The sounds of spirituals and gospel songs will fill Richwood Academy’s historic classroom on Sunday at 3 p.m. The concert closes out the Cultural Center’s spring program series.
Beryl Whittington learned gospel and spiritual songs while working on the oyster boats on the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. The tradition is carried on by his children.
“This is music moved by the spirit,” said family member Donald Cisrow. “This music is in the heart; you have to have heart.”
The Whittington Family has appeared at the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.; the Down Jersey Folklife Center at WheatonArts in Millville; and on NJN’s State of the Arts, but they do not often perform publicly. The Richwood program is a rare opportunity to meet and hear the Whittingtons and their music.
The Whittingtons were recently featured in the Bayshore Discovery Center’s film, “On the Shellpile,” which tells the story of the historic African American community near Bivalve on the Maurice River. The village no longer exists except in the memories of those who lived there and share their stories in this film.
The Richwood program will include a screening with commentary by the project’s folklorist, Rita Z. Moonsammy, who will emcee the afternoon.
“We originally planned to welcome the Whittingtons to the academy in February, but the blizzard forced us to cancel,” noted James Turk, the program coordinator. “We are especially glad that we were able to reschedule this extraordinary presentation.”
The concert is free and supported by the Gloucester County Cultural and Heritage Commission at Rowan College of South Jersey in partnership with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State and National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey Historical Commission/Department of State.
The Cultural Center is at 836 Lambs Road. The concert will also be livestreamed and archived on the Harrison Township Historical Society’s Facebook page and posted on YouTube. Information is available at harrisonhistorical.com, hthsmhnj@gmail.com and (856) 478-4949.
