Across years and miles too many to count, more than two dozen members of the Swarthmore College Alumni Gospel Choir returned to campus in August to celebrate, remember, share stories, and — of course — join in joyful song.

Choir members had long planned to mark their 50th anniversary with a concert during the College’s year of Celebrating Black Excellence. Sadly, their Spring 2020 campus performance was one of many lost to the pandemic.

Their concert in Sharples Commons, their first opportunity to sing together on campus in more than five years, had a more reflective, yet still joyous purpose. For the first time, they interspersed their songs with, as Freeman Palmer ’79 said during his welcoming remarks, “remembrances of friends who have gone on to sing in the heavenly choir.”

Those remembered: James Batton ’72 (24:13), Terrence Hicks ’73 (28:50), Phillip Hayes ’73 (32:28), Renee Smith Schaffer ’77 (40:11), Cassandra Thompson Benson ’77 (43:24), Ruth Diamond Trammel ’77 (47:30), Eedy Nicholson ’78 (59:10), Debra Bennett ’79 (1:03:45), Kenneth Jackson ’79 (1:09:35), Mitchell Chase ’80 (1:13:20), Alvin Holt ’80 (1:16:09), Leon Jones ’80 (1:17:35), Kenneth Reeves ’88 (1:24:10), Marguerite Simpkins ’88 (1:27:15), Hayley S. Thomas ’93 (1:31:35), Renee Gaddie ’93 (1:35:04), Sheila Gonzales (1:39:50), and Brenda and Tamika Jones (1:47:55).

This incarnation of the choir included several “choir babies” — the affectionate term for grown children of choir members. Two of them sang solos. See the full program below.

The celebration also encouraged reflection on the choir’s origins. Cynthia Hunter Spann ’75 recounted how the choir was founded amid the backdrop of late 1960s Black student activism, the FBI’s notorious efforts to spy on Black students, and the lack of diversity in the College’s arts programs at the time.  

“These and other experiences provided incentive for us to form a gospel choir,” Spann said, “and provide refuge for our spirits and for our cultures.”

The choir grew, from informal rehearsals around a piano in then-new Willets Hall to annual concerts in Swarthmore Friends Meetinghouse. More performances followed, first across the country and then around the world. The choir also released two collections of songs — Hallelujah! Amen (1996) and Star Gazer (2000) — whose sales support two College scholarships (both are available for digital download at the Campus & Community Store website). In 1999, the choir received the Joseph B. Shane ’25 Alumni Service Award, and the choir’s longtime, versatile director Vaneese Thomas ’74, H’14 received an honorary doctor of arts degree in 2014. 

“For us, the choir provided a place of rejuvenation during our college days,” Spann said, “and has continued to sustain us and provide a sense of family and spiritual fellowship for our members today.

“The circle remains unbroken.”