The phrase “new hymn” in 2026 is almost oxymoronic in church thought because most of the hymns we still sing were written as far back as 100 years ago — some under ominous circumstances.
“It is Well With My Soul” was written by Horatio Spafford after the loss of his four daughters at sea. Former slave ship Captain John Newton wrote of the “Amazing Grace” he’d encountered during his conversation. “Abide With Me” was written as its author, Henry Francis Lyte, struggled with tuberculosis.
And in the same vein, a new hymn has emerged, composed and centered in these perilous times, that speaks of the need for a new determination of justice in this country. “Just Like Selma” was composed by Nolan Williams Jr. and recently debuted in a video and in the January 18 worship service of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. Quite appropriate, since the Wheeler Avenue choir sings in the background in the video.
Williams described it as a social justice hymn that honors the legacy of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches while drawing attention to contemporary challenges to voting rights across the country.
”We are shifting from voter participation to civic engagement and really shining a spotlight on the Voting Rights Act and the history that led to the Voting Rights Act and the history that led to the Voting Rights Act,” Williams told Religion News Service.
“We have seen the impact of that and the number of precincts that have been closed or the kinds of voter ID laws that have been enacted. States that have a history of discrimination no longer have to answer to anyone before they make any changes in their voting procedures.”
The hymn’s video combines archival footage of civil rights demonstrations with a performance by Grammy-nominated soloists Zacardi Cortez and Beverly Crawford alongside the 130-voice Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church Mass Choir of Houston. The a cappella arrangement incorporates rhythmic use of hands and feet, echoing the freedom songs of the 1960s. In older churches, hands and feet set the rhythm before the voices joined in.
Williams, 56, is the founder of NEWorks Productions, a music and arts production company, and the chief music editor of the African American Heritage Hymnal. The song “Just Like Selma” is the next part of NEWorks’ Freedom Advances campaign, whose “Rise Up & Fight” pro-voting animation music video earned him a Best Director award at the 2025 Cannes Film Awards.
“Oh, Oh, Oh, Selma has taught us how to persist, resist.
Selma has taught us how to protest, endure.
Selma has taught us how to fight hate, agitate,
Until the arc bends our way …”
The “Just Like Selma” video is also scheduled to be featured in a Martin Luther King Day service during the midwinter board meeting, January 19-22, of the Progressive National Baptist Convention in Los Angeles.
“Music is essential to movements,” said the Rev. David Peoples, president of the denomination, in a statement. “As the denominational home of Dr. King, PNBC is honored to collaborate to promote this timely addition to sacred music.”
Williams said, “We need to be reflecting the times, and that’s not something that should just be in the streets — that’s something that should also be in the pulpit, in the choir loft, in the pews. We have amazing artists now that create praise and worship music and gospel songs and all of that, … but a social justice hymn is not a common kind of thing, and it’s timely.”
No doubt it will gain popularity during Black History Month as it’s sung alongside timeless favorites such as the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” written by James Weldon Johnson and his brother J. Rosamond Johnson, and first performed on February 12, 1900.
