of slavery and 200 plus years after emancipation in the 'free world'! We can't forget our evolution for we would truly be lost people.We can forget,BUT we can never ever forget!

'Give me Jesus'..

This song looks past all the ways of the world, the hatred, cruelty,pain and sadness,then invites us to focus on a spiritual reuniting with its spiritual saviour,Jesus.


Terrie Williams is the founder of the Terrie Williams Public Relations Agency in NYC.
Terrie has represented and worked with most of the who's who in Black America music T.V.,film and stage.
Terrie has authored three books, the latest dealing with the dark and very often lonely world of depression!
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Paula Major Shares:

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, oh,oh..some times it makes me want to
tremble , tremble, tremble!
Were you there when they crucified my Lord!

A resounding 'YES 'to the question:Is the Negro Spiritual relevant for today's times?

Is there Trouble anywhere?" Soon I will be done with the trouble of dis world!"When I first heard Mahalia Jackson sing this one in the film 'Imitation of Life'..well let's just say I was very emotional,and my Lord's coming is sooner now than it was then.

As a member of a high school thespian company traveling cross country and over seas, performing James Weldon Johnson's 'God's Trombones' , It was then that I received "Were you There?"

Paula Major is a voice over artist, wife and mother ;a lover of all written words found in books, poems,stage productions, songs!

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Errol Nemhard Shares:

didn't my Lord deliver Daniel,Daniel,Daniel?
didn't my Lord deliver Daniel ?
and why not every man?

He delivered Daniel from the lions den,
Jonah from the belly of the whale,Lord de Hebrew
children from the fiery furnace
So why not every man?

Upon quiet reflection, had it not been for the choir that I sang with from the ages of 17-24, I would not have been intimately connected with the African American experience.

The Handsworth Youth Chorale from Birmingham,UK defined their musical genre through
the Negro spirituals.

When I left the UK for Africa and struggled at times to adapt to a culture so different from
my own then my song would be ;

'some times I feel like a motherless child,a long way from home!'

Negro spirituals are relevant for our times, however they come with an experience,an
experience of struggle,disappointment and victory.

Errol Nemhard is a very talented , gifted and sort after orator, facilitator and educator of Jamaican decent!
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Alice Brown Shares:

Swing Low,Sweet Chariot,
Coming forth to carry me home!
Swing low, Sweet Chariot,
Coming forth to carry me home

I looked over Jordan and what did I see?
Coming forth to carry me home!
A band of angels,Coming after me,
Coming forth to carry me home!

The Negro Spiritual is relevant for today for its cultural and historical preservation;for upliftment;for solace and comfort in difficult times; and the beauty of the lyrics and the music.

Alice Brown is the Representative of the Ford Foundation South Africa.She is the mother of one son and enjoys live stage productions which celebrate our culturally diverse heritage found here on Africa soil. Stateside reared and born,Alice has live in Africa a great deal of her adult life.

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Hattie and Gail Would Love to Hear from You...

Our desire is a simple one: to hold fast the traditions of our ancestors and to remind some while introducing to others---a whole new generation---to the lyrical content and amazing power of the Negro Spiritual. At a time in history where the art of spoken word is making such an impact, we believe that the words found in these songs are worth speaking out loud again...and again...and again for the whole world to hear. Truly, this is a time in history where all should be encouraged to “Lift every voice and sing!”

We encourage you to take a moment as you stroll down your memory lane!

*Go back home just for a second and remember hearing grandma hum that same ole' familiar tune as she went about her daily chores.

*Reminisce on the harmonies of the street light quartet underneath your bedroom window.

*Stand again at the grave site of a loved one.

*Sit down in the reserved family pew during the morning service and listen as the church choir as they render your best loved spiritual.

Turn up the volume in the front room and listen to Aretha...Mahalia...the Fisk Jubilee Singers or the Golden Gate Quartet's rendition of Swing Low or Go Tell It on the Mountain...songs which left their imprint on your soul; songs that are never to be forgotten.
These songs...these heartfelt prayers put to music have simply-yet-profoundly continued to remind us of who we are and where we have come from. (Lest We Forget)

The messages found in these lyrics serve as constant reminder of the toil, the blood, the sweat and tears made by those who came before us in a time not so far from here.

(Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen)

These prayers set to music connect us to their perseverance... courage...tenacity and foresight. As our President Obama so eloquently entitled his book, these songs speak to the audacity of hope...the audacity of Black pioneers: Harriet Tubman, Fredrick Douglas,Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. and so many others.

“With the reverence we feel for the spirituals today. It's hard to understand the furor that the idea of singing them evoked back then. For some, the painful 'sorrow songs' were a relic best left behind with slavery. Others could not fathom that anyone would appreciate what they cruelly demeaned as 'darky songs'. And still others did not recognize the unique richness of the music with its distinctive African-based pen tonic(five -tone) melodies. Rejecting the songs in pursuit of so-called sophistication, many ignored the fact that they were thus trying to emulate the cultural values of the very people who had bartered their lives as chattel.”---an excerpt from “Glory Days” by author Janus Adams

INTRODUCING: Hymns For Healing; The Words Of My People

What a time to be alive!

What a time to be alive and to share in this present history of our people.

This is a time with which dreams are birth and courage is ignited.
This is the time to reflect upon a time not so far from here.
This is a time of hope restored...

This is a time to take stock in our present and to make forward-focus movements towards our future; for the sake of our children and our children's children.

This is a time to reflect on all things good, noble , worthy and of a good report, because for everything there is a time; for everything there is a season under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3)

NOW IS OUR TIME...on this side of yesterday there is a sacred trust for us to hold on to.

As we celebrate the presence of the first Black family in the White House, as people of color, we have been presented with a grand opportunity to look back over our shoulders and respectfully pay homage to those who have come before us. We are here now to enjoy the visual benefits of seeing what our forefathers (and mothers) could only dream about...write about...sing about.

Hymns for Healing; The Words of My People is a compilation project that is comprised of the lyrics of the Negro Spirituals, along with the personal stories of celebrated and grass roots individuals expressing their sentiments towards the song(s) that are near and dear to their hearts.

Hymns for Healing celebrates the 'word -pictures' which were later put to music; the spoken words of our slave ancestors, our parents, our grandparents; the prayers they prayed, the songs they sung, the words they recited in the church halls, family living rooms, and the school house functions;the Negro Spiritual is a precious musical heritage of the voice of slaves.