South-Central Choir Sings Itself Into Heart of Beverly Hills 90210

It was Faithful Central Baptist Choir meets Beverly Hills 90210.

About 1,500 people attended a Sunday performance by a church choir from South-Central Los Angeles at Beverly Hills High School to raise funds for anti-gang programs run by churches in riot-battered areas.

The event, which exposed some well-heeled Westside residents to live African-American gospel music for the first time, was also designed to be a cross-culture mixer, said organizer and Beverly Hills Mayor Bob Tanenbaum.

“I realize there was a lot of good things going on down there that needed our help,” Tanenbaum said.

Tanenbaum said he came up with the idea when he was campaigning for Los Angeles district attorney just after the riots.

After meeting several ministers, they agreed to sponsor a benefit concert featuring a combined group from the men’s, women’s and teen-age choirs at Faithful Central Baptist Church.

“It’s not all about making money,” said Tanenbaum. “It’s about people. It’s about faith.”

While the event gave people from different backgrounds a chance to meet, it also raised more than $50,000 in advance ticket sales and corporate donations to be split among 10 South-Central Los Angeles churches, Tanenbaum said.

“Our church was not damaged in the uprising, not physically anyway,” said the Rev. F. Raymond Johnson, assistant pastor at Faithful Central. “But the need for the services we provide has gone up dramatically.”

The money would be targeted for programs that include a ministry working to woo young men away from gangs and drugs and another for young single parents, Johnson said.

“Our mission is to give these young people some hope and maybe some opportunity,” he said. “Just seeing this crowd here in Beverly Hills tells me we’ve taken a big step.”

The racially mixed crowd included teen-age church members and students from Beverly Hills High School, sporting T-shirts emblazoned with a green, black and red logo saying “South-Central,” which was surrounded by the 11 ZIP codes of the area. The T-shirts were sold to raise money for the churches too.

“People have this stereotype of Beverly Hills that they see on TV,” said Galit Gelbart, the student body president at Beverly Hills High. “We don’t want everyone thinking we just care about ourselves. We care about the whole city.”

Many such as Gelbart said they have never heard black gospel music live before.

But they learned quickly that in black gospel services you are not supposed to sit passively. Within minutes of the curtain lifting, the crowd was on its feet clapping along as the 200 choir members sang, “I’ll never stop praising the Lord.”

“I feel like the Lord is right here in my high school. This energy is amazing,” said Anne Yin, junior class president at Beverly Hills High.

“It sends chills down my spine to hear them sing,” said Bobo Saab, 14, a sophomore at Beverly Hills High who was hearing gospel for the first time.

But not everyone was quite so charmed.

“I can’t understand a word they’re saying. It’s so loud,” said Marie, a senior citizen who would not give her last name. “They have beautiful voices though, and it’s a great cause. I bought 10 tickets.”