Best Heartland Documentary feature

Kansas City is known for its jazz and blues. But the same forces that shaped those American art forms also led to the development of Black Gospel music.

Our region's gospel blues have a rich but largely overlooked history. In fact, historians say gospel music may be the best window through which to view the development of the Black community in and around Kansas City, MO, and its roots in pre-Civil War Kansas.

The film explores this rich legacy: featuring the music and the stories of the region's pioneering greats. Interviews with historians and scholars reveal a musical and cultural history never presented before.

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