State Historical Society of Missouri
Center for Missouri Studies
605 Elm St.
Columbia
The public is invited to a FREE screening of I’m so Glad: Kansas City and the Roots of Black Gospel Music, the Untold Story, a 2023 documentary that explores how the same forces that shaped jazz in Kansas City’s 18th and Vine District also shaped Black gospel music lovers and changed the American musical culture from New York to Hollywood. The film features music and stories of the region's pioneering musicians told by historians, performers, ministers and musicologists, revealing a lesser known and important history of the development of Black Gospel music. The film explores the importance of the free state of Kansas where enslaved persons fled from Missouri and left the South during the Civil War and Reconstruction. As one historian noted, "Something about this region encouraged Black intellect, Black culture and Black Art."
The award-winning documentary was produced by Paul Wenske, Nancy Meis and Chris Wenske of Electric Prairie Productions and narrated by international gospel composer and conductor Isaac S. Cates. The film won Best Heartland Documentary at the Kansas City FilmFest International in 2024.
As part of Black History Month events sponsored by SHSMO, three documentary films, followed by discussions with the film participants and/or producers, will be screened at Cook Hall, Center for Missouri Studies throughout the month of February. No reservations are needed.