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When Thomas Dorsey began composing his new music in the 1930s, the man hailed as the father of gospel nearly lost faith because of the negative reaction to the new form of African American praise music. He had difficulty finding a place to allow him to perform even one of the songs. But times have certainly changed. The scared music which offers testimonies of defiance over despair and good news and celebration has become an integral part of the fabric of American cultural history. And now, gospel is getting a permanent place - a Greater Fort Lauderdale home.
Detailed plans have been unveiled for the $50 million Gospel Complex for Education and Preservation in the city of Lauderhill, under the direction of famed gospel producer Dr. Bobby Jones. The Convention & Visitors Bureau has been joined by partners including the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, the Broward County Schools, and Bank of America, the national board of directors for the complex, and major local community leaders in support of what is predicted to become one of the country’s premiere multicultural attractions.
A stylish fountain, curved ceilings, and covered walkways will welcome an estimated 50,000 people a year and generate about $5 million alone from visitors, and $25 million from their ripple effect on the community. The Gospel Complex is part of a $400 million revitalization and development project in Lauderhill, west of central Fort Lauderdale, which will feature a one-half square mile pedestrian-friendly area with residences, sports and recreation, entertainment and retail businesses, and artists’ spaces, all geared towards the large and growing Caribbean demographic of South Florida.
The centerpiece, however, will be the Gospel Complex which will be used to build an inland destination. “You don’t often find the CVB so involved in business development,” says Albert Tucker, Vice President of Multicultural Business Development. “The vision is to create a multifunctional destination for performers and lovers of gospel music. We’re telling people to start planning now, in advance, knowing that we have more alternatives than the beaches.”
For Convention &Visitors Bureau President Nicki Grossman, this new attraction is further testimony to the bureau’s continuous commitment to the multicultural market, which has become one of the biggest success stories in the industry. “In 1990, we published the first African American Visitor’s Guide and it was the first in the country,” she points out. “Now, in our Multicultural Guide, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans are spotlighted, and we have a full-service multicultural business development component which makes all of us proud.”
When the Gospel Complex is completed it will feature recording and video facilities for Dr. Jones’s internationally-syndicated television show and visiting artists as well as a Hall of Fame displaying the history and artifacts of gospel music’s history in the U.S. And, certainly Thomas Dorsey, the father of gospel music, will have a place there as well.
Meanwhile, Fort Lauderdale’s gospel connection continues to strengthen. Through 2009, the area will host the Gospel Industry Retreat twice a year, led by Dr. Jones, which features tapings of his television show that are open to the public. The next retreat will be held May 27-29 at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, FL with performers such as Jim Brown, Bernadette Standers (of TV’s “Good Times”) and singer Florence LaRue (of the Fifth Dimension). An opening reception and taping will be held May 27 at First Baptist Church in downtown Fort Lauderdale with a performance of the musical “Godspell.”
Dr. Mack King Carter, senior minister of the New Mount Olive Baptist Church, has an enthusiastic prediction. “Nashville and Memphis make their claims as centers of American music, but for gospel, Fort Lauderdale is going to be the ‘Magic City.’”
Kitty Oliver
Detailed plans have been unveiled for the $50 million Gospel Complex for Education and Preservation in the city of Lauderhill, under the direction of famed gospel producer Dr. Bobby Jones. The Convention & Visitors Bureau has been joined by partners including the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, the Broward County Schools, and Bank of America, the national board of directors for the complex, and major local community leaders in support of what is predicted to become one of the country’s premiere multicultural attractions.
A stylish fountain, curved ceilings, and covered walkways will welcome an estimated 50,000 people a year and generate about $5 million alone from visitors, and $25 million from their ripple effect on the community. The Gospel Complex is part of a $400 million revitalization and development project in Lauderhill, west of central Fort Lauderdale, which will feature a one-half square mile pedestrian-friendly area with residences, sports and recreation, entertainment and retail businesses, and artists’ spaces, all geared towards the large and growing Caribbean demographic of South Florida.
The centerpiece, however, will be the Gospel Complex which will be used to build an inland destination. “You don’t often find the CVB so involved in business development,” says Albert Tucker, Vice President of Multicultural Business Development. “The vision is to create a multifunctional destination for performers and lovers of gospel music. We’re telling people to start planning now, in advance, knowing that we have more alternatives than the beaches.”
For Convention &Visitors Bureau President Nicki Grossman, this new attraction is further testimony to the bureau’s continuous commitment to the multicultural market, which has become one of the biggest success stories in the industry. “In 1990, we published the first African American Visitor’s Guide and it was the first in the country,” she points out. “Now, in our Multicultural Guide, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans are spotlighted, and we have a full-service multicultural business development component which makes all of us proud.”
When the Gospel Complex is completed it will feature recording and video facilities for Dr. Jones’s internationally-syndicated television show and visiting artists as well as a Hall of Fame displaying the history and artifacts of gospel music’s history in the U.S. And, certainly Thomas Dorsey, the father of gospel music, will have a place there as well.
Meanwhile, Fort Lauderdale’s gospel connection continues to strengthen. Through 2009, the area will host the Gospel Industry Retreat twice a year, led by Dr. Jones, which features tapings of his television show that are open to the public. The next retreat will be held May 27-29 at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, FL with performers such as Jim Brown, Bernadette Standers (of TV’s “Good Times”) and singer Florence LaRue (of the Fifth Dimension). An opening reception and taping will be held May 27 at First Baptist Church in downtown Fort Lauderdale with a performance of the musical “Godspell.”
Dr. Mack King Carter, senior minister of the New Mount Olive Baptist Church, has an enthusiastic prediction. “Nashville and Memphis make their claims as centers of American music, but for gospel, Fort Lauderdale is going to be the ‘Magic City.’”
Kitty Oliver
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 11:42 AM
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