Bernice Johnson Reagon, Civil Rights Leader and Sweet Honey in the Rock Founder, Passes Away at 81

Bernice Johnson Reagon, renowned civil rights activist and co-founder of The Freedom Singers before establishing the acclaimed acapella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock , has died at the age of 81.

Courtland Cox, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s Legacy Project , confirmed Reagon’s passing to NPR , though no cause of death was disclosed.

During the 1960s, Johnson Reagon played a pivotal role in the African American civil rights movement , starting her activism in Albany , Georgia . Imbued with the spirit of protest , she drew inspiration from the songs sung by community elders during meetings and gatherings.

Reflecting on this period in an interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, she expressed:

“As a singer and activist in the Albany Movement, I sang and heard the freedom songs and saw them pull together sections of the Black community at times when other means of communication were ineffective.”

In 1961, Johnson Reagon was incarcerated for participating in a civil rights demonstration and subsequently expelled from college due to her activism.

She co-founded The Freedom Singers in 1962, an acapella group integral to SNCC’s efforts, touring nationally to raise funds for the movement. Following her divorce from Cordell Reagon, she founded the Harambee Singers in 1966, aligning with the Black Consciousness Movement.

In 1973, while serving as the Vocal Director at Howard University’s Black Repertory Theater , Johnson Reagon founded Sweet Honey in the Rock, an all-female African American acapella group dedicated to social change and the portrayal of the Black experience through music .

Under her direction until 2003, Sweet Honey in the Rock gained acclaim with albums like their eponymous debut and subsequent works such as In This Land , Sacred Ground , and The Women Gather .

The group earned three Grammy nominations and released multiple impactful albums.

Johnson Reagon’s cultural contributions extended beyond music. She joined the Smithsonian Institution in 1974, focusing on African American sacred music traditions and documenting Black American freedom songs from 1960-66. Her radio series Wade in the Water earned her a prestigious Peabody Award .

In 1993, she penned We Who Believe in Freedom: Sweet Honey in The Rock, Still on the Journey , chronicling the group’s history and impact .

Bernice Johnson Reagon leaves behind a legacy of activism , music, and scholarship that continues to inspire generations.

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