Thesis: Negro Spirituals have made a significant impact on the evolution of black music. They played a heavy role in slavery and African American religion. Negro spirituals can be defined as “slave songs based on sacred text or solemn thought.” They gave birth to the musical genres of Blues, Jazz, R&B, Gospel, and more. Without the creation of negro spirituals American music would not be the same as it is today. As African’s were taken from their homeland and brought to America, they carried along with them their ancestral traditions. They used their traditions and adopted European Christianity integrating the two to create what we know now as the origin of Black music, spirituals. White slave owners harshly forced Christianity onto enslaved Black people. They manipulated the religion to their liking and so did enslaved Black people, creating their own narratives of Christianity with the addition of their African traditions, to give them hope. Negro Spirituals were used to combat the teachings of white slave owners. Through these spirituals Black people were able to convey strong emotions which have been circulating throughout several generations of the Black community.
