This is Neo-Black Society's 40th anniversary — the ruby one. As NBS alumni return for their reunion, they're rediscovering there's no place like home.

The full Neo-Black Society Gospel Choir breaks into “Happy Birthday” for a surprised member walking in. There are hugs all around. Now that's the way to start a semester.

“I see a lot of new faces,” says a beaming choir president Courtney Gordon, starting spring semester's first choir rehearsal.

“Since 1968! It's our 40th anniversary this year!” Cheers rise. All the leaders introduce themselves, as do the newcomers, with applause for each. Then it's on to the songs, each led by different members.

The pianist warms up, the saxophone, the drums. “How great … How great … is our God.“

The warmth is palpable. Lots of smiles. Exuberant singing. Tenor Brady Moore points out that all students have something to relieve stress, like sports. For choir members, it's Wednesday night rehearsal, where no one is still. Torsos are swaying, arms moving in time.

“You want to have some sort of release. You want to find something that's right for you,” Brady says.

“We're one big family.”

Shermuda Lawrence, choir vice president, agrees. “It's a family away from family.” She joined the group as a freshman since all her friends were in it. Another plus: It gave her more study partners. “I'd known no other HDFS (Human Development and Family Studies) majors till I got to Gospel Choir.”

Courtney says, “Our purpose is to minister — as well as minister to ourselves.“

Each year, the choir performs several times on campus and travels the state, singing mostly in churches, where a love offering is taken. With the money, the choir takes a trip each year. Two years ago, it was to New York City where they packed food for the homeless and sang for them. In Orlando last year, they helped build an after-school learning center for disadvantaged youth. They sang for them, too. Everywhere they go, they sing.

The choir has long been a big part of NBS. At last year's FallFest, Angela Taylor-Murphy '86, NBS president 1984-85, recalled choir rehearsals as one of her favorite NBS memories. “The choir was fantastic — even though I could not sing, they made you feel that you could!”

A lot of people join NBS because of the choir's camaraderie. It's as many as 100 members strong — sometimes more. And they put out a joyful sound, as they clap in time: “How great … How great.”

A different place and time

The day before, many NBS students had gathered in small groups or at the campus viewing to watch the presidential inauguration.

“This was a big event for black students in general,” said Shandra Scott, NBS president 2006-07. America's first black president had taken the oath of office. “My parents never thought they'd see that. I doubted that it'd happen in my lifetime.”

The cameras showed Civil Rights leaders looking on, trailblazers from the turbulent 1960s, when racism still reigned as an integral part of North Carolina culture. Segregation was giving way to (sometimes forced) integration. Jim Crow laws continued to fall, as images from the Deep South of beatings and dogs and fire hoses filled the nightly news. Civil Rights leaders were under threat. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and others were slain. Riots erupted in some cities. The Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act were made law. With each passing year, students became more politically vocal, leading protests for change.

As 1967 gave way to 1968, a group of African-American students at UNCG began a new organization — the Neo-Black Society.

In a 1968 piece in The Carolinian, one of NBS' founders, Ada Fisher '70, declared it “a group of students who are willing to work within the framework of our society to bring about constructive and much-needed change.” At that time, UNCG had only one African-American faculty member, and black writers and history were seemingly ignored. Among the society's initial goals were to try to help establish an African-American history course on campus and to help in voter registration drives.