Black Music Through The Years

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Those who sing the blues can see no way out of a terrible situation. While thosr who sing the spirituals acknowledge their predicament and live on knowing tomorrow will be a better day. So the night ~spots are i nfamous with blues while the Church is famous with spirituals. Come with us as we observe the spirituals in the experiences of life. Bois wrote in his famous essay II w. E. B.Du- Of The Sorrow Songs" that spirituals are" music of an unhappy people, of the children of disappointment; they tell of death and suffering and unvoiced longing toward a truer world, of misty wanderings and hidden ways." James Weldon Johnson voiced similiar thoughts when he wrote II Lift Every Voice and Sing." Because it expressed so well the hopes and aspirations of Blacks, it became knowm as the Black National Anthem. We join in the resounding anthem today to II Lift Every Voice and Sing." It all began back in the 1700's. Crispus Attacks was an ex-seaman and common laborer. He stood on the frozen groung of Boston Commons and cried II Do not be afraid." Then he fell as the first tD die for American i ndependence. Remember that he had become a runaway slave some 20 years earlier. He may not have sung but he knew what it meant to" Steal Away." stat here." 11 Steal away. I ain't got long to Revo lution in 1939. But the echo of her cont ralto voice asked , 11 Have you got good relig ion? " And from her own mouth, 75,000 heard her answer on Easte r morning four years late r," Certa inly Lord !" Simi liar thoug hts were heard from that huge Black barit one Paul Rober son who neve r took a singi ng lesso n. The crowds resou nded with prais e and appla use as he thund ered, "I Got A Crown!" As time mover onward, the Black singe rs kept expre ssing assur ance . Even in the mids t of discr imin ation and injus tice, the folks knew God was in cont rol. For II He's Got The Whole World In His Hand ." Without a doub t," We Shal l Overcome." Choi r Singi ng "Cer tainl y Lord" 11 I Got A Crown" 11 He's Got The Whole World 11 "We Shal l Overcome" Nath aniel Dett at Hampton Insti tute and Willi am Dawso n at Tuskegee Insti tute broug ht great dign ity to Black musi c. Both trave lled inter natio nally with their repec tive choir s and recie ved great criti cal prais e. Stil l there were ironi c probl ems. For example, becau se of his colo r, William Dawson has to get spec ial perm issio n to atten d a conc ert of his own comp ositio ns in Birmingham, Alaba ma. The words of one very fami liar song lives on," I'm So Glad Trou ble Don' t Last Always." For when resou rces are few, and pot is empty, and the way is dark, and the load is heav y- "Jesu s Supp lies Your Every Need ." "I'm So Glad Trou ble Don' t Last Alwa ys." '----- " Jesus supp lies Your Every Need. 11 ''We Shal l Overcome 11 How Grea t Thou Art" Paul Cuffe was an unusual business man. He spent his own money building ships and schools . One day he got 38 Blacks and they sailed to Africa. I don't really know how they passed the time but I can imagine somebody singing "Swing low sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home." Along came William Still and Harriet Tubman. Still operated a station and Tubman engineer ed the train. Both helped runaways bound for freedom . They moved from house to house, from church to church on foot, by wagon, train and horsebac k. The route was lonely and secretiv e, and no doubt somebody cried out," Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherl ess Child." Yet, they marched onward. On several occasion s Conduct or Tubman quietly commanded wavering slaves at gun-poi nt, 11 You'll be free or die." Just as soon as they crossed the lines into Ohio, New England or Canada, everybod y knew. For they caught a glimpse of .glory and let out a shout, 11 Free At Last! Free at last! Thank God Almight y, I'm free at last. 11 Choir Singing ii ",., Steal Away" Swing Low "11 Sometimes I Feel" II "Free At Last In the lifting of Black tunes, there has always been that note of escaping from bondage to freedom . But in addition , the sense of that ultimate being--G od is also ever present . So that we sing to remind ourselve s and others of our commitments and expecta tions. Marion Anderson made her commitment to singing as a young stately woman. She may have been denied the use of Constitu tion Hall by the Daughte r's of the American