African American Church Military Style Drill Teams (two videos, description, comments, and article excerpts)

crc9091, Jun 15, 2013

4,688 views • Jun 15, 2013

2013 National Congress Performance - Phoenix,AZ -snip- total # of views as of April 13, 2023 = 4.689 -snip- McGee Chapel Drill Team was (is?) part of McGee Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Houston, Texas.

It's unbelievable that this video only has one comment. Here's that comment:

T Wyatt, 2015
"and THIS my friends is how we drilled in the real early to mid 90's... Darn near brought tears to my eyes. I loved marching against/with/near/ McGee............. Their female drill instructor was NO joke back in the day...  AWESOME JOB! AND BROTHER YOU FELT THAT AT THE END. That's what I'm talking about. Passion and Purpose!"

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision - April 13, 2023

This pancocojams post showcases a 2013 YouTube video of the McGee Chapel drill team from Houston, Texas and a 2017 YouTube video of the Fountain of Praise (FOP) drill team from Houston, Texas.

This post also includes my general description of African American church drill teams. In addition, this pancocojams post includes one article excerpt about the history of African American drill teams in general and information about the Salem Stepping Saints drill team in Omaha, Nebraska in particular. An article excerpt about the history of the Texas Gulf Coast Church Drill Team Association is also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, religious, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all of those who have been and/or are now associated with African American church drill teams. Thanks to all of those who are featured in this showcase YouTube video and thanks to the publishers of these video on YouTube.
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This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series about African American drill teams.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/04/videos-of-comments-about-st-agnes-march.html "Videos Of & Comments About St. Agnes March Of Faith (an African American church military style drill team from Houston, Texas)" for another post in this pancocojams series.

Also, click the tab below or Google pancocojams: African American church drill teams to find other pancocojams posts on this subject.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - FOP Drill Team Texas Gulf Coast elite award winning routine

J Dubb - April 2, 2017
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Total # of views as of April 13, 2023 = 1,941
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This video only has this comment:

Danny Cook, 2017
"So I just seen this for the first time.  FOP most definitely been putting in work.  To God be the Glory for this church and ministry."

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES
I happened upon a YouTube video of African American church drill teams this week (April 2023) and was introduced to a whole genre (or sub-genre) of African American performance arts that I wasn't previously aware of.

That said, it appears that I included a YouTube video of a African American church drill team (Fountain Of Praise) in this 2012 pancocojams post:  
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/african-american-drill-teams.html  "African American Drill Teams (Videos)". 

Unfortunately, African American performance art of church military style drill teams doesn't appear to be widely known, even among many Black Americans.

Additions and corrections to this 2023 pancocojams post are very welcome. I'm particularly interested in documenting the history of this African American performance art, for instance,  which were the earliest African American military style church drill teams?

As documented in the article excerpt given as #1 in this post, there were African American church (dance style) drill teams with drum squads prior to African American military style church drill teams.  

For the historical and cultural record, any information that you could share on these subjects in the comment section below  would be greatly appreciated.
 
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH MILITARY STYLE DRILL TEAMS PERFORMANCES
by Azizi Powell, April 12, 2023 [edited April 13, 2023)

African American church military style drill teams is a type of  African American marching/movement art. That marching genre includes military cadences, church choirs processionals, ushers processionals (known as "Grand Marches), nurses processionals , and dance style drill teams with drum squads. 

African American church military drill teams are considered one of the churches' ministries (how church members serve God and His people). 

African American church military style drill teams are composed of African Americans of all genders and of females of various ages from around six years old through young adulthood. (In most of the YouTube videos that I have watched the members are high school age and young adults. Also, in all of the YouTube videos that I have watched, all of the members of these teams are Black. 

In many of the YouTube videos of African American church military style drill teams, the members wear fancy military style uniforms with the same type of boots, or the same type of loafer type shoes (not gym shoes). The females wear blouses and skirts or dresses and the males wear shirts and pants. In many of the videos that I've watched, members of these African American church military drill teams wear a beret..

African American church military drill teams perform without any musical accompaniment, including no whistles. These church drill teams carry no weapons or anything else (except for a few older videos that include two members in the front who carry a banner with the team's name). 

In most of the YouTube videos that I've seen, the drill team march in twos down the center aisle of the church's sanctuary or of a convention's main meeting room to face their drill team leader. That leader calls out the commands which the drill team responds to those commands.

Very large drill teams also had (have?) members performing in the right aisle and perhaps also in the left aisle, although I haven't seen any video of drill teams also performing in the left aisle.)

