CHARLEMONT — A free “artistic activism” concert will be held Saturday at the Federated Church at 7:30 p.m., set to include gospel songs, commentary and a question and answer session.
The event is offered in collaboration with Mohawk Trail Concerts and the Charlemont Forum, according to a press release.
Two musicians — baritone James Dargan from New York City and pianist Mark Whitlock from Boston — are set to appear, performing a “social justice recital” in four parts: “The Call, The Challenge, The Welcome and The Rebirth.”
The concert, Dargan explained in the release, originated with a desire to celebrate black American musical history and evolved into “a public service mission.”
The concert seeks to “invoke the spirit” and honor the accomplishments of five great black musicians, including Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Paul Robeson.
“Nina Simone once said that ‘Freedom is the absence of fear,’ and by taking my audience on a musical journey through the struggles of these musicians and their strength in overcoming them, I hope to inspire us to do likewise and be unstoppable in our pursuit of true freedom for all,” Dargan said.
Charlemont Forum Chairwoman Susan Purdy said in the release that the concert is a continuation of the forum’s “reflection on race” in two previous events: a 2017 community reading of Frederick Douglass’ speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” performed in collaboration with Double Edge Theatre, and a 2018 presentation on “Race: Facing the Truth, Owning our Past.”
“We believe ‘Oh, Glory’ is a unique and important contribution to our abiding concern around this issue,” Purdy said.
Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280.