For some 48 years, anyone coming to events at Sisters Chapel on the Spelman College campus in Atlanta was sure to encounter the Rev. Norman Rates, the college minister. Since his arrival in 1954, few could miss his smile and friendly countenance, or his joyful chuckle. For those years he served in various capacities; from professor of religion, to college minister, to dean of the Chapel.
He certainly can be deemed the “Keeper of the Faith” on the campus, as he played a prominent role in assuring that the Chapel was restored and preserved during a campaign in 2000.
Now, Rev. Rates shares his countless memories of campus life from his venue of the Chapel, the Chapel’s history and its role in being the center of campus life. Dedicated in 1927, the Chapel (named for the two Spelman sisters, who were the mother, Laura Spelman Rockefeller, and aunt, Lucy Maria Spelman, of benefactor John D. Rockefeller Jr.) was built to support the religious life of the campus.
To this day, the Chapel stands – its white Grecian columns gleaming in the sunlight, its broad solid doors ready to open to all those seeking wisdom, peace and solace inside.
In addition to serving students in weekly services and convocations, the chapel hosts community events such as musical concerts, the famed annual Spelman and Morehouse Christmas Carol Concert, dance recitals and theater productions.
There have been visits by internationally and nationally prominent civil rights activists, performers, politicians and theologians, including Dr. Howard Thurman, Dr. W.E. B. Dubois, Vernon Johns, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Dr. Benjamin Mays, the Hon. Andrew Young, Jr., Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagan, C’70, to name just a few.
It was in Sisters Chapel where the slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would lie in state for 48 hours as miles of mourners filed by. Concerts always attracted a full audience to hear the likes of Marian Anderson, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Wynton Marsalis, Sammy Davis Jr., Shirley Verrette, Roland Hayes, Eartha Kitt, Sweet Honey in the Rock and Arturo Toscanini, to list a sampling. Rev. Rates noted,“The Spelman College Jazz Ensemble was founded by Joseph Jennings in 1983 and it became a nationally acclaimed women’s musical group.
There is so much history packed in this memoir; it’s impossible to touch on it all. One interesting portion lists the memories held by some of the alumnae, which vary from lighthearted to profound; reflecting the different eras.
Rev. Rates and his wife, Laura, who raised their two daughters on campus, have been as much a part of the development of Spelman College as any of the other notable souls who have graced this campus. Spanning his tenure from 1954 to his retirement in 2002, Rev. Rates’ observances recorded in this volume will give readers an inside view that will remain priceless and a testament to the College’s history.
