{"id":155040,"date":"2026-03-06T05:40:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T05:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/155040\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T05:40:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T05:40:55","slug":"royal-voices-of-charlotte-honor-rev-jackson-through-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/155040\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal Voices of Charlotte Honor Rev. Jackson Through Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Mar 04, 2026
\n By Queens University Communications\n <\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

The soulful sounds of Queens University\u2019s Royal Voices of Charlotte lifted the heavy hearts of all who came to pay their respects to the late Reverend Jesse Jackson, a key figure of the Civil Rights Movement and South Carolina native.<\/p>\n

The journey to perform in the heart of South Carolina began just a week prior, during a presentation by Justin Smith, DMA, director of choral activities at Queens University of Charlotte. While speaking to the Opera Carolina Guild about the works of overlooked African American composers, Smith played a recording of the choir performing Margaret Bonds\u2019 \u201cCredo.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the audience was a singer scheduled to perform at Reverend Jackson\u2019s memorial. Struck by the \u201cbeauty and profundity\u201d of the music, the singer approached Smith with a request to have the Royal Voices of Charlotte join her for a historic performance.<\/p>\n

With only days to prepare, Smith reached out to current students and alumni who had performed the piece previously at Morehouse College. \u201cThere was no time to learn and polish a new piece,\u201d Smith explained. \u201cThe work was already done in our hearts from our previous performance, and we had one rehearsal on Sunday night to find our voices again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Margaret Bonds\u2019 \u201cCredo\u201d<\/p>\n

The choir performed the second movement of Margaret Bonds\u2019 \u201cCredo,\u201d titled \u201cEspecially Do I Believe in the Negro Race.\u201d The choice was poignant. Bonds, a Black composer whose genius was often sidelined during her lifetime due to racial injustice, set her music to the 1900 prose of W.E.B. Du Bois.<\/p>\n

Smith, recognized by his students as a \u201ctireless champion\u201d of Bonds\u2019 legacy, noted that the Royal Voices were the first choir in the Southeast to perform this work. \u201cIt extols all the virtues the movement fought for: equality, tolerance, and dignity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Voices of the Students<\/p>\n

\"Royal<\/p>\n

For the students standing near the casket of a man who twice ran for President and shifted the bedrock of American politics, the performance was a sacred duty.<\/p>\n

Donovan Perkins \u201926, a senior Presidential Scholar at Queens, felt the weight of his ancestors in the room. \u201cAs a young Black musician, offering music of such depth feels personal. I feel the presence of my ancestors and their collective grin,\u201d Perkins said. \u201cTo see Margaret Bonds\u2019 artistry honored alongside the legacy of Jesse Jackson feels like a quiet act of restoration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrea Parrone \u201926, a senior specializing in vocal pedagogy, immediately called her grandmother when she learned of this honor. \u201cShe was so overwhelmed,\u201d Parrone shared. \u201cShe told me stories about the Civil Rights Movement and Reverend Jackson\u2019s impact. To share my voice to celebrate someone else is a privilege I do not take lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victoria Gonzales \u201927, a junior double majoring in music and political science, noted the significance of traveling from her home in New Mexico to represent Queens at such a historical event. \u201cMy family is beyond proud,\u201d she said. \u201cThis song speaks to how African Americans deserve the same rights as everyone else\u2014the exact thing Reverend Jackson fought for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an absolute shock,\u201d recalled Queens University alumna Kellie Williams \u201925. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it! He was a trailblazer and a stalwart in the fight for civil rights. He will be missed!\u201d<\/p>\n

A Legacy of Mentorship<\/p>\n

The students reflected on the leadership that brought them there.<\/p>\n

Perkins credited Smith with expanding his artistry to international stages, from Greece to Canada, but emphasized that his \u201cintentionality in uplifting the Black community\u201d is what truly defines his leadership.<\/p>\n

Williams added that as a transfer student, Smith\u2019s \u201cwholehearted embrace\u201d and attention to African American composers had a major impact on her experience at Queens.<\/p>\n

The Final Note<\/p>\n

For the Royal Voices of Charlotte, performing at this memorial was the ultimate validation of their work with Smith; it was a moment where the \u2018Credo\u2019 they had practiced in the at Queens became a living testament to the equality Reverend Jackson spent his life defending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mar 04, 2026 By Queens University Communications The soulful sounds of Queens University\u2019s Royal Voices of Charlotte lifted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":155041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-155040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}