Kirk Franklin and Tobymac: Ebony and Ivory

Ebony & Ivory
Kirk Franklin and Tobymac perform together
By MaryAlice Bitts
SundayNews
October 26, 2003


It's almost an oxymoron to be Christian, yet racially divided," said Kirk Franklin. "It's amazing that, 40 years after Dr. King's dream, racism is such a strong issue, not only within the larger culture but also within the church.

"We say that God is love, and God loves the individual, but that's not really how we treat each other. We finally said, 'Let's just stop talking about it. Let's just do it.'"

Franklin, an African American gospel artist, and tobyMac, a white contemporary Christian hip-hop/guitar rock artist, intend to do just that.

With 12 million records and eight platinum albums, Franklin is one of the top-selling gospel artists in the industry. He is also one of the most lauded. In the past year he earned three NAACP Image Awards, five Stellar Awards and two Dove Awards.

With his group dc talk, tobyMac sold more than 6 million CDs and won four Grammy Awards and numerous Dove Awards. His current solo album, "Momentum," has garnered six Dove Awards and two No. 1 hits.

Wanting to bring their very diverse music and audiences together, the two have embarked on a 15-plus-city joint concert, "I Have a Dream: The Tour," which rolls into the Harrisburg's Zembo Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31.

When the two artists met at various Dove and Grammy presentations some four or five years ago. "It was mental love at first sight," said tobyMac. "We both enjoyed each other's minds and hearts on this matter, and we immediately looked for ways to work together.

"I think we're kind of forcing the issue to the limit, because (my) audiences are still mostly white, and you go to a Kirk Franklin show, it's 95 percent black," he added. "We're saying: 'You've gotta get under the same roof.'"

And so tobyMac and his (multiracial) dc talk bandmates and management founded the E.R.A.C.E. Foundation (Eliminating Racism And Creating Equality) in 1997. The Foundation, which creates special events and talk-back sessions to raise awareness about racial issues, is sponsoring this concert to spread its platform of interracial unity, awareness and equality - a message that tobyMac said hits home only when we are exposed to multiracial experiences.
"I was raised and reared in the Washington, D.C., area, so I saw all cultures, all races, in all socioeconomic ranges, all around me," tobyMac said.

"When I got on the road with dc talk, I got into some other towns, and I realized that not all people had the privilege I had. So it just put something in my heart to sort of just put something together and open people's minds, hearts and eyes toward each other, and recognize that yeah, we have a lot of things in common, and a lot of differences. But it's our differences that make us beautiful. I was privileged to have these experiences, so that I could develop this healthy view, and I wanted to pass it along."

Franklin's role modeling was not so positive, but his well-publicized life experiences likewise molded his world view.

Raised by an elderly aunt who adopted him when he was 3, he grew up never knowing his parents, never having a male role model in his household.

His upbringing, which he describes as "not at all happy," is outlined in detail in his autobiographical novel, "Church Boy.” The book is titled for the passages in which Franklin was beaten by other boys because of his job leading the Mount Rose Baptist Church adult choir at age 11. He later turned to a life of larceny and promiscuity before coming back to the church.

Knowing what it is to be a disempowered person drives Franklin to take on causes promoting healing and community building, including benefits that have helped combat crime in his hometown and saved burnt churches - and now the "Dream" tour.

Franklin and tobyMac's tour mix of gospel and hip-hop Christian guitar rock are as different as their backgrounds.

So the question is: Can they draw both of their fan bases to a single concert? Will their audiences appreciate the differences, not only in each other but in each other's music?

Don't bet against it. Franklin and tobyMac share some big similarities. Both are stars in their respective industries, both have addressed racial issues before, and both are musically adventurous, having made significant artistic changes this year.

The former Toby McKeean of the now-dormant dc talk has launched a new solo career as tobyMac. Franklin invented a brand-new genre - hip-hop gospel - with the release of his "Nu Nation Project" album, and he has collaborated with mainstream artists as diverse as Bono and Mary J. Blige. Still, it's worth noting that his new album, "The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin," represents a return to his earlier, traditional gospel style, including his signature, eclectic mix of sound.

Why all this experimentation and change?

"We wanted to push past those walls that make our separate (music) industries a ghetto," said tobyMac. "We also had a desire to infiltrate the mainstream, to make music so passionate that the whole world wants to listen. And this racial issue is a hot-button issue for me, something I've always pushed for."

The tour goes beyond musical inspiration. Event organizers hope to mobilize community members to spread the word about the cause (and, simultaneously, the event) by putting together street teams in participating cities. (For more information, visit tobymac.com.) But, said tobyMac, if they can just get people together, their goal will be met.

"It's not like we think we're going to roll into Detroit and cure racism with a single event. I think prejudice will always exist. If we all were blue, we'd all start looking at each other's eyes and figure out what color they were and separate ourselves based on that," he said.

"I think this is just to open people's minds and hearts one at a time, and the way to do that is by exposure."

"This is about awareness - learning about the differences between people and taking it from there. It isn't that it will all change overnight," Franklin agreed.

"I've lived in my neighborhood for six years, and we're the only black family in our neighborhood - they don't even know me, and I don't know them. It makes no sense that people will work in the same office building, or have the same day care and not get to know each other. If people can sacrifice the time to get to know each other, that will be a start."
Go to the Top