I first saw Mokah Johnson, the director of the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement (AADM), in action in 2016 when she organized a prayer vigil with Athens for Everyone to lament the recent deaths of Black men at the hands of the police and to mourn officers killed in Dallas around that time. She and the new police chief Scott Freeman warily approached one another because tensions were high. While people who don’t know Mokah may see her as a firebrand, she’s warm and easygoing while, yes, also driven to address wrongs in our community.
After that vigil, I brought an idea to Mokah and her husband Knowa. I had been thinking of pairing some of the many great musicians in Athens across racial and other differences to sing duets. We’ve worked together ever since to produce a yearly concert called Athens in Harmony that benefits AADM. We’ll be holding our eighth show on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. at Hugh Hodgson Hall within UGA’s Performing Arts Complex.
We put on a joyous concert, but also aim to bridge sometimes-siloed communities to develop new friendships and professional opportunities while exposing audiences to a broader range of talent. This year’s confirmed performers include Stanley Stroud (of the Original Splitz Band); singer-songwriters Amy Coenen, Kimberly Morgan York, Neal Priest, Knowa Johnson and Jess Thompson (of Hotel Fiction); rapper LB; folk artist Nick Bradfield (White Rabbit Collective); Nicole Bechill (SheHeHe); soul singers Trina Meade, Lethia Donae and I am Mr. Mister; gospel singer Daniel Elder of the East Side Players; and the Brazilian singer Maria Kamila Justino.
When I saw Mokah meet Chief Freeman in that fraught situation years ago, I knew I wanted them to cohost the concert. Later they were better able to address problems once they had worked together on a fun project. Mokah has also hosted with Mayor Girtz, the Chamber of Commerce’s executive director David Bradley, former prison chaplain Shane Sims, and victims advocate Fatma Gurel. The 2025 cohost is Lt. Jody Thompson, a reserve police officer.
So many moments from past shows are etched in my mind from the dozens of powerful performances. Here’s just a sample: Chris McKay singing “None of us are Free (if one of us is chained)” with hip-hop artist Squallé or young Jalen Stroud amazing the crowd singing “Change is Gonna Come” with Dusty Gannon (of Vision Video) and, in an encore show, with Anthony Zuniga. John Tsao sang “The House I Live in” while Debra Brenner underscored the meaning using American Sign Language. Here’s just part of that song:
“The house I live in, my neighbors white and black,
The people who just came here or from generations back,
The town hall and the soapbox, the Torch of Liberty,
A home for all our children: that’s America to me.”
If you don’t recognize some of the performers’ names, you’ll find each concert all the more amazing because of the phenomenal talent in Athens brought to the forefront from gospel choirs, bands and chorales in new pairings with a great backing band led by Michael Wegner.
All the performers take the stage at show’s end, and the audience joins in to sing “Give Peace a Chance” with hip-hop artists in the show replacing John Lennon’s lyrics with verses about peace and justice. The song pretty much summarizes the driving force for me for producing the show, as my dad was killed in Vietnam. I know firsthand that we need to find ways to see everyone’s humanity and work against hate-mongering.
The concert brings us together, away from our screens, and the stirring songs galvanize us and remind us of American ideals not yet fulfilled. Athens in Harmony is a night that celebrates a community that’s welcoming, full of talent and potential, and striving to be more just.
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