Negro Spirituals
Negro Spirituals are a genre of African American folk music that emerged during slavery. These songs depict and express the lived experiences of African American enslaved people through themes of faith, survival, deliverance, salvation, and hope. Spirituals comprised of coded messages, especially using biblical and religious references to communicate their longing for liberation and a brighter future. The Spirituals were also used as a form of resistance to slavery, while reinforcing the shared racial identity and cultural heritage of African American enslaved people.
Negro Spirituals heavily relied on African musical traditions such as call-and-response, in which the leader sings out a phrase, and the group replies with a corresponding phrase. Negro Spirituals often incorporated key features such as ring-shout, where enslaved African Americans formed circles clapping and dancing while singing and harmonizing. Through this practice, enslaved African Americans were able to maintain their community and religious faith through resistance. Additionally, singers often incorporated rhythm and syncopation, as well as melody and harmonization which allowed them to convey deep emotional expression and provide insight into the experiences of enslaved African Americans.
One Response
“Spirituals comprised of coded messages, especially using biblical and religious references to communicate their longing for liberation and a brighter future.” – I strongly agree with this statement especially as it relates to the song “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child”. It’s sad title for a song but so relevant to the sufferings of African Americans. African Americans have had generational occurrences of parents being separated from their children. This occurrence has happened during slavery, police brutality during the civil rights movement, even up until now with racial profiling and unfair court settlements putting innocent black fathers in jail.