By Julia Beauregard
Hometown Weekly Editor
The Center At the Heights (CATH) hosted a Black History Month luncheon this past Wednesday, February 22nd. The luncheon concluded with a musical performance by a local group.
“There is a new collaboration of interfaith songs and music. The group is called What The World Needs Now, and this couldn’t be more true, look at all the different faiths we have in this room. After their performances, there typically is not a dry eye in the house!” Aicha Kelley, assistant director of programming, informed the crowd.
One of the coalition singers, Walter Cooper, responded to this heartfelt introduction by stating to the crowd: “I need to say one thing about the tears in the eyes- they’re tears of joy, not tears of anguish.”
The group kicked off their performance with a rendition of What The World Needs Now is Love by Jackie DeShannon, which set the tune for the afternoon. Seniors sang along and swayed in their seats along to the music.
The Interfaith Coalition Singers consisted of The Cooper Brothers, Walter and Stephen, Belle Linda Halpern, and Jenny Bonham-Carter, who plays piano and guitar as well.
After their first track came to completion, Cooper shared with the crowd that: “MLK led an interfaith coalition that led the civil rights movement… We support interfaith coalition through music and the arts because it brings us all to a common ground.” Cooper went on to say that learning about Black history is important because Black history is American history.
The group honored Black History Month and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by singing songs such as Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around, We Shall Not Be Moved, and Everybody’s Got A Right to Live. “Those were some of the songs from the Civil Rights Movement, but as we know, the world is still not done… No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”
The words of the singers, whether spoken or sung, definitely had a profound impact on all the attendees at the CATH. For more information about the Interfaith Coalition Singers, check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/interfaithcoalitionsingers/
