The history of Jazzin’ 4 Justice
In 2015, Jazzin' 4 Justice was founded by Rev. Dr. Myra Taylor (Justice and Witness Minister at time) with a vision that God placed on her heart—a vision of unity, empowerment, social justice awareness and transformation through the power of music and faith. With the blessing and encouragement of our Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Ozzie Smith Jr., this vision became a reality, bringing people together to celebrate justice and community through Jazz and other genres music.
Once Rev. Myra assembled a committee of five, the concert on Friday evening evolved into an entire weekend of social justice events. Justice Saturday was birthed and became a day filled with information and knowledge which we entitled a “Know Your Rights” session. Rev. Myra and the committee organized mocked traffic stops as a way to inform individuals on how to respond to law enforcement following the publicly televised humiliating traffic stop and murder of community activist Sandra Bland. The committee also reached out to State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office and in collaboration Covenant hosted its first Expungement Summit in 2018.
To seal this amazing weekend, Sunday was crowned as “Justice Sunday” as the church welcomed advocating justice preachers, such as Rev. Traci Blackmon, Rev. Dr. Reggie Williams, and Rev. Dr. Joann Terrell, just to name a few. In 2019, the J4J committee reached out to the Chicago Bail Bonds (as suggested by Rev. Dr. Patick Daymond, incoming pastor) as an additional way to implement social justice in action. As a result of the partnership for the first time $15,000.00 was raised to provide bail for non-violent low misdemeanor cases.
From 2015 - 2019 Jazzin' 4 Justice grew into a phenomenal success, with each event drawing more attendees and fostering a deeper connection among those who gathered. The pinnacle of our journey came in 2019 when we welcomed our largest audience yet—600 people—who joined in an unforgettable evening of music, inspiration, fellowship and advocacy.
However, like many other events and organizations, Jazzin' 4 Justice faced an unexpected challenge with the arrival of COVID-19. The pandemic brought a temporary pause to our momentum, but the spirit and mission of Jazzin' 4 Justice remains alive as it resumed in 2023.