An extraordinary thing happened to me Monday January 27th. I, along with many others in a small Bessemer community, attended the going home ceremony at Macedonia Baptist Church in Bessemer for Ms. Lee Bell Johnson, known very affectionately locally as “Our Mahalia,” referring to her singing and the extraordinary gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson.
Ms. Lee Bell passed at the age of 91, and back in 2011, graced the microphones of the Birmingham Black Radio Museum (BBRM) with her oral history and some wonderful singing.
As we sat through the service, the time for “messages” arrived but before anyone rose to speak…on the Macedonia Baptist Church screen above the pulpit, a video began with my voice and a title, Bob Friedman, Birmingham Black Radio Museum. I was stunned. And there followed part of my conversation with Lee Bell, how she grew up, and how she loved singing. It was very moving. The congregation loved it.
I was able to meet many of her family from here in Bessemer and Detroit. The images and voice on the “message” were captured online at our web site (thebbrm.org/item/101) by a member of the church and produced for the service.
That experience brought home what we have been talking about at the BBRM for years… the value to the community when the archival/history work of an individual or a region is community-based…useful…a tool for bringing folks together. Lee Bell is missed, but also, just a click away.
– Bob Friedman, Director