Once they have marched in, the African American church military drill team perform choreographed hand and body movements as a group largely without leaving the individual place where they are standing. These movements are performed while the drill team leader is speaking or while the drill team is chanting and singing original or adapted religious songs. Members of these African American military style drill teams (except for the banner holders and the drill team leader)/s may also "pat Juba" (rhythmically perform individual hand claps that alternate with chest and thigh slapping). The drill team also respond to their leader's commands such as "ten hut". meaning "attention"), "salute", "your left", "right face",  "to the rear" and "at ease". In some YouTube videos that I have watched, the military drill teams recite books of the Bible or names of people in the Bible. The leader's introduction to some chants reminds me of church testifying.

African American church military style drill team members also incorporate interpretive dance  moves as well as some R&B/Hip Hop or Black line dance type moves (such as doing a dip when they march, doing a group ripple, and leaning back and holding that position for a brief time. 

At their annual anniversary programs, some African American usher boards perform the same or similar interpretive dance type moves and R&B/Hip Hop or Black line dance type moves are also performed by some contemporary Black usher boards during their Grand March. That Grand March is performed during that anniversary program's and during usher convention's "collection" ("offering") segment. Some African American church choirs and nurses boards may also do the same or similar movements during the collection segment of their anniversary programs or during conventions. In contrast to African American church military drill teams, the church usher boards and choirs usually march to live or recorded Black Gospel vocal music or Black Gospel instrumental music. Also in contrast to church military drill teams, African American church usher boards, nurses boards, and church choirs  do very little if any hand movements, don't "pat Juba",  and are silent during their entire marches.

*Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/11/marching-for-jesus-church-ushers-nurses.html for a 2011 pancocojams post entitled "Marching For Jesus (Church Ushers & Nurses) Black Church Processions Part III".
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This description is based on my watching a number of YouTube videos of church military drill teams and church usher/nurses marches, and African American church choir marches. The oldest YouTube videos that I have found for African American military drill teams are from 2007. Some commenters on YouTube discussion threads for these videos and on the Facebook page for St. Agnes March Of Faith drill team wrote that the hand movements in the late 1980s and the 1990s were more complicated than the routines that were/are done in the 2000s. 

Please improve this description of African American military style drill team routines by adding your comments in the discussion thread of this pancocojams post. Thanks! .

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ARTICLE EXCERPTS
These excerpts are presented in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

ARTICLE EXCERPT #1
From https://www.ops.org/Page/1844 Stepping on Up... Drill and Step in Omaha
Written by Ashley Dorn, University of Iowa. [no date cited]
"African American music and dance have been powerful and significant forces in the musical history of the United States. Drill and step has roots in West African social and spiritual customs, resistance during slavery in the United States, and cultural participation and innovations such as military service, community and school-based teams, and Black Greek Letter Organizations. Drill and step in Omaha dates back to the early 20th century and continues to be part of community celebrations such as Native Omaha Days and the Juneteenth parade.

[…]

Salem Stepping Saints

Members of the Salem Stepping Saints drill team dressed up in beautiful purple and red uniforms for a performance. The Salem Stepping Saints of Omaha, Nebraska celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2017. The group was founded by Phyllis Hicks and Jackie Bowles in 1967 as an outreach for the Salem Baptist Church. The Stepping Saints is made up of students aged 12 to 20 who practice multiple times a week. They are best known for their performances in parades like the Native Omaha Days parade. The Saints also have had many opportunities to travel nationally to competitions and performances. The Salem Stepping Saints are part of a long history both in Omaha and throughout the United States of drill and step teams rooted in the music and dance history of African Americans.

[…]

Drill and step were part of a larger musical scene in Omaha throughout the 20th century, especially from the 1920s through the postwar era. A variety of Black-owned and operated businesses and musical clubs surrounding 24th and Lake Street hosted community events and big-name musicians, including the likes of Duke Ellington.

Drill and step teams date back to the early decades of the 20th century but the roots of the music and dancing go much deeper. Scholars have traced many characteristics to West African cultural practices and through historical experiences of African Americans in the United States, including slavery, resistance, military service, and social dancing. 

Scholars have identified many West African roots – such as call and response, polyrhythm, use of percussion, improvisation, and the incorporation of pageantry as both ceremonially significant and for humor and ridicule. Many of these elements survived the Middle Passage and were incorporated into rituals and dances performed by slaves. Indeed, the bodily percussion so integral to many step performances has been related to “patting juba,” a dance developed in response to restricted use of drums and other instruments. Furthermore, dances such as the “cakewalk” drew on traditions of pageantry and subversive humor to ridicule slave owners.

