The Gift of Music and Singing from the African American Community

The Gift of Music and Singing from the

African American Community

www.negrospirituals.com

Music has always played vital roles in the lives of people. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is called the African American “national” anthem - Written and performed in 1900 to celebrate 40 years of freedom for people of color in America, written by James Weldon Johnson, poet, lyricist, and first African American to be admitted to the Florida bar as a lawyer. Can’t we see the emotion of such a time of celebration and even in unveiling of freedom in Egypt?

“Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty:
Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies,
Let us resound loud as the rolling sea,
Sing a song full of the faith
That the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope
That the present has brought us:
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.”

Other history and examples of Negro spirituals from our past:

Some of the earliest songs were sung by slaves outside of churches. The lyrics were sung to reflect their personal worship of the Lord, but sometimes often related the desire to escape to free country with words such as heaven and home.. Songs such as “The Gospel Train” and “Swing Low, sweet Chariot” were also used to speak of such operations as the Underground Railroad that provided freedom to the slaves. Crossing over Jordan was code language for crossing the Ohio River to freedom in the north.

The song “There is a Balm in Gilead” is another song of codes: interestingly, the balm of the Old Testament could not heal sinners, but in New Testament, Jesus “heals” everyone who comes to him. Healing here would be the ultimate freeing of their burdens and woes. Spirituals were a way of sharing the hard conditions of being a slave or a person of color in our past. This genre of music has had a huge influence on Gospel Music that we know today.