Fisk University to Celebrate Jubilee Day with Alumnus and Scholar Dr. Ernest Gibson I’ll
Annual observance honors the legacy of the Fisk Jubilee Singers® and welcomes Dr. Ernest Gibson III ’05 back to Fisk
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 29, 2026) — Fisk University will commemorate Jubilee Day on Tuesday, October 6, at 10 a.m. in the Fisk Memorial Chapel, with alumnus and scholar Dr. Ernest Gibson III serving as the keynote speaker.
Jubilee Day honors the historic day in 1871 when the Fisk Jubilee Singers® set out on a monumental journey to perform Negro spirituals across the United States and Europe to raise critical funds for the university. Their courageous legacy helped secure Fisk’s future, established Jubilee Hall – the first permanent structure built in the American South for the education of Black students – and solidified a musical tradition that continues to shape American culture today.
For Gibson, the occasion marks a joyous return to the institution that shaped him as a leader and scholar. As a Fisk student, he was a Mellon Fellow, McNair Scholar and fellow in the National Visionary Leadership Program. He was also a six-time NCAA All-American in track and field and served as Mr. Fisk during the 2004–2005 academic year.
After earning his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Fisk, Gibson received a Master of Arts in American Studies from Purdue University and later earned a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Afro-American Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
He began his professorial career at Rhodes College before joining Auburn University, where he became the university’s first tenured Black male professor of English. He currently serves as Director of African American and Africana Studies at Auburn.
Gibson is also the author of the award-winning Salvific Manhood: James Baldwin’s Novelization of Male Intimacy, an examination of masculinity, intimacy and Black male identity through the work of James Baldwin.
This year’s Jubilee Day program will bring the Fisk community together for musical performances, tributes and remarks honoring the Fisk Jubilee Singers® and the extraordinary history from which the university’s Jubilee tradition emerged.
For more information, please visit Fisk.edu.
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About Fisk University
Founded in 1866, Fisk University is a private historically Black liberal arts university in Nashville, Tennessee. For more than 150 years, Fisk has educated scholars, artists, public servants and civic leaders whose work has shaped communities across the nation and around the world.