SPIRITUAL UPRISING At People's Light Extends Through May 7

Nationally acclaimed actor-musician Zonya Love brings her collection of reimagined Negro Spirituals to the People's Light stage in Spiritual Uprising, now extended through May 7 due to popular demand!

In this filmed concert event, the latest offering to stream as part of the Theatre's Winter/Spring Digital Season, Love leads her band through evocative new renditions of songs such as "Wade in the Water" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," while illustrating the music's deep cultural and historical significance.

In many ways, Spiritual Uprising is Love's response to the events of 2020. The idea to record an album of Negro Spirituals first occurred to Love in 2015, when she was doing a show about the Freedom Riders. "I tucked the idea away but would revisit it from time to time. Fast forward to 2020 when the infection of racism was coming to a head in a way that the masses could no longer ignore," she explains.

"Before the pandemic, it felt as if my community had been screaming for justice in a soundproof room," Love continues. "But while the world was halted, it saw and heard what my people had been experiencing for years, decades, centuries-when the murder of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement was captured on video in real time. I was grateful that many had been authentically awoken. However, I dove into despair and could not escape the darkness. I would try to encourage myself by singing 'This Little Light of Mine' or 'Let My People Go.' The Negro Spirituals, the songs of my ancestors, comforted me, lifted me out of the darkness, and I was reminded of my assignment."

Spiritual Uprising is available to stream for $15 per household with a People's Light online account. Once purchased, the virtual concert can be enjoyed by everyone in the household anytime, any number of times through May 7, 2021. Click here for more information about streaming digital content. Run time is 75 minutes. Spiritual Uprising is best enjoyed by viewers 10+. Learn more at peopleslight.org.