On July 24th 2007, the Charlotte Chapter of the BYU Alumni Association presented a Pioneer Commemoration at the Levine Museum of the New South. The presentation was related to the museum exhibits of “The Families of Abraham” (photos of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim families in Charlotte) and “From Cottonfields to Skyscrapers” (history of the South).
The Pioneer presentation included photos and artwork for a poem and stories about Black Pioneers, Green Flake and Biddy Mason, and other pioneers. Click here to read the poem about Green Flake.
The presentation showed film clips from “Brigham Young: Frontiersman” and “Pioneers in Africa”. Artwork of the Martin Handcart Company and the Sweetwater Rescue were set to the music of Gladys Knight and the Saints Unified Voices Choir. The presentation concluded with a reading of a new verse to the Mormon Pioneer hymn “They the Builders of the Nation”. The verse listed below is a tribute to enslaved people who built America. To see and hear the music for this and other hymns, go to www.lds.org/churchmusic/.
They the Builders of the Nation,
came in chains across the sea,
Serving in a land of promise
that denied them liberty.
From this sin, a land addicted,
paid in blood to set them free,
Abraham repair connection,
link us all as family
For more information on the script, please send an e-mail to ckite@byu.net.
great post, thanks!