Given the official position of the Church as stated in its documents, the act of throwing the Black Catholic hymnal, “Lead Me, Guide Me,” in the dumpster is an egregious act that disparages the music and culture of Black Catholics. Even more, it communicates an act of total disregard, disdain, and disrespect. Ultimately, it shows contempt for the music contained in the hymnal, those who contributed to it, and the people it is intended to uplift.
The first edition of the “Lead Me, Guide Me” hymnal was published in 1987 by GIA. It was born out of the desire to have a musical resource that reflected the “African American heritage and Catholic faith” of the Black Catholic community. Its development was authorized by the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus in 1983 and the hymnal itself was dedicated to Fr Clarence Rivers, the “father of Black Catholic liturgy.” Dr. M. Shawn Copeland asserts that the timing of the hymnal came as three historical events converged: the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Arts movement, and Vatican II. Archbishop James P. Lyke of Atlanta was instrumental in the creation of the hymnal and coordinated the creation of committees and subcommittees that worked on it. One such subcommittee included the likes of Marjorie Gabriel-Burrow, who served as chairperson; Rawn Harbor; and Leon C. Roberts. The hymnal takes its name from a beloved gospel song written in 1953 by Doris Akers.
In addition to its preface written by Archbishop Lyke, the first edition of the hymnal had two essays: “The Gift of African American Sacred Song,” by Servant of God Thea Bowman, and “The Liturgy of the Roman Rite and African American Worship,” by the Jesuit priest J-Glenn Murray. The second edition, released in 2012, contains 559 hymns and congregational songs (237 more than the first edition), a complete psalter for the lectionary, and nine new settings of the Mass that conform with the new translation of the Roman Missal.
The “Lead Me, Guide Me” hymnal facilitates the sung prayer of the Black Catholic community. It allows for an authentic expression of Catholicism that is culturally relevant to people of the African diaspora. The music contained therein allows us to be authentically Black and truly Catholic. Sr Thea addressed the U.S. bishops in 1989 and famously said:
“I come to my Church fully functioning. I bring myself; my Black self, all that I am, all that I have, all that I hope to become. I bring my whole history, my traditions, my experience, my culture, my African-American song and dance and gesture and movement and teaching and preaching and healing and responsibility, as gifts to the Church.”