Clara Williams reflects on growing up in West Oakland, California and attending  Berkeley High School. Her father started his ministry as an associate ordained minister at Ephesians Church of God In Christ (COGIC) - known for its flagship status as one of the largest pentecostal churches in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area during the early sixties. Clara shares her experiences as a “PK” (preacher’s kid) when her father “accepted the call”  and became a full-time pastor at the “Power House”, COGIC, while maintaining  a full-time job with the City of Berkeley.  She admires her Dad, who subsequently received a doctorate in Divinity. Clara shares the strong community values she learned during her childhood, In speaking of  the Crystalettes, a family social club that her parents and other African American  families created to provide a wholesome supportive space for their families. Clara recalls the origins of the Northern California State Youth Choir of the Church of God in Christ, started by bay area gospel singer celebrities,  Edwin Hawkins and Betty Watson. Clara recounts the gospel scene in the Bay Area and the prominent gospel groups during the 1960s. She remembers her rich experience, and describes the “Oh Happy Day” recording and performances as a testimony she wants to share.

Highlights:

In 1966, Clara discovers the Northern California Youth Choir, and sees an opportunity to have additional church activities outside of her father’s church;

The choir’s recording project to sell their own music, begins as a fundraiser to finance a trip to an east coast COGIC youth conference, becomes an unexpected mega billboard hit;

Dorothy Morrison,  a member of Clara’s church, is selected as  the lead singer, and “Oh Happy Day” is recorded in 1968;

Despite the excitement of the recording, Clara’s family faces the challenge of her mother’s diagnosis of a life long heart condition she could no longer endure without surgical intervention  in 1968, and she is worried that her mother may not survive the new surgical procedures; and

In the next episode, Clara’s story continues and “Oh Happy Day” becomes an overnight success.