These days, every state has a ton of official everything. From state microbes to state tee-shirts and state artwork, the rush to declare something “The official (blank) of the state of (blank)” seems to be building. For example, Oklahoma already has an official song or four, but that hasn’t stopped officials from adding to the number by exactly one. The classic hymn “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” was unanimously declared the official gospel song of the state of Oklahoma.
The idea of an official state gospel song came to Tulsa representative Jabar Shumate. As it turns out, “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” was written in Oklahoma in 1862 by a Choctaw Freeman named Wallis Wallis, who was reminded of the River Jordan by Oklahoma’s Red River, and wrote the song accordingly. The origin story was enough to sway Oklahoma’s senate even without a performance of the tune, who voted 89-0 to make “Sweet Chariot” the state’s official gospel song.
“It should be a source of pride to all Oklahomans that this meaningful song was written in our state,” said Senator Shumate. “Granting this song official recognition will help publicize the diversity of Oklahoma and the contributions of African-Americans to our state.”
“Swing Low Sweet Chariot” would be one of five official state songs for Oklahoma should the bill be signed into law. It will now make its way to the desk of Governor Mary Fallin for approval.
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