The Revival

This YouTube video is the live streaming capture of an event in which we participated at Riverside Church in Harlem, commemorating the 55th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s Anti-Vietnam War Speech, originally given at the same venue on April 4th, 1967. Thirty social justice heroes, including Bernice King, shared the reading of the original speech, and then sat down for a powerful panel discussion. We were privileged to open the event with ‘The Revival’, our derivative of Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, which we have released with the blessing of the estate and a license from the estate’s publishing company.

In this season when Christianity has been distorted and and reshaped into something entirely different from the truths that Jesus preached in his famous sermon on the mountainside, this spoken word piece searches out the true faith.
Gil Scott-Heron’s iconic 1970’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ inspired this new spoken word piece, which we are releasing with the blessing of his estate’s publishing company.

”The first change that takes place is in your mind. You have to change your mind before you change the way you live and the way you move. So when we said that the revolution will not be televised, we’re saying that the thing that’s going to change people is something that no one will ever be able to capture on film. It’ll just be something you see and all of a sudden you realize, I’m on the wrong page, or I’m on the right page but I’m on the wrong note.” (Gil Scott-Heron, speaking to Skip Blumberg for the award-winning PBS series ‘The 90’s.’)

THE REVIVAL
Written by Gil Scott-Heron (ASCAP), Phillip Joubert (ASCAP), Vincent Charlow (BMI)
© 2022 Bienstock Publishing Co (ASCAP) (admin by Round Hill Carlin, LLC), Common Hymnal Publishing (ASCAP), Zero Dynamite (ASCAP), Common Hymnal Digital (BMI), Soul Lore Creative (BMI) (admin by IntegratedRights.com). CCLI 7194211.

Brothers and sisters
Go on and get you a good lil seat because it's time for a talk
And grab an ice cube while you're at it, because this tea
It's about to get really hot
See it's a lot of y'all that prayed for something big to happen
You shouted and cried and ran around pleading with heaven to give us something amazing, and now
Amazing is starting to look more and more within our grasp
But wait
It doesn't look like what you expected; it's not popular like we anticipated
But maybe that's the point
Maybe we didn't need another big moment
Maybe we'll get something better
Maybe we'll get revival instead

The revival we are looking for is not a social media sensation
But a weighty social transformation
But let me be abundantly clear, if revival comes, it will not come cheap
It will not come quietly, and it will NOT go viral
Let me say that again: it will not come cheap, it will not come quietly
Revival will not go viral
This will not be trendy, and it won't trend within your algorithmic timelines
We don't need more "viral"
We need revival

Revival will not have a banner ad, an unboxing, a review or a reaction video.
It will not come with a subscription service
The revival will not be "premium content”
We don't need more "viral"
We need revival

Because we're not talking about something as trivial as clips or share
What we're talking about is a genuine move of God
And genuine means "messy", and messy is bad for branding
You can't sell genuine
You can't read it off a teleprompter
You can't shove it in a superPAC
This will not be loyal to a party
There will be no covert sponsorship from the Democrats
It will have nothing to do with Republicans
You will not be able to pander or promise
Positions of power will pose no prospects for politicians - or pastors, for that matter
So please, put your phone down sir or ma'am
This revival will not go viral

This revival will not build your subscriber base
It will not get you 15% off your first week with our special promo code
There won't be a reality show spin-off or a Netflix special
The revival will not be monetized
Revival is not profitable
Therefore, it is not for sale
We don't need more "viral"
We need revival

You won't DM your way into a move like this
There will be no "who you know"-ing or "good old boy"-ing your spot
This is not about popularity or success - but truth
Keep your convenient signs and hashtaggable catchphrases to repeat
You won't get over it in 3 months
No campaign will distract you from it
No bullet can gun it down
The revival is bullet proof
We don't need more "viral"
We need revival

I can't tell you when the revival will come
I can tell you that it's happening now
I see it in the reconstruction of faith apart from political binaries
I see it in the liberated songwriters who want more from their lyrics than karaoke at camps and conferences
I can't tell you what it will look like in detail
But I can tell you what it will sound like, what it will smell like.

It'll sound like immortal footsteps walking through water hoses and lynch mobs
It'll sound like that look from your grandmama that set you straight when you got outta line
It'll sound like when your cousin came home from doing time
It'll sound like old school high church on a hard wood floor
It'll sound like the rumblings of dissatisfaction with the way things have been
It'll smell like initiative and excellence
It'll smell like independence and ownership
It'll smell like a table set before us in the presence of our enemies

What you know about freedom, young brother?
What you know about what it costs, my sister?
We need to know, fam
We need to know because the revival has a weight to it - and you gon' have to carry that thing
It's going with you wherever you take it
So you gon' have to take it where brother Malcolm couldn't take it
Where auntie Rosa couldn't take it
You gon' have to take it to your kids
Revival has generational implications
So get ready to get your hands dirty

The revival will be on the ground
It will be in your house
It will be bold in the best way
It will answer prayers from generations gone by
We don't need more "viral"
The revival will not go viral
But it will go forward
You best believe that

Here is a remix of the piece …

An interview with Gil Scott Heron about his iconic piece: “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”.