Introduction
Negro spirituals, one of the first forms of music created on American soil by slaves. Negro spirituals expresses the experience of slaves but also serves as a mechanism for motivation for slaves to get through a tough time better known as slavery. So, how is this musical form of story telling and motivation still present in today’s culture? In a way it has never became history, negro spirituals evolved into what we know today as jazz and blues. But the ones who keep the original negro spirituals alive are HBCUs.
Diving Deeper
HBCUs like Spelman College, Fisk University, and North Carolina A&T dedicate their choirs and glee clubs to not only the advancement of black music but also to the remembrance of historical negro spirituals that may have been forgotten or lost popularity throughout the years. These HBCUs perform negro spirituals in a concert setting where they can present them in a modern way without taking away the original feeling the spiritual gave the slaves all those years ago. Without these HBCUs preforming these negro spirituals and posting them on YouTube many would forget these historical songs that motivated our people so long ago. Paying tribune to these negro spirituals is one of the only ways black people receive notice for all they have done for the development of America.n music.
