Sounding good, gaining renown

Anjulet Tucker 00C 09PhD, director of presidential initiatives at Emory, was only a freshman when she organized a Voices spring break trip to Allums’ hometown in California. Tucker, the 18-year-old daughter of a Pentecostal minister, and fellow choir member Amy Snipes 00C helped arrange travel for almost 100 Emory students.

Part of VOIS’ ministry was dismantling stereotypes and assumptions through its outreach. “In Atlanta, you have Morehouse, Spelman and the combined Atlanta University Center choir who are ready for prime time,” Tucker says. “For Emory to hold its own as a choir in a city where gospel choirs are strong made me feel a sense of pride. We weren’t just Black students from Emory; we sounded good.”

The VOIS tradition of spring break tours and service trips led them to perform in Texas, Maryland, New York, Florida and Louisiana, as well as abroad in Bermuda and St. Thomas. To raise travel money, choir members even sang for tips from the steps of Cannon Chapel.

“What were we doing panhandling on campus?” Tucker recalls, laughing. “That shows how committed we were to making these tours happen.”

Weekly rehearsals were, and will be again as the campus rebounds from the pandemic, on Friday nights from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in White Hall 101. The choir sings monthy in Emory’s Beloved Community worship service, and has offered a concert each semester.

“You were missed if you didn’t come to rehearsal,” Tucker says. “It was very powerful to see that many Black students in one space. VOIS felt like home and you wanted to take that feeling everywhere on campus. We found our belonging place and home in VOIS and Maury was so critical to that.”

Listen to Voices of Inner Strength's album "Voices in My Head," released in 2000.

The choir has been a place where all have been welcomed, regardless of religious tradition and other social identities.

“VOIS supported students’ academic success,” notes Tucker, who has been coordinating efforts for the choir’s recent reunions. “At rehearsals, you could find a study partner or get encouragement to persevere through difficult classes.”