Gospel Concert Raises Money for African-American College Scholarships

The Black Community has a long history of giving back to help its own, as Rochester’s Heritage Gospel Concert attests. With an emphasis on education as a vital path to an onward-and-upward mobility goal, the First Genesis Baptist Church of Rochester hosted a gospel concert on Saturday, February 15. The concert raised money to help fund college scholarships for African-American students.

A theme of the fundraiser was how to celebrate the heritage of the past while continuing to pave the way for the future. Leonard Merritt, Co-Chair of the Black Heritage Committee, said he wanted people to know that heritage doesn’t stop with the past; it’s an ongoing process.

Dr. Eddie S. Glaude Jr. is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University. He sums up the collaboration of black churches and academia in this way: “For Black churches, education has been a paramount goal. Local churches have supported education as a primary vehicle to aspiration for the next generation.” This sentiment was put into action through the Heritage Gospel Concert.

First Genesis Baptist Church also serves as a religious and community resource to help people with other needs such as food, clothing, and intervention for troubled youth.