Gospel music has been as instrumental to Black culture as HBCUs, the Black national anthem, rap/R&B, our families, the civil rights/BLM movements. There would be no black church without contemporary gospel music. Without the Clark sisters, Donnie Mclurckin, Richard Smallwood, Kirk Franklin, Walter Hawkins, etc the song of the Black people would have never been written. Our spiritual song is written through all of these peoples songs. Our struggle, pain, beauty, etc. 

I have grown up within the church and my love of music as a whole has emerged from my exposure with gospel music. I remember my godmother being the choir director and seeing Richard Smallwood play the piano at my church. I remember the shouting and the everlasting gratitude that those around me had for God. 

I couldn’t love Blackness and my culture without loving choirs and contemporary gospel music. I would never love music and especially Black music as much as I do without loving gospel music. So much of R&B, neosoul, soul, rap/hiphop has elements that are derived from gospel music.