Chicago
A historic black church known as the birthplace of gospel music burned to the ground last week. The Pilgrim Baptist Church on Chicago’s South Side was built in 1891 by legendary architect Louis Sullivan, originally as a Jewish synagogue. The Baptist congregation took it over in 1922, and in the 1930s, musical director Thomas Dorsey infused his choir’s traditional church music with jazz and blues to create a new idiom he called gospel; among his singers were Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke. Last week, the building was gutted by a blaze that apparently began on a roof that was being repaired. “The building itself is destroyed, not the church,” said congregant Johnnie Mae Johnson. “I can’t promise you we’ll do it in seven days,” said a church official, “but we will rebuild.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meatThe Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human bloodUnder the radar Drugging the bugs
