NEGRO SPIRITUALS AND HISTORY.

March 2014-Student: Adela Pérez del Viso

Oral presentation. HISTORY AND CULTURE II.

THOUGHTS, HEROES AND TOPICS

•Slaves´ thoughts on their condition.•Their heroes. Jesus. Daniel. Job.Mosses•Resistance.•Survival.•“Wade in the water”. “Tis the oldship of Zion”. “Oh, Freedom”.

SITUATION AND LIFE

•Harsh conditions.•Punishments.•Family torn apart.•To be sold individually “or inlots”.

RELIGION.

•Attendance to the white church.•Sit on the back pews.•Self-called ministers. Ex: Denmark Vessay.•Praise houses: stomp feet, clap, shout, singaloud, dance.

SINGING.

•Work songs. Chain songs (group work).•Song only for themselves.•No songs against the master.•NEGRO SPIRITUALS: Lyrics linked to theirharsh condition.•Inspired in the gospel.•Encoded messages: My home, sweetCanaan, the promised land, cross the Jordanriver.

MAMMA, IS MASSA GONNA SELL US TOMORROW?

•“Negro spiritual”.• Deep Sadness.•Separation. Resignation. Faith.•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L84-74iwipU (Milo land)

NEGRO SPIRITUALS AND HISTORY.

RESISTANCE.

•Individual resistance.•Fugitive slaves. Ways to flee away.Swamps. Disguise.•Harriet Tupman and Henry Box Brown.•Collective runaways. Amistad. 1839.The Creole 1841. (UK Bahamas)•The Underground railroad. (UGRR).

SWING LOW, SWEET CHARRIOT

GOSPEL AND NEGRO SPIRITUALS AFTER THE WAR

•Shame on the lyrics in 1865.•Fisk University in Nashville (Tennessee):educators raised funds with singing groups.•Tours in the New World and in Europe,and sang negro spirituals (Fisk JubileeSingers).• Other universities: singers of negrospirituals: Tuskegee Institute, etc.

RELIGION AFTER THE WAR

•1890s, Holiness and Sanctifiedchurches appeared•Church of God in Christ.•Influence of African traditions•Shouts, hand clapping, foot-stomping and jubilee songs, like itwas in plantation “praise houses”.

1925 to 1985: Black renaissance

•Renaissance.•Gospel and Negro Spiritual revival.•New authors.•Topic acknowledged.•2007: Declared a “Nationaltreasure”

SOURCES.

•FONER, E (2006) Give me Liberty! An AmericanHistory. New York. Norton Co.•www.negrospirituals.com/history.htm•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L84-74iwipU(Milo land)•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8frEt6w4G8•http://www.thenegrospiritualinc.com/national_treasure.htm