Bernice Johnson Reagon

E264701

a cappella ensemble civil rights activist composer human music historian musical group scholar singer singer-songwriter

Bernice Johnson Reagon is an American singer, composer, scholar, and civil rights activist best known for her work in African American spirituals and as the founder of the a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (1)

Label	Occurrences
Bernice Johnson Reagon canonical	4

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2431355 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Bernice Johnson Reagon
Context triple: [SNCC Freedom Singers, notableMember, Bernice Johnson Reagon]

A. Cordell Reagon
Cordell Reagon was a civil rights activist and singer best known as a founding member of the Freedom Singers and an early organizer in the U.S. civil rights movement.
B. Dede Allen
Dede Allen was a pioneering American film editor renowned for her innovative, influential cutting style on landmark movies of the New Hollywood era.
C. Thelma Evans
Thelma Evans is a central character on the 1970s sitcom "Good Times," known as the smart, independent, and strong-willed daughter of the Evans family.
D. Gloria Hatrick McLean
Gloria Hatrick McLean was an American actress and model best known as the longtime wife of Hollywood star James Stewart and for her involvement in social and charitable activities.
E. Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams is an American gospel singer, radio host, and actress renowned for her powerful vocals and influential contemporary gospel recordings.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Bernice Johnson Reagon
Target entity description: Bernice Johnson Reagon is an American singer, composer, scholar, and civil rights activist best known for her work in African American spirituals and as the founder of the a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock.

A. Cordell Reagon
Cordell Reagon was a civil rights activist and singer best known as a founding member of the Freedom Singers and an early organizer in the U.S. civil rights movement.
B. Dede Allen
Dede Allen was a pioneering American film editor renowned for her innovative, influential cutting style on landmark movies of the New Hollywood era.
C. Thelma Evans
Thelma Evans is a central character on the 1970s sitcom "Good Times," known as the smart, independent, and strong-willed daughter of the Evans family.
D. Gloria Hatrick McLean
Gloria Hatrick McLean was an American actress and model best known as the longtime wife of Hollywood star James Stewart and for her involvement in social and charitable activities.
E. Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams is an American gospel singer, radio host, and actress renowned for her powerful vocals and influential contemporary gospel recordings.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	a cappella ensemble ⓘ civil rights activist ⓘ civil rights activist ⓘ composer ⓘ human ⓘ music historian ⓘ musical group ⓘ scholar ⓘ singer ⓘ singer ⓘ singer-songwriter ⓘ
academicDegree	PhD in history ⓘ
affiliation	Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ⓘ
areaOfActivity	American civil rights movement ⓘ
awardReceived	MacArthur Fellowship ⓘ National Medal of Arts ⓘ Pioneer Award from the National Museum of African American History and Culture ⓘ
birthName	Bernice Johnson ⓘ
child	Toshi Reagon ⓘ
countryOfCitizenship	United States of America ⓘ
dateOfBirth	1942-10-04 ⓘ
educatedAt	Albany State University ⓘ surface form: Albany State College Howard University ⓘ Spelman College ⓘ
employer	Howard University ⓘ Smithsonian Institution ⓘ
ethnicGroup	Black Americans ⓘ surface form: African American
familyName	Reagon ⓘ
fieldOfWork	African American music ⓘ civil rights movement ⓘ ethnomusicology ⓘ
founded	Sweet Honey in the Rock ⓘ
genre	African American spirituals ⓘ a cappella music ⓘ gospel music ⓘ spirituals ⓘ
givenName	Bernice ⓘ
languageOfWorkOrName	English ⓘ
memberOf	SNCC Freedom Singers ⓘ surface form: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Freedom Singers
movement	American civil rights movement ⓘ
name	Bernice Johnson Reagon self-link ⓘ
notableFor	leadership of Sweet Honey in the Rock ⓘ work on African American spirituals ⓘ
notableWork	founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock ⓘ music for Eyes on the Prize ⓘ
placeOfBirth	Dougherty County, Georgia ⓘ surface form: Dougherty County, Georgia, United States
positionHeld	curator at Smithsonian Institution ⓘ professor of history at Howard University ⓘ
spouse	Cordell Reagon ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

SNCC Freedom Singers → notableMember → Bernice Johnson Reagon ⓘ

Bernice Johnson Reagon → name → Bernice Johnson Reagon self-link ⓘ

Bernice Johnson Reagon’s group Sweet Honey in the Rock → founder → Bernice Johnson Reagon ⓘ

subject surface form: Sweet Honey in the Rock

Bernice Johnson Reagon’s group Sweet Honey in the Rock → hasMember → Bernice Johnson Reagon ⓘ