• ' • - ; V . - •. •< •- V*'.. ^,-ST t- '' •'• ■ By Erin Gibson Senior Reporter Sacred gospel music chronicled the struggles of American blacks against whites and between factions of their own culture, a distinguished profes sor and musician said Sunday night. Bernice Johnson. Reagon, an American University history profes sor, author and professional musician, opened the third annual Abraham Lin coln Lecture Series in Kimball Hall accompanied by the Lincoln Commu nity Gospel Choir. Reagon traced the beginnings of the gospel movement, now visible in any American church that sings praises through a gospel choir. Although most Christian churches today use a gospel choir in joyous cel ebration, the roots of gospel were not always joyous, she said. In the beginning, blacks would “use the tradition at strategic times to help the people survive,” Reagon said. The gospel movement began when black Americans escaped slavery, she said, and later were emancipated and moved into the cities seeking greater freedom. “The fresh air of the South was stagnant, choking and binding,” she said. The gospel tradition soon woul