The Spirit of Negros, Displayed Through Music
I read the The Spirit of Negros, Displayed Through Music by Alexia Khalil. I learned that Negro Spirituals also known as African American Spirituals can be traced back to slavery. Negro spiritual was used by the enslaved people to share their story of being oppressed and enslaved. Negro Spirituals was a combination of hope, struggle, and freedom. Some well known Negro spirituals are Wade in the Water and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. One of the main elements of this genre is call and response. The enslaved were able to express their beliefs and religious beliefs through music. I was shocked to read that this genre is the foundation of all the other genres. I could see how this makes sense because there are a lot of songs with call and response in them. Unfortunately, Negro spirituals have been taken away from us. White people and others have appropriated our history. They do not understand the depth, history, struggle, and culture that was put into the music. As the black community, we need to take back what was ours to begin with.
