84 POPE, MOORE DEVELOPMENTALLY SPEAKING: The Afro-American Gospel Choir: Achieving a positive campus climate for African American Students Myron L. Pope , Cynthia Moore * For Africa n American students, matriculation at a predominantly White institution of higher education can be quite intimidating. Religion is important in providing comfo rt a nd encouragemen tfor many of these students. This article describes theAfro-American gospel choir at the University ofAlabama and its role in providing a more positive campus climate for Af rican American students. Religion has co nsistently b een s how n to pl ay a sig n ifica n t ro le in th e da ily lives of Afric an Am eri can s. Bas ed on a variety of da ta from t he Natio na l Surv ey of Black Ame rica ns, Africa n Am eri c ans, com pare d to th e ge n eral p opul ation , attend rel igi ous s ervices more freq ue ntly; have hi gh er rates of church membership ; a re more likely to p erceive th emsel ve s as religious; and parti cipate more exte ns ive ly in p riv ate reli gi ous activities, such as p raye r, re ading religious materi al , and v iewing re lig io us programs (Taylor, 1986; 1988a; 1988b ; Taylor & Chatte rs, 1991). Lincoln and Marniya ( 990) sug gest that thes e higher le vel s of reli gi ous beh avi or result from th e uniqu e soc ial, pol itical, and hi stori cal ex pe r ien ces of th is popul ation w ith in Ame rica n so ciety. Co nseq ue nt ly , reli gi on has se rv ed as a source of comfor t and en c ourag ement durin g tumultu ou s pe riods for th e race. These level s of religiosity f or African Americans also crea te uniqu e soc ial n etwork s in wh ich church atten da nce , church me mbership, and reli g iou s affili ati on are cond ucive to fe elings of co he re nce , control of o ne' s life , a s ense of bel onging ,p hysical health, and se lf- est ee m (Chatters, Le vin , & Elliso n, 1998; Ellis on , 1991, 1993, 1998 ; Levin , 1994). Res earch has dem on strated th at bo th n on ac ad emic (Alle n , 1988 ; Hu gh es, 1987; Oliver, Smith, & Wils on , 1989) and aca demic (Pa sc a re lla , 1980 ; Pasc arella & Ter en zini , 1991 ; Sedl ac ek , 1987 ; Tinto, 1987; Tracey & Se d la ce k, 1985) fact ors have contributed to the perc ept ions by Afric an Americ an students of the racial climate at predominantl y White in stitu ti ons where they are e nro lle d . The se factors , wh ether positive or negative, contribute to the ed uca tiona l ex pe riences * Myron 1. Pope is the assistant vice president of student affairs at University of Central Oklahoma. Cynthia Moore is advisor to the Afro-American Gospel Choir and assistant director of Rural Scholars Programs at Universit y of Alabama. Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to Myron 1. Pope, Ed.D., Assistant- Vice President of Student Affairs, University of Central Oklahoma, 100 North University Drive, Box 158, Edmond, OK 73034-5209. THE COLLEGE OF STUDENT AFFAIRS JOURNAL __ I