5 takeaways from the White House celebration of gospel music

c. 2015 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS) First lady Michelle Obama hosted a discussion with musicians and students on gospel music at the White House on Tuesday, praising gospel’s role as “a ray of hope” in American history.

“Gospel music has really played such an important role in our country’s history,” she told more than 100 students gathered in the State Dining Room, “from the spirituals sung by slaves, to the anthems that became the soundtrack of the civil rights movement, and to the hymns that millions of Americans sing every single day in churches all across the country.”