The Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum speaker series launched its spring 2026 programming slate with an evening full of dynamic, powerful, and uplifting music.

As the Athenaeum’s annual MLK Commemorative program, the inspiring Feb. 2 performance from the BYTHAX ensemble, led by Dr. Diane White-Clayton, highlighted gospel singing and its influence on the Civil Rights movement.

White-Clayton detailed the heritage of spirituals sung by enslaved peoples during the era of plantation slavery, educating the Ath audience on their meaning as members of the ensemble delivered brief a cappella solos, providing insights into the music’s power.

Performing foundational tracks including “Wade in the Water,” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” and a number of others, White-Clayton and the BYTHAX (Bringing You Teaching Healing Artists with eXcellence) Ensemble illuminated how these songs were as much a means of resilience as they were instructions for those running to freedom.

After highlighting the through line connecting these spirituals to the civil rights movement and the Montgomery bus boycott, Clayton-White played clips from Freedom Singer Charles Neblett, as well as a speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This led to an outstanding performance by one of the ensemble members of a song sung by influential gospel singer Mahalia Jackson to Dr. King himself; moving both BYTHAX members and Athenaeum guests to tears by the sheer beauty of her vocal prowess.

The evening culminated with a standing ovation, and Clayton-White then led the audience in a quintessential call-and-response.

Earlier in the day, the CMC community joined Stephen Newby, the Lev H. Prichard III Endowed Chair in the Study of Black Worship at Baylor University, who mixed a history-based lecture with a piano performance. To an energized lunchtime audience, Newby highlighted the transformative gospel music and ministry of Andraé Crouch.

Newby, who also serves as Ambassador for the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program, returned to the Ath for an afternoon “Dialogue on Race and Faith,” featuring Joy Moore, Wheaton College; Douglass Strong, Seattle Pacific University; and CMC Religious Studies Professor Esther Chung-Kim (who also introduced Newby at the lunchtime event).

The BYTHAX Ensemble’s Athenaeum performance is part of a four-part Devotional and Spiritual World Music series featuring Ghanian, South Asian, American Gospel, and Brazilian traditions

Click here for the current Ath schedule.