Reverend Millard Southern with the Allen Chapel AME Church celebrates cultural diversity with a community jazz program featuring the Baylor Project.

Well, today I'm talking with Reverend Millard Southern who's the senior pastor of one of the oldest churches in Kalamazoo, the oldest black church in Kalamazoo.

It's Alan Chapel AME.

It's a church on Kalamazoo's north side.

Thank you so much for talking with me here today.

- Thank you for having me.

- Well, you know, I wanted to talk to you about the importance of partnerships and also introducing jazz to young people, because recently you did just that.

Tell me a little bit about how you came to kind of collaborate with United Methodist Church, which is a white church.

Your church is a predominantly black church.

These partnerships are so important, especially now.

- As pastor of Allen Chapel AME Church, I believe that collaboration and working with other churches and community leaders and organizations is vitally important.

It helps our community to grow.

It sustains and builds relationships, and we need that.

We need to stay in dialogue.

We need to stay in communication about the issues that affect us and our world today.

And so, as pastor, my mission is to continue to build relationships across racial, cultural, and ethnic lines so that we can grow to together as a community much stronger than what we've been.

So I had an idea to collaborate with First United Methodist Church located in downtown Kalamazoo, to come together and to have a community jazz program.

And the interesting thing about jazz music is that it brings the community together.

And if there's anything that we need in this day and time is to bring the community together.

And so on March 19th, it was a celebration of community.

It was a celebration of cultural diversity through music, through an art form known as jazz music.

And one of the things I like about jazz music is that it embodies a lot of things about our culture.

Jazz music is about improvisation.

It's about finding your voice.

It's about giving people the creative space to express who they are.

And so on March 19th, we had a wonderful opportunity to hear the Baylor Project, and the Baylor Project combines jazz and gospel and soul.

But at the end of the day, after leaving the concert, you are inspired to go back to your own communities to be stronger.

(jazz ensemble playing) - The Baylor Project, I mean, they were nominated, what, for Grammys I think.

Six times they received the NAACP Image Award.

How did you come to know them?

I mean, do you play an instrument as well?

- Sure, I play the trumpet, I love jazz music.

I'm also a writer, and I'm finishing my book on jazz music and American democracy.

But I lived in New York City, and one of the things about New York City is they have this community of jazz musicians where you get to know each other.

So I befriended the Baylors, and throughout our relationship, you know, we would strengthen each other through the music.

And so when I became pastor here, I thought of an idea of bringing them to Kalamazoo so they could help us celebrate who we are through an art form known as jazz music.

- And what do you believe, when you think about art and music together, what do you think art and music bring to the community of Kalamazoo?

I mean, especially in the state of the world that we're in now.

- I'm glad you asked that question.

Most importantly, our young people need more opportunities for art and music.

We need more creative spaces where we can think outside the box, and art and music allows us to do that.

We need art and music because it teaches us about the history of our country, about how we have come through great struggles but we've been resilient in the process of doing that.

And so it invites young people to come into creative spaces so that they can learn and grow and be inspired.

And I think that's what the city of Kalamazoo needs, more opportunities for our young people to engage in art and music.

- And Reverend, in the past, I mean, this was kind of a role that the church played.

It's like you're bringing it back.

- Oh yes, especially in a black church, music is very important, it uplifts the spirit.

You know, the power and the beauty of music in the black church is what has allowed us to survive.

From the early slave spirituals, through the gospel songs of civil rights, even gospel, hip hop nowadays.

Music is vitally important and essential.

- You know, you've been here for almost three years.

What's next?

I mean, where are you trying to take your ministry?

- Well, I wanna continue to engage the community of the north side of Kalamazoo.

There are a lot of issues that we're facing, social, cultural, political, and spiritual.

And my desires to continue to work with city officials and state legislators so that we can address systemic problems of evil in our community.

Our young people need leaders to step up.

Our young people need voices to rise up and to condemn injustices and evil in our community.

And so I want to continue to work with organizations and foster a sense of commitment to addressing those issues in our community.

(jazz ensemble playing) - Well, I make a mean peach cobbler.

I know you were looking for one of those.

I saw it on social media.

I may have to figure out a way to get one to you.

- Oh, that's my favorite, that's my favorite.

- But Reverend Miller, I wanted to just thank you so much for talking with me here today and for spreading all the good that you're spreading in Kalamazoo.

It's so appreciated and needed.

- Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate you.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Support for Kalamazoo Lively Arts is provided by the Irving S Gilmore Foundation, helping to build and enrich the cultural life of greater Kalamazoo.