Following St. Luke United Methodist Church's Sunday service, the pews were still packed at 3 p.m. when Celestine Hayes began her presentation.
The now-retired longtime Columbia Public Schools music teacher spent roughly an hour performing and discussing around 15 songs that were originally written and sung by enslaved people in North America.
The event was sponsored by Race Onward, an organization made up of faith leaders working to combat the racial divide in Columbia.
Hayes answered questions for listeners before her performance, adding further context to the history of the songs. She said many of them are examples of spirituals, Christian songs that enslaved people would sing to connect to their faith.
"I think when you hear the songs you can relate to them more," Hayes said.
Hayes encouraged audience members to sing, clap and dance along to more well-known spirituals such as "Dem Bones."
"What's going on is here because of history. I think it's really important to remember it, and remember it authentically because sometimes it can get messed up," Hayes said.
Race Onward formed after the 2015 protests against racism at MU that resulted in then-UM System President Tim Wolfe stepping down. Race Onward Coordinator Don Day is in charge of the mailing list, where he advertises events like Hayes' to around 20 Columbia churches. He said the organization uses book studies and pilgrimages to locations with rich racial history to learn more about racial divides.
"A lot of history that most of us didn't learn when we were in school," Day said.
This summer, Day said Race Onward will visit sites along the Trails of Tears.