BY Deborah Walker

As September comes to a close and we welcome October with homecomings, celebrations, and new seasons of campus life, we must pause to celebrate National Gospel Music Appreciation Month. At Livingstone College, gospel isn’t just music; it is history, ministry, and family. Few embody that story more fully than Jaamal Henderson.

Years before he enrolled, Henderson walked the campus in a security officer’s uniform. On quiet nights, he would pause near the chapel and hear the sound of voices rising in harmony. He didn’t know it then, but the songs that floated through those walls would one day anchor his life as a student. “Gospel music is the first music I remember learning and knowing as a child,” Henderson said. “Mimicking those songs, putting my own words in, it built me musically in general. And it’s worth celebrating because gospel music is something that, as African Americans, we own. It speaks on our behalf.”

Now at 44 years old, Henderson is a junior majoring in music. Born in Leadville, Louisiana, he spent much of his childhood moving with his family as his father served in the Army. He started school in Fort Hood, Texas, later lived in Germany, and by fifth grade had arrived in Salisbury, where he has remained ever since. His path has been anything but traditional, but he has found a home in the Gospel Choir, where the music not only expanded his vocal range but also gave him a sense of belonging. “Commencement was my favorite memory,” he said. “I had the lead, and I shocked myself. I usually complain about the high notes, asking ‘Why are we screaming again?’ but my range expanded. I owe that to the choir, the work, the perfection, the excellence we strive for.”

Being an older student has not always been easy. Sitting in classrooms full of younger peers, Henderson admits there are days when he feels out of place. “Sometimes you wonder if you belong in the room,” he said. “But then gospel reminds me I’m right where God wants me to be. Gospel tells me I’m not too late. It tells me His timing is perfect.” For him, gospel is not only music but a way of life. “Even as a kid, I would make up my own songs to God,” he said. “Now, as a student, gospel is my way of processing life. When I sing about Jesus dying so I can be free, I think about the burdens I’ve given up. When I sing about hope, I think about how He restored mine. It is more than music; it is survival.”

That survival is shaped by the songs that meet him in each season. Lately, his anthem has been One Touch by Jabari Johnson. “One touch can change everything,” Henderson said. “That’s been speaking to me, because I’ve been in this season of my life of just getting back to Jesus—what did Jesus say, how does He want it? There’s a lot going on, but what is really our focus? What is the real gospel?”

Henderson’s story is the latest chapter in a much longer tradition. Long before he walked the halls of Livingstone, students were already lifting their voices in gospel, building a legacy that would shape the college for decades to come. One of the earliest organized expressions was the Maize Singers, a group formed by Dr. George Maize, some of his siblings, and other students. Known across campus and the Salisbury community for their harmony and devotion, they helped establish a foundation for gospel on campus. When they graduated, there was still a need for music to guide the weekly Wednesday prayer meetings. In 1960, Dr. Maize and Rev. Willie L. Aldrich, who served as advisor, formed the Prayer Meeting Choir. Its original purpose was to provide the music for those services, where members of the Pre-Theological Union, the student preachers, would deliver sermons.

Rev. Aldrich, a Livingstone alumna herself, was more than a director. She was a scholar, an educator, and a spiritual leader. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Livingstone, a master’s in library science from the Atlanta School of Library Science, and a master of divinity from Hood Theological Seminary. She served as head librarian at Hood, director of Heritage Hall at Livingstone, and devoted decades to Christian education in the AME Zion Church. Her leadership of the Prayer Meeting Choir spanned 35 years. Under her guidance, the group became a national touring choir that not only spread gospel music but also served as a recruitment arm for the college and a source of spiritual formation for its students. She was known for her stern but nurturing style, requiring auditions and drilling her singers with discipline.

Her commitment to discipline and ministry shaped generations of students. Among them were Otis Byrd, Class of 1981, and Rosalind Mitchell, Class of 1982, who now serve as Resident Hall Directors and continue passing on the lessons they learned under Aldrich’s watchful eye. Mitchell recalled how the Prayer Meeting Choir rehearsed late into the night to prepare for Wednesday services. “It wasn’t about being tired or having homework,” she said. “Prayer meeting was the heart of the week, and we had to be ready. Students counted on us to set the tone before the preachers stood up.” Byrd remembered the joy of traveling with the choir, ministering in churches across the region. “It was our way of showing the excellence of Livingstone. We carried our faith and our school’s name wherever we went.”

As the years passed, the choir began to face new cultural currents on campus. Some students gravitated toward contemporary styles, while Aldrich held firmly to tradition. The tension eventually brought the Prayer Meeting Choir to an end, closing one chapter of Livingstone’s gospel story and opening another with the formation of the Gospel Choir.

The Gospel Choir carried forward the spirit of its predecessor, adapting to new times while holding fast to its mission. A decade ago, Pastor Christopher Gray stepped in to guide this evolution, expanding its reach and reimagining its role on campus. Gray, who also serves as Livingstone’s Director of Gospel Choir, has spent his career blending ministry with music. He grew up surrounded by the church—his father was a bishop, and as a child he often traveled with him to revivals, where he would sing solos. Over the years, Gray developed as a multi-instrumentalist and worked alongside some of gospel’s most recognized names, including John P. Kee and the late Reverend James Cleveland. He recorded on major gospel albums, signed record deals, and helped bring professional opportunities to his students.

When former Livingstone president, Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins invited him to campus, he asked him to “create a revolution.” Gray recalls telling them, “This is an AME Zion school, a Christian school. Gospel music should be as big as the band or the concert choir.” Under his leadership, auditions gave way to voice assessments, opening the choir to anyone who wanted to join. On Monday nights, the Wall Center chapel comes alive with sound. Students sway as voices rise in harmony, some singing in unison, others finding their part with nervous smiles. Gray paces the aisle, clapping his hands to set the rhythm, pausing every few minutes to remind them of the bigger picture. “This is not just rehearsal,” he tells them. “This is worship.”

He has also introduced opportunities that most students could only dream of, including national tours, television appearances, and collaborations with gospel greats like Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, and Erica Campbell. The choir has even recorded its own music. Their recent single, EXALT, featuring Blanche McAllister-Dykes, reached international audiences online, a symbol of how Livingstone’s sound now carries far beyond campus. For many students, recording EXALT was their first time in a professional studio, wearing headphones, hearing their voices layered in playback. “That song is bigger than us,” Gray said. “It’s our testimony that Livingstone College gospel is alive and thriving.”

Gray’s vision has given the choir a broader platform, but its heartbeat remains the same: ministry first. For Henderson, that continuity is what makes his place in the choir so meaningful. It is where the discipline of the past and the openness of the present converge. “I think about how the generations before us carried gospel at Livingstone,” he said. “And now it is our turn to carry it forward. I may not be the youngest, but I know my story has a place in the music.” He has also seen how the choir can transform others. “Just last night, I saw a freshman kind of off to the side. Once he joined in, he realized he could sing. That was because of the environment. Pastor Gray always brings ministry into rehearsal. People should feel God through you, not just see you perform. That makes gospel choir unique.”

“Somewhere there’s a song that tells your story,” Henderson said. “And if not, you can create one. That’s the power of gospel music.”

At Livingstone College, that power has never been confined to one generation, one choir, or one era. It is the steady rhythm of faith and community, carrying students forward year after year. From the Maize Singers to the Prayer Meeting Choir to today’s Gospel Choir, the story continues—sung in harmony, lifted in worship, and passed on to those still to come.