Spirituals

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963). The Souls of Black Folk. 1903.

I walk through the churchyard
To lay this body down;
I know moon-rise, I know star-rise;
I walk in the moonlight, I walk in the starlight;
I’ll lie in the grave and stretch out my arms,
I ’ll go to judgment in the evening of the day,
And my soul and thy soul shall meet that day,
When I lay this body down.
NEGRO SONG.

Chapter XIV: The Sorrow Songs
The Souls of Black Folk, c. 1903
W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963)

Destiny Online Catalog

nformation will be found under different subject categories.

Websites

American Passages: Slavery and Freedom: Authors: Sorrow Songs

Hymns and Spirituals

Harriet Beecher Stowe. This article explains that the author's religious background and the rich history of religious songs in slavery both influence the use of these songs. These songs provided comfort and consolation to the slaves in this story. You can read the lyrics to these songs and listen to audio files, as well.

Topic: Spirituals (Songs) http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu

Legacy of the African-American Spiritual

Come listen and learn about the meaning behind the music performed by Joe Carter. His music conveys a theology, a mix of African spirituality, Hebrew narrative, Christian doctrine and experience of human suffering. These spirituals or originally called "sorrow songs" were stories about the oppression endured by the slaves. This website includes these songs, "Sometimes I feel like a Motherless child", "Wade in the water", "Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel?", "Swing Low", "Steal away to Jesus" and "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen".

Topic: Music--African influences, Spirituals (Songs) http://soundlearning.publicradio.org

Negro Spirituals

Negro spirituals are deep and moving songs, often filled with pain and anguish. The roots of these songs can be traced back to the arrival of African slaves onto the shores of America. These slaves used their songs to worship, but also to share their hardships of slavery. Follow the progress of Negro spirituals and learn of their changing meanings as the road to freedom was crossed. Discover how spirituals were used to spread the word of secret meetings and the route to freedom.

Topic: African American music, Singing--History, Slaves http://www.negrospirituals.com

Jublilee Songs

One of the most popular and regarded music genres of the nineteenth century is the jubilee song tradition derived from the culture of African Americans. This Web site from the PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) program "The American Experience: Jubilee Singers Sacrifice and Glory," explains the historical significance of jubilee songs. Photographs, pages with song lyrics, and audio and video clips that can be viewed with a media player, all demonstrate the culture and influence of these songs over time. There is also information on the Fisk University Jubilee Singers, whose traveling public performances introduced these works to a worldwide audience.

Topic: African American music, Spirituals (Songs) http://www.pbs.org

Topic: African-American Religion

A series of questions and answers provides you with a wealth of information and resources on African American religion. There is information on religion in the slave community, perspectives from historians, male church leaders, and Christianity. There is also information on "watch meetings" that take place on the eve of Christmas or the New Year, religious ethics, and even lullabies. The answers also address questions related to Islam and African American slaves and Islam and African Americans today.

Topic: African Americans--Religion, Spirituals (Songs) http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org

Singers

This history of the negro spirituals and gospel songs begins with explaining the basis of the styles. For example, slaves began singing at church and they would remain after church to participate in a "shout" which was inspired by African music blended with hymns. This article chronicles African American music from before 1865 to after 1985. The names of African American singing groups are listed and you will learn about the forces behind their origination and purpose.

Topic: African American singers http://www.negrospirituals.com

Chanteys, Worksongs with Roots from Africa

The social and cultural influence of a late nineteenth century style of American folk music known as the Chantey, also Shanty, is described in this entry from the African American Registry. Explaining in detail how this traditional form of choral singing became associated with the work songs of slaves and laborers in the southern and coastal regions of the United States, the article traces the historical roots of Chanteys back to the call-and-response patterns found in West African and African American folk culture. The value of Chanteys in improving the moral and performance of workers is also discussed.

Topic: African Americans--Folklore, Music--African influences http://www.aaregistry.org

Duke Digital Collections

Duke Digital Collections presents you with collections of digital material on a wide variety of topics. The opening page allows you to search for digital collections according to the subject matter. You can begin searching for collections related to advertising and consumer culture, African American history, art, literature, and music. There are also digital collections on documentary photography, Duke history and Durham history, transcultural experience, and women's history. You can also search for individual collections according to the title by using an alphabetized list.

Topic: Digital images, Digital libraries, Digital media http://library.duke.edu

PBS - This Far by Faith - Make a Joyful Noise: The Spread of Gospel Music

Although her music was influenced by Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, who were blues singers, Mahalia Jackson chose to sing only gospel songs. She believed "The blues are the songs of despair, but gospel songs are the songs of hope." The daughter of a Baptist preacher, she traveled north with thousands of other African Americans, in 1927. Her talent and faith won her acceptance in many black churches, and she played a big role in the rise of a new genre known as gospel music. Gospel music, like spirituals, proclaims hope in the midst of disaster.

Topic: Jackson, Mahalia,--1911-1972 http://www.pbs.org

Hymns and Spirituals

Hymns and other spiritual songs play an important part in the famous anti-slavery novel called Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This article explains that the author's religious background and the rich history of religious songs in slavery both influence the use of these songs. These songs provided comfort and consolation to the slaves in this story. You can read the lyrics to these songs and listen to audio files, as well.

Topic: Spirituals (Songs) http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu

Voices from the Days of Slavery

Are you interested in learning about slavery in the southern states? Would you like to hear former slaves discuss how they felt about slavery, slave holders, how they were treated, and their freedom? If so, then access this fantastic web site to learn about slavery in such states as Alabama. There are audio interviews with slaves, many of whom were over 100 years old when the interviews were conducted, and songs sung by former slaves. The reader can search the web site by geographic subject, name, or song title.

Topic: Oral history, Slaves--Biography http://memory.loc.gov

From Slavery to Freedom

From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909 contains almost 400 rare and special pamphlets. Each pamphlet in the collection was written between 1824 and 1909 by African American authors who wrote about slavery and the long road to Emancipation. The "Collection Highlights" were selected to give a brief overview of the contents, and the collection itself is fully searchable by keyword, title, author or subject.

Topic: Slavery, Slaves' writings, American http://memory.loc.gov

African-American Odyssey

The Library of Congress presents collections of items related to African-American history and culture. You can view rare pictures, read important narratives, and examine important documents. Exhibits include African-American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship, The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress, Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s, Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938, From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909, and Slaves and the Courts, 1740-1860.

Topic: African Americans--History, Slavery, Slaves' writings, American http://memory.loc.gov

Documenting the American South

This web site, Documenting the American South, is a collection of sources on Southern history, literature and culture from the colonial period through the first decades of the 20th century. It is organized into these projects: first person narratives, library of southern literature, North American slave narratives, southern homefront 1861-1865, and church in a southern black community. All articles and essays are well written and easy to understand. This is an excellent resource for research writing.

Topic: History--Sources, Southern States--History http://docsouth.unc.edu