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.