Arvanderlyn “Arva” Campbell was a member of the Northern California Youth Choir of the Church of God and Christ (COGIC) and an original member of the Edwin Hawkins Singers. She talks about “singing with the anointing" and being a part of a gospel hit record, against the socio-political backdrop of the Vietnam War, the assassination of MLK, racial uprisings  “flower children”, and the free love movement - and how this experience shaped her life and began  her life long passion of traveling and becoming an education advocate for children. 

Highlights:

• Growing up in Berkeley, California in the COGIC community - its structure, and the life of families in the COGIC;
• Leaving home to travel, after high school when news of the fame of “Oh Happy Day” hit;
• Leaving Berkeley to go away to college for her freshman year in Oregon, choosing not to return to Oregon after her first year there and gratefully being granted the opportunity by Edwin to be a part of the new Ediwin Hawkins Singers, upon her return; and

• Becoming a part of the previous untold history, with the performance at the Harlem Cultural Music Festival in 1969, which was profiled in the Summer of Soul documentary as directed by Questlove. 

In the next episode, Donald Casimere shares his very special perspective, as a veteran of The Vietnam War.