An impromptu rendition of Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace by Councilwoman Adrienne Adams of New York City Council, 28th district. Art by Yang Sun.
BY: SHANIA THOMAS, SUMMER 2020 COLLABORATOR AT POWER IN PLACE
Last year, in an interview with us, Councilmember Adrienne Adams was asked what injustice angered her most. At that time, it was the Eric Garner case. This both surprised me yet was not shocking at all. What were the odds that this interview would mention the same injustice that has been so vividly brought to light over the last week: police brutality and the killing of innocent black people? That is, in turn, what surprised me the least. That even though we had just fought the battle for Garner, a battle fought and lost with the effective acquittal of Officer Pantaleo, we were here again fighting for the right to survive as black Americans.
As the sick irony of it began to subside to the same hopelessness I had felt since I saw the video of a man die from knee strangulation, the sweet sound of Amazing Grace began to play. It was Adam's voice echoing in the cathedral as she paid tribute to the late Aretha Franklin.
As she soared through the hymn, I couldn't help but feel calmed and renewed. This song of hope, salvation, and redemption pierced my broken heart. It is no wonder that all people across the nation, black, white, Christian, or not, feels the power of these words almost as if it were another national anthem. Perhaps its universality comes from us all knowing that each of us, just like our country and the institutions of which she is built, may be broken, but no one and nothing is beyond redemption. Change and the ability to be rescued from the storm of your own wrongdoings is not out of reach. The best is yet to come if we hold on to Grace.
Thinking about how a song that gave me hope for a better future was written by a slave trader turned theologian, a new irony presented itself. Is it not true that fantastic art, especially music, has such a transcending power in its ability to speak in ways that seemed impossible? As council member Adams said, music allowed her "to find [her] voice, not just as a singer, but as an advocate and an activist in [her] community."
My hope is that we will all use our voices, in every form they come in, to bring about our country's redemption. In the same way, Adam's song helped me, we each have a gift that will give us amazing grace.
Video editing and art by Yang Sun. You can find more of her amazing work on her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlemomentsinart/.
Shania Thomas is a rising senior at Brandeis University majoring in Health Policy and Politics with minors in Social Justice Policy and Legal Studies. She is also an Associate Justice for the Student Union and a Central Massachusetts Organizing Lead for the Every Voice Coalition. She has a passion for all things healthcare and believes the injustices against Black Americans to be one of the greatest public health crises of her time.