The African American Voices Gospel Choir is a student organization that strives to celebrate God through gospel music. Credit: Courtesy of Kate Nichole
The African American Voices Gospel Choir provides a space for students to come together to worship through song, dance, service and miming.
The traditional gospel choir is a student organization that strives to celebrate God through gospel music, Briana Anthony, a fourth-year in philosophy and president of the choir, said. The group has an open-door policy, with a focus on community service and performances for various audiences.
“Our purpose is to come together and celebrate God’s existence, and we do that through the African American tradition, of course, of song and rhythmic movement,” Anthony said.
Anthony said the group practices every Wednesday at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church on North Campus, singing songs of hope and positivity. The praise, dance and mime teams practice separately.
“It’s kind of like a home place for me, like-minded individuals who have the same passions,” Eliana Campbell, a fourth-year in biology and secretary of the group, said. “Especially just music, that is our way of ministering and spreading the gospel, and that is a goal I think we all have individually, and AAV is the place that we can do it.”
Both Anthony and Campbell said they perform at churches and multiple events centered around African American students at Ohio State, including Gospel Fest, African Night and African American Heritage Festival.
Gospel Fest is held during the African American Heritage Festival and highlights worship within the Black community, and African Night is an annual event put on by the African Youth League that celebrates African culture. Both events include singing, dancing and spoken word poetry, according to their websites.
Anthony and Campbell said in addition to performances, the choir also participates in community service such as holding food drives at each of its concerts and the MLK Jr. Day of Service at Ohio State — a university-sponsored day of service events around the Columbus area on Martin Luther King Jr. Day organized by Pay It Forward OSU and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
“We like to do service, so if a school will reach out, we like to do that, and we’ve actually worked with correctional centers in Ohio as well,” Anthony said.
Because Ohio State is a predominantly white institution, Campbell said she looks to the church for a sense of family, and the choir has provided that support.
“Being a Black woman, I am able to find comfort in AAV, especially being at a PWI where almost every person in my class is something other than Black,” Campbell said.
Since joining the organization during her first year of college, Anthony said the choir has provided her with a family, long-lasting friendships and an expressive outlet.
“I really like to be creative and I love singing, so AAV has also given me the space to do that and express myself,” Anthony said.
Campbell said the goal of the group is to be a place of comfort and hope to anyone, and she stressed the idea that the choir is open to all individuals, regardless of race.
“I think our main goal is to be a group of people that other people can come to at any time of need,” Campbell said.
