The Story of the Jubilee Singers

In 1871, in an effort to raise funds for the Fisk University, a newly founded African American school in Nashville, Tennessee, a student singing group was formed, soon to be called the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The group, composed mostly of former slaves, became instantly popular, and their concert tours were soon raising substantial amounts of money. They appeared at the White House before President Ulysses S. Grant; toured the British Isles, where they performed before for Queen Victoria; and raised enough money to finance Fisk's first permanent building, Jubilee Hall.