--- title: HR 221. The Sacred Harp Publishing Company, The Sacred Harp tunebook, and Sacred Harp singers; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr221 cite_as: HR 221, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr221 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr221.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr221/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70155 date: 2025-02-10 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr220.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr222.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr221.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 221 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-02-10 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - David Huddleston text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR221/2025 upstream_id: 1964559 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Sacred Harp singing - Georgia cultural heritage - shape-note music - Carrollton Georgia - House resolutions --- # HR 221. The Sacred Harp Publishing Company, The Sacred Harp tunebook, and Sacred Harp singers; commend ## Text House Resolution 221 By: Representative Huddleston of the 72nd A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, The Sacred Harp tunebook, and Sacred Harp singers; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Sacred Harp singing, a moving tradition of capella shape-note harmony singing, has been practiced in Georgia for more than 175 years; and WHEREAS, the first edition of The Sacred Harp, the tunebook at the tradition's core, was edited by B. F. White, of Hamilton, Georgia, and E. J. King, of Talbotton, Georgia, before its publication in 1844 and has been in continuous use in the state ever since; and WHEREAS, annual Sacred Harp singing conventions, many dating to the nineteenth century, are still held each year in many corners of the state, forming the wellspring of a tradition that has since spread across the country and abroad; and WHEREAS, composers, songbook editors, and singing school teachers from Georgia such as J. P. and H. S. Rees, Sarah Lancaster, A. M. Cagle, Hugh W. McGraw, and Raymond C. Hamrick have composed beloved sacred songs over generations, perpetuating an uninterrupted tradition of music composition in the tunebook's distinctive "dispersed harmony" style; and WHEREAS, the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, a non-profit organization established in 1933 and headquartered in Carrollton, Georgia, has supported this tradition through keeping the songbook in print and collecting and preserving the tradition's cultural heritage; and WHEREAS, The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition, the first new revision of the tunebook since 1991, will be published in September 2025, sustaining and strengthening the Sacred Harp singing tradition by introducing new songs by living composers alongside much-loved classics; and WHEREAS, the new edition of this venerable songbook will be introduced to the singing public at the 120th annual session of the United Sacred Harp Musical Association, an annual Sacred Harp singing convention founded in Atlanta in 1905 at the Historic DeKalb Courthouse in Decatur, the same site of the Sacred Harp performances more than a century ago. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body commend the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, the committee tasked with revising The Sacred Harp, and the global community of Sacred Harp singers for their participation in and furtherance of this extraordinary tradition representing Georgia's and America's cultural heritage and for ushering it into its next storied chapter. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the public and the press. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution commends the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, The Sacred Harp tunebook, and Sacred Harp singers for preserving a shape-note singing tradition rooted in Georgia for over 175 years. ### Plain-language summary This resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives honors the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, a nonprofit based in Carrollton, Georgia, along with the tunebook it publishes and the community of singers who keep the tradition alive. The Sacred Harp is a shape-note a capella singing tradition first published in 1844 by Georgia editors B. F. White and E. J. King, and it has continued in the state ever since through annual singing conventions. The resolution notes that a new edition, The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition, will be published in September 2025, the first major revision since 1991, adding new songs alongside older favorites. It formally commends the publishing company, the revision committee, and Sacred Harp singers worldwide for continuing this cultural tradition, and directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press. ### What it does - Formally commends the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, a Carrollton-based nonprofit, for preserving the Sacred Harp singing tradition. - Recognizes The Sacred Harp tunebook and its upcoming 2025 revised edition, the first since 1991. - Commends the global community of Sacred Harp singers and the committee that revised the tunebook. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, the committee that revised the 2025 edition of the tunebook, and the broader community of Sacred Harp singers in Georgia and beyond, along with the Clerk of the House who must distribute copies. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal force or funding but serves as an official statement from the Georgia House recognizing a musical tradition rooted in the state since the 1840s, giving public and press recognition to the Sacred Harp Publishing Company and its new 2025 tunebook edition. ### Key provisions - Recites the history of Sacred Harp singing in Georgia, tracing it to the 1844 tunebook edited by B. F. White and E. J. King. - Notes the Sacred Harp Publishing Company was established in 1933 and is headquartered in Carrollton, Georgia. - States that The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition will be published in September 2025 as the first revision since 1991. - Resolves that the House commends the publishing company, the revision committee, and Sacred Harp singers worldwide. - Directs the Clerk of the House to make copies available for distribution to the public and press. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-02-10) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2025-02-10) - Sponsors: David Huddleston - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70155 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr221.md?full=1