Justavian Tillman oversees planning of the UM Gospel Choir. Courtesy: JUSTAVIAN TILLMAN
When Justavian Tillman was a freshman at The University of Mississippi, he found himself at Rebel Roundup being asked a question that would change his life.
“They asked me, ‘Do you like to sing?’ And I was like, ‘Yes, of course.’ And they were like, ‘Well, you should join the gospel choir,’” Tillman said. “So, I went to the first informational that the gospel choir had, and that’s the way I got involved with it.”
Tillman remembers how he longed to be involved with something on campus and immediately fell for the family-like atmosphere the UM Gospel Choir offered him. Tillman recalled the first meeting and how, to get everyone loosened up, the current members suggested they play an icebreaker.
“And the icebreaker was somebody got in the middle of a circle, and if you agreed with the statement (that person said), you have to run up and slap their hand. So, one guy he was like come slap my hand if you love the Lord, so everyone just ran up and slapped his hand,” Tillman said. “It still sticks with me to this day.”
Tillman decided after that meeting that he wanted to be a part of the gospel choir and started off with his general member status, participating in all the things being a regular member includes.
“To be a member you have to participate in various opportunities that we have each semester, and we also have to do two community service projects each semester as well,” Tillman said. “We perform. We do take invitations to different events across Mississippi, or even if we feel like going outside of Mississippi, if there is an invitation, we will accept it.”
Tillman began making friends in the choir, but it wasn’t until his grandmother, his biggest supporter back home, got sick that he truly knew he had found a place for himself at the university.
“She had five mini strokes back-to-back,” Tillman said. “So, it didn’t take her away, but the support that she was giving me like the finance and being able to talk to her everyday, she wasn’t able to do that because of her sickness. So, I depended and leaned on the choir to be my support here. And the choir was like the best thing for me because it kept me going. It kept me motivated. I learned I still had people fighting for me and being my biggest supporters.”
After that experience, Tillman was hooked and wanted to do whatever he could to help the gospel choir, and he found himself serving on the executive board as a sophomore.
“Sophomore year, I served on executive board as a standards chair, and as standard chair, I was holding members accountable for attendance and also study hours,” Tillman said.
But that still wasn’t enough for Tillman.
“I feel like my position on the executive board last year just wasn’t enough,” Tillman said, “and I wanted to do more, especially for the gospel choir.”
And so, he became president of the gospel choir for its 40th anniversary season as a junior.
“When I first thought about that (being the president for this big year), it was just like, ‘Okay, it’s not going to be that stressful. It’s going to be very exciting. It’s just going to be a very laid back job.’ But that changed really quick,” Tillman said.
According to Tillman, he thought he knew what he was getting into since he had already been on the executive board and had worked alongside last year’s president, but he wasn’t prepared for all the media attention his position would receive as he began planning for the 40th anniversary celebration events.
“There’s a lot of media that’s involved this year,” Tillman said. “Everybody didn’t know what the gospel choir did, but this year everybody knows about the gospel choir.”
Tillman, in his role as president, oversees a majority of the operations of the gospel choir, which requires a lot of dedication and time. Tillman has executive board meetings every Monday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. followed by choir practice from 6 to 8 p.m. Some weeks, he has to attend sectionals.
When he’s not busy doing choir planning, Tillman also serves on a number of different boards, such as the ASB Inclusion Committee, the Vice Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board and the Black History Month Planning Committee.
Even with all of this, though, Tillman refuses to say he is the most dedicated member in the gospel choir.
“I will say that my dedication did allow me to be in this position, but I’m not going to say that I am the most dedicated out of everyone in the gospel choir,” Tillman said. “With my position, I do have to be dedicated, but we still have many choir members that are very dedicated as well.”
Tillman admitted that what the gospel choir has really given him besides a nice title are life-long friends and the chance to be himself fully without judgment, and that’s why he truly loves the gospel choir.
“Even though I only live thirty minutes away from home, I hardly ever go home. So, I’ve met some of my best friends in the gospel choir, and that means a lot,” Tillman said. “It allows me to be free. It gives me the opportunity to be myself. It allows me to do the things I love the most.”
