Benjamin
Mertz

Benjamin is a composer, performer, storyteller, and teacher who specializes in the Black Spiritual and Black Folk traditions.  As an educator, he leads workshops on racial justice and equity at religious institutions, nonprofit organizations, and corporations.  As a musician, he organizes and performs at benefit concerts, vigils, protest actions, and sacred services.  Standing on the shoulders of Black American heroes like Fannie Lou Hamer and James Baldwin, Benjamin’s work leverages the lyrical and artistic wisdom of this tradition to fight for integration, equal rights, and the creation of interfaith and interracial alliances.