The Woman Behind Whoopi's Joyful Hymn

GOSPEL MUSIC NEWSLIFESTYLE

Christianpreneur West Writing Staff

She Taught Whoopi the Hymn — Now the World Finally Knows Her Name

The Untold Story of Dr. Iris Stevenson-McCullough, the Crenshaw Choir Director Who Inspired Sister Act 2

Every time you've sung along to "Joyful, Joyful" — hands raised, eyes closed, fully in the Spirit — you were singing her arrangement. You just didn't know her name.

Her name is Dr. Iris Stevenson-McCullough. In South Los Angeles, where she has spent decades pouring into young people, they call her something even more fitting: Mama Mac.

From Crenshaw to the Big Screen

In 1985, Dr. Stevenson-McCullough joined the Los Angeles Unified School District as a music teacher at Crenshaw High School — a predominantly Black public school in South L.A. What she built there over the next several decades wasn't just a choir. It was a movement. The Crenshaw Elite Choir became an internationally recognized program, winning gold medals at the World Choir Games in China, performing at the White House for President Barack Obama, and taking the stage at the Playboy Jazz Festival alongside the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

But in 1991, her story caught the attention of someone far beyond South L.A. Dr. Stevenson-McCullough was among hundreds of teachers threatened with mass layoffs by the school board. She didn't go quietly — she fought back publicly. Film producer Dawn Steel took notice, and from that act of courage and conviction, the seed of Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit was planted.

When the 1993 film went into production, Hollywood didn't just borrow her story — they called her in. Dr. Stevenson-McCullough personally taught the cast her arrangement of "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee," the gospel-infused, hip-hop-inspired rendition that closes the film in the most memorable scene. That version — the one you know, the one that still moves you — came directly from her mind and her ministry.

"In every country, we sing in that particular language." — Dr. Iris Stevenson-McCullough

A Gospel Legacy That Runs Deep

For those of us in the faith community, Dr. Stevenson-McCullough's story isn't just inspiring — it's convicting in the best way. This is a woman who brought the gospel into spaces most could never imagine. She is a longtime pillar of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), having served as president of the International Music Department and directed the Mason Memorial Choir and the COGIC International Mass Choir. Her published works include the internationally acclaimed Yes, Lord! Hymnal of the Church of God in Christ, a cornerstone of COGIC worship. She has received Grammy and Emmy nominations, been inducted into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame alongside legends like Kurt Carr and Take 6, and directed Command performances at the residences of Prince Charles at St. James's Palace and the Royal Grimaldi Family of Monaco.

And yet, for years, most people had no idea she existed.

When the System Turned Its Back on Her

In 2013, Dr. Stevenson-McCullough took the Crenshaw Elite Choir to perform at the White House for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama — a crowning achievement that any school district would frame and hang in a trophy case. The parents had consented. The students were honored. The world watched.

LAUSD suspended her for 120 days.

The community erupted in protest. Civil rights activists gathered outside Crenshaw High School. Former choir members, parents, and community leaders called for her immediate reinstatement. The school district called it a "personnel matter." The people of Crenshaw called it what it was: an injustice.

It is a pattern Black women in ministry and education know all too well — pouring everything into a community, building something extraordinary, and then watching institutions try to minimize or erase the fruit of that labor. Dr. Stevenson-McCullough's story is a mirror, and it reflects something we need to sit with.

Her Name Deserves to Be Said Out Loud

The music wing at Crenshaw High School now bears her name. The Crenshaw Elite Choir has won international competitions in Korea, China, and Austria. Josh Groban recorded "You Raise Me Up" live at the Greek Theatre with her choir. She coached BTS on gospel music during their 2014 American reality show. The list of what this woman has done could fill a book — and someone should write it.

In faith communities, we talk a great deal about honoring those who came before us, those who watered the ground we stand on. Dr. Iris Stevenson-McCullough watered that ground. She coached a generation of young people from South Los Angeles — kids who had never left their neighborhood — and took them before princes, presidents, and international audiences. She did it through the power of music, through discipline, through love, and through a God-given gift that the world is only just beginning to fully acknowledge.

The next time "Joyful, Joyful" comes on and you feel it in your chest, remember that feeling came from Crenshaw. It came from a classroom. It came from Mama Mac.