Odosasere Amadasun, a junior majoring in sociology, struggled to find community in her first few years at Iowa State University. That is until she met April Finley, and the Jubilee Gospel Choir became a part of her life. Having grown up in a mostly white town, Amadasun didn’t make her first Black friends until she got to Iowa State. She found an even deeper sense of community when she joined Jubilee Gospel Choir, a predominantly multicultural group singing spiritual and gospel music.
“General consensus, I’ve heard a lot of people struggle to find community, and I’ve been able to find that in Jubilee,” Amadasun said.
Jubilee Gospel Choir was started by Finley and Amadasun in early November 2022. Finley and her husband moved to Iowa so he could complete his Ph.D. in organic chemistry, and Finley started her job as a program assistant in the NCORE-ISCORE Office. Finley attended Tuskegee University in Alabama and was involved in the “Golden Voices” Concert Choir, founded in 1886 by Booker T. Washington. The thought of starting a gospel choir at Iowa State kept circling back in her mind.
“The idea never went away, and typically when I have an idea, it’s like a week later I don’t think about it again. But it’s something that just kept coming up,” Finley said.
Like Amadasun, Morgan Render, a junior majoring in human development and family studies, found a new sense of community within Jubilee Gospel Choir. She also views it as a way to connect with her culture in a way she didn’t get to growing up.
“Gospel music is just ingrained in black culture. And so I hadn’t really been able to be involved with that before because I’m from the Midwest and Illinois,” Render said.
Finley explained how important it is for spaces like Jubilee to exist, especially at a college the size of Iowa State.
“Those spaces are so important for our students, especially our students of color who are coming to a place where they’re not the majority. In some ways, they will not feel represented no matter what the school does,” Finley said.
Jubilee performed at the Jack Trice Closing Commemoration Ceremony, which ended a year-long commemoration of Jack Trice’s death 100 years ago. Jubilee was asked by President Wendy Wintersteen and the family of Jack Trice to perform.
“I love that Iowa State does not shy away from telling that story but also does not shy away from making sure that his legacy is preserved in some way, shape or form on this campus,” Finley said.
All of the members of Jubilee come from different backgrounds, majors and churches, but one thing brings them together at the end of the day: music. Many members of Jubilee experience connection on a cultural, spiritual and musical level.
“Being in a space where I can be authentically ‘me’ because I’m with people who look like me is so fulfilling because I didn’t get that growing up,” Amadasun said.
The Jubilee Gospel Choir meets on Sundays from 1:30-4 p.m. in Carver 308. Anyone interested in joining is welcome to come to rehearsal at that time.
