(RNS) — Composer Nolan Williams Jr. has long combined faith, culture and the arts in his productions on stage and screen, often centering on African American life. Now, he has created the “Just Like Selma” project to focus on the history of and continuing advocacy for voting rights.
The song he composed by the same name debuted via a video ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 19), and will be incorporated into the worship services at churches across the country during Black History Month in February.
“We are shifting from voter participation to civic engagement and really shining a spotlight on the Voting Rights Act and the history that led to the Voting Rights Act,” Williams told Religion News Service in an interview, describing the law that has lost some of its key provisions since a 2013 Supreme Court decision. “We have seen the impact of that and the number of precincts that have been closed or the kinds of voter ID laws that have been enacted. … States that had a history of discrimination no longer have to answer to anyone before they make any changes in their voting procedures.”
Williams, 56, is the founder of NEWorks Productions, a music and arts production company, and the chief music editor of the African American Heritage Hymnal. The song “Just Like Selma” is the next part of NEWorks’ Freedom Advances campaign, whose “Rise Up & Fight” pro-voting animation musi …