Social Justice in Music: Praise & Protest

By: Natascha Lambing                                                                                                    

In late January, Common Hymnal released a comprehensive collection of worship songs entitled “Praise and Protest” in reflection of both the stories of 2020 and those that have long existed in United States history. It is a collection of eighteen songs that have slowly been released over the course of last year. They explore Black narratives and the way in which Christians have a responsibility to involve themselves in social justice practices. 

Photo credit: https://commonhymnal.com/praise-and-protest

The continual thrum of “no justice no peace”, chanted in the streets by hundreds of thousands of people across the world in Summer of 2020, is echoed in the collection’s fourth track “I Don’t Know Justice.” This is one example of a deeper story from this year.

On their website, Common Hymnal notes “We are ‘not’ a band or an artists collective or a church or a para-church ministry. We do not have members or a theological statement, as would be the case with a typical ministry initiative.”

As such, this is not a collection of ‘feel good’ worship music that typically dominates the Christian music industry; it is a set of songs, poems and sermons narrated by a range of individuals of cross-cultural representation. 

Even so, “Praise and Protest” includes songs not uncommon in a church service. Some of them have been sung in George Fox University (GFU) facilities. In early March of 2020 a rendition of “Tu Amor” was performed by JonCarlos Velez when he visited as a guest worship leader for Tuesday morning chapel. But it also includes narrations of stories that might cause discomfort at a predominantly white Christian institution like GFU. 

In “The Awakening” with Brandi Miller, “Justice isn’t a side project for Jesus. It isn’t a trend or a bandwagon to be jumped on. It isn’t a single action or a single moment. Justice isn’t a four-week sermon series, a weekend conference or an onslaught of anti-racist books. Justice is the narrow path, the way that leads to life and life more abundant.” 

In addition, “Shots Fired” states, “Some of y’all afraid that speaking up would cause a riot. You need to be concerned with who left the faith from your silence.”

Common Hymnal said, “Our efforts in creating this hymnal are geared at building a resource in which both praise and protest coexist, in which our admiration for the integrity of the kingdom of God is juxtaposed with a similar passion to challenge and root out injustice in our world.”

One of the most stirring pieces in the collection is from “America’s Gospel” in collaboration with Reverend Otis Moss III:

“The Gospel that wears blue, but does not know the blues

A Gospel of knees pressing on throats, arms crushing windpipes

And shots fired in Breonna’s bedroom

Reverend George Floyd preached against this heresy 22 times 

With his only sermon: 

‘I Can’t Breathe’”

The full album can be found on all streaming platforms. More information, including the lyrics of each song, can be found at commonhymnal.com