Moving through the 20th century, a strong legacy of military service among African Americans influenced the formation of drill and step dances, in addition to evolving musical trends such as jazz and hip hop. While drill and step share many characteristics, these two distinct styles are developed and performed in different social settings. Drill teams often perform in parades or public events with accompaniment by live percussion. Step teams often perform in formal competitions and rely on bodily percussion produced by the group members as part of the choreography, supplemented by recorded music often utilizing rap and hip hop. Black Greek Letter Organizations were integral to the development of step teams and collegiate competitions as Black students formed networks and clubs of their own in response to formal segregation and social exclusion.

Drill and step teams continue to this day, ranging from informal community gatherings to high-budget, formal collegiate competitions. The history of drill and step can be traced through the experiences of African Americans in the United States as well as to West African social and spiritual customs. The practice and performance of drill and step mirrors the history of African American music in the way that it has both deep historical roots and is ever-evolving in the present."
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Omaha, Nebraska's Salem Stepping Saints drill team is a dance style drill team which performs to the accompaniment of drums. Here's a link to 2011 video of that drill team https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azPo2xxZdlE. A 2010 video collage of the Salem Stepping Saints indicates that at 42 years old it is one of the oldest drill teams in the nation. I give a shout out to this drill team and recognize the fact (as stated in this article) that the Salem Stepping Saints drill team was started as an outgrowth of Salem Baptist Church.

However, the focus of this pancocojams post (and series) is African American military style drill teams. 

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ARTICLE EXCERPT #2
From https://www.chron.com/life/houston-belief/article/Christian-drill-teams-learn-piety-through-2029152.php, Christian drill teams learn piety through precision, by Tara Dooley, April 21, 2001, Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle Religion Writer

"Hands were slapping, feet were stomping and the halls of Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church echoed with that ever familiar refrain of praise to God:

"Your left, left, left, right, left."

Well, familiar to a sanctuary packed full of church drill teams decked out in what looked like military dress uniforms and practicing a method of praise that tended toward the martial.

"Never forget that we are a church drill team, and we proclaim the word of God in our performance," the Rev. Paul Prince, associate minister of Progressive New Hope Baptist Church, told about 700 children and teens gathered at the church. "If you are up there just shaking and baking until your mama lets you out, that's not what I'm talking about."

For corps of the devoted, marching in time has become a popular way to express faith. For 27 teams earlier this month, the Texas Gulf Coast Church Drill Team Association's convention provided practical and spiritual lessons on marching for God. Most of the teams came from the Houston area, but some drove in from Arlington and the San Antonio area.

The goal of the convention was to talk about mechanics and purpose. But the conference concluded with a competition that allowed the teams to strut their stuff and bask in the applause of a church filled with proud parents pointing video cameras.

[…]

The conference was organized by Oscar Alexis, founder of the regional drill team association and program coordinator for the National Baptist Sunday School Congress. Winners of the competition -- including McGee Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and Sugar Valley Church, both in Houston -- took home 12 nearly hip-high trophies.

"It's not just marching you are teaching these children," Alexis said. "You are teaching them skills for life."

[…]

Now 58, he first began on a church drill team as a child. After finishing high school and a stint in an airborne division of the U.S. Army, he returned to Houston and St. Agnes Baptist Church. In 1980, he put together the St. Agnes March of Faith Drill Team.

"At the time we were the only drill team around," Alexis said.

Since then, drill teams have grown in popularity, primarily for children and teens at predominantly black churches, Alexis said. Regional conventions are held throughout the country, and denominations also hold national competitions to determine the best of the church drill teams.

"I didn't have any idea it would explode like this," he said.

As the teams march in the aisles of the church, they move rigidly and in strict meter -- with an occasional team busting out with a syncopated rhythm or chant. A leader barks out commands, instructing team members to change pace, direction or routine.

"Go left, go right, go left, right, left. Jesus. J -E-S-U-S," a church gymnasium room of teens chanted to the calls of an instructor.

"It is based on the military," said Bryan Pratt, whose two children performed with Resurrection Baptist Church from near San Antonio. "But the reason they march is to bring people in (to the church) and function as a team, and that will help the kids as they get older."

But as instructors and participants reiterated throughout the conference, the purpose of the marching is spiritual.

"It is the idea of giving praise to God," Alexis said. "All of our adoration is to God." ”….
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The African American church military style of marching while chanting and singing reminds me of this scene from the 1990 American movie Cadence when the soldiers were singing the song "Chain Gang". In Europe this movie is known as Stockade" : 

cadence 1990 chain gang march (soul patrol shuffle )

CJDone,  Jul 3, 2013
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-chain-gang-cadence-soul-patrol.html for a pancocojams post about that movie clip. 

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