The Queen Singers, one of Goshen College’s singing ensebles, is set to return to the stage this Monday as a part of GC’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. The group has been preparing for their performance, which will mark two years since the ensemble’s beginning.

The Queen Singers were originally founded by Jakyra Green and Nakiyah Kilpatrick, and are a group that “amplifies and honors the BIPOC feminine experience,” according to H. Roz Woll, assistant professor of music and faculty adviser to The Queen Singers.

Green and Kilpatrick were familiar with activism on GC’s campus through being heavily involved in the MLK committee and Black Student Union. The group is looking forward to their return to stage as they “re-energize the group this spring,” Woll said.

Aysia Adkins, a member of the Queen Singers and a junior music major, spoke of her time with the group as an  empowering experience.

Adkins has been a part of The Queen Singers since their debut convocation performance in January 2023. She spoke of her admiration for performing with the group and how “it just always reminds me why I love doing what I do, why I love performing and seeing women of color feel seen when they watch our performances.”

Similarly, Woll stated that she found the group inspiring and firmly believes that “they are filling a need or addressing something that perhaps some didn’t know they wanted or needed.”

Each time the Queen Singers perform, their impact reaches beyond the GC community, to the broader Michiana region. The response after The Queen Singers’ first performance was confirmation of this impact.

Adkins spoke of the abundance of support through emails. “We got a convocation all to ourselves that next year, that fall in 2023 and we sang at the [South Bend] Civil Rights Heritage Center.”

Woll emphasised the importance of The Queen Singers role for those who identify with the BIPOC feminine experience.

She said, “[They are] lifting up those voices and humanizing themselves through this amazing artistic value … [while also] addressing a fundamental part of the human experience through this particular genre.”

Woll said, “I love working with them because of their energy —they’re inspiring to me.”

Monday’s convocation will

be held at 10 a.m. in the Church Chapel but will not end there. “Don’t leave,’” Adkins said.  Immediately following convocation will be a march led by The Queen Singers which will lead attendees to the

Recreational-Fitness Center for further engagement, activities and prizes held by GC Student and Affinity groups.