Speak to the home that was
“Where once a house was were many houses”
Inner-northeast Portland was once home to over 200 Black churches. These houses of worship provided the heartbeat of an area that was once home to the majority of Oregon’s Black population. As I have traversed these neighborhoods over the years, I have often ruminated on these wood and brick sanctuaries — some tiny storefronts, some imposing steepled edifices. Even as gentrification alters Portland's historically Black neighborhoods beyond recognition, the churches remain — some shuttered, others repurposed, some patiently awaiting the end of the pandemic when they will once again resound with the exultant sounds of fellowship that have always inhabited these spaces. Like islands amidst an ever-rising sea, they stand in tribute to the rich web of family, civic, and social ties that they generated and sustained, each remaining building is a living repository of story, relationships, and community.
Come Sunday is an aural portrait inspired by these buildings. Weaving together the voices of longtime residents — who remember a time when these streets and homes represented the heart of Black Portland history — with African-American spirituals and gospel songs, poetry and spoken word, jazz and original music, and the sounds of the neighborhood, it speaks to faith, resilience, and resistance as well as the displacement and struggle. For those in Portland, you can walk the path that inspired this soundtrack. The Soundwalk begins in DeNorval Unthank Park and culminates at Bethel A.M.E. Church, the oldest continuously operating Black church in Oregon. Its route winds through the heart of the King, Humboldt, and Alberta neighborhoods, passing by thirteen of these historically Black churches on the way.
I look forward to others taking this journey, whether on foot in the streets of northeast Portland, or elsewhere enjoying the stories and songs that bring the neighborhood to life. This work is dedicated to the many exceptional individuals who have shepherded Portland’s Black communities of faith over the years — leading the fight for justice, serving the vulnerable, holding the community in good times and bad. I am deeply appreciative of powerful artists and culture-bearers who generously lent their voices to this soundtrack, whose artistic contributions enrich and sustain our city and region, and who steward our stories and history and pass it forward to future generations.
Get the directions and listen to Come Sunday here.
I hope to see you Come Sunday. I’ve included the list of the heroic cast who inspired and made this work possible below.
Peace,
Darrell
Portland, Oregon’s Bethel AME Church. Easter Sunday. 1930.
In memory of:
Reverend Dr. T. Allen Bethel
Reverend Dr. John W. Garlington Jr.
Reverend Rozell Gilmore
Pastor Mary Overstreet-Smith
Reverend W. G. Hardy Jr.
Bishop Adolph A. Wells
Reverend O.B. Williams
Come Sunday is dedicated to the many exceptional individuals who have shepherded Portland’s Black communities of faith over the years, and whose committed service embodies the possibility of a brighter future.
CREDITS
Conceived and created by Darrell Grant
Commissioned by Third Angle New Music
Oral Histories
Ronda Chiles
Pastor Roy Clay
Rosetta Forbes
Anna Forbes
Bobby Fouther
Liz Fouther-Branch
Eldon T. Jones
T. James Mullen
Shei’Meka Owens
Mariah Taylor
Spirituals & Gospel Songs
Wade in the Water - Eldon T Jones
Go Down Moses -DeReau Farrar
One Day at a Time - Carol Grant
Every Time I Feel the Spirit - Damien Geter
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child - Arietta Ward
His Eye is on the Sparrow - Marcia Hocker
Steal Away- Marilyn Keller
Were You There (When they Crucified my Lord) - Jimmie Herrod
Just a Closer Walk with Thee- Justin Copeland
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot- Alonzo Chadwick
Precious Lord- LaRhonda Steele
Deep River- Leroy Bynam
Featured Music
‘Before we Begin”- A Land Acknowledgement
Text & Music - Darrell Grant
“Articles of Faith Pt. 1: What We Want Now!”
Text: The Black Panther 10 Point Program
Spoken word - Darrell Grant
Drums & Production-Machado Mijiga
“A Delicate Forgotten Memory”
Poem by S. Renee Mitchell
Spoken word- S. Renee Mitchell
Music- Darrell Grant
“Articles of Faith Pt. 2: What We Believe”
Text: The Black Panther 10 Point Program
Composed, arranged and performed by Darrell Grant
Vocal - Tiffany Austin
Drums and musical production - Machado Mijiga
“The Home that Was”
Poem: “The Home that Was” by Anis Mojgani
Music composed, arranged and performed by Darrell Grant
Vocal -Tiffany Austin
Musical production - Machado Mijiga
Additional piano composed & performed by Darrell Grant
Mixed by Branic Howard
Thanks to Reverend Terry McCray Hill of Bethel AME Church for musical inspiration.
Special Thanks to S. Renee Mitchell and Anis Mojgani for contributing their poetry to the project
#speaktothehomethatwas