Letter from former student

 

Gospel – the soul of America

 

For far too many scholars and conventional history, the history of African heritage begins with the discovery of Africa by Europeans. But, such a perspective only renders the African as an object, not the subject of his own story. Being an object means that Africans respond to the European definition of reality. Such an object has no real identity save that connected with the European. Alternatively, being an agent means that the African creatively engages, makes choices, and is the architect of both past but also their future. Which of these perspectives one takes is central if we are to understand the realities of Blacks, is it the creation of another, or is it a result of their own designs? 

Academic objectivity, the idea that it is fair, honest, and based on science and scholarship, has long been demonstrated to be both myth and ethnocentric. This is particularly the case when understanding other cultures and peoples based on something other than the Western origin. Our history, psychologies, sociologies, anthropologies, etc., all spring from a particular, ethnocentric a.k.a. Eurocentric, frame of reference. This means we evaluate, interrogate, and interpret African-American history and culture through a racial lens constructed on white Western standards. (Metcalfe 1970) One of the first lenses through which to view the Black in America is through Gospel.

 

As pointed out by Metcalfe, Gospel and spirituals, one of the first cultural forms identifiable for Black Americans, has its roots in Western African Music. Even earlier, Work (1915) was situating the origins of African American Gospel and music writ large in the Ethiopians. Ethiopian legends place the Ethiopians as living in two dimensions, "one in the east, the land of the rising sun, and the other in the West, the land of the setting sun. Consequently, the Ethiopians dwelt in perpetual light". (Work, ibid cited by Metcalfe ibid). The music that came out of this experience, whether Gospel, blues, soul, hip-hop, or rap, reflect these elements of music, music from the Sons of light that has survived the valleys of shadow and death, which has been so long a part of their American sojourn.   Using what was known as the talking drum often, these songs were the only accompaniment. Again, the talking drum comes from Nigerian and other West African communities. Other instruments used would be a simple washboard, harmonica, and guitar. But the melodious voices could often be heard, singing of freedom and a brighter day tomorrow. 

One of the most important figures of Black resistance to slavery was Harriet Tubman, or Moses as she was affectionately known. After her escape, she discussed how she was "a stranger in a strange land." And while she was free, she believed all her brothers, sisters, friends, mothers, and fathers should also be free. (Bradford, Sarah Hopkins 1886/2012) Tubman and other slave insurrectionists used songs as a strategy to communicate, coordinate, and orchestrate the struggle for freedom. These songs became a code whose words gave directions for escape routes and plans. These songs, with Biblical references and connections to peoples, places, and stories, meant different things to the audience, depending on whether they were white or black. So, being bound for Caanan land, for a white might mean dying and going to heaven, but for the slave, it meant escaping to Canada. A couple of songs were quite useful, such as Tubman using "Wade in the Water" to tell slaves to escape in the water to avoid being seen. Or Steal Away that they were planning to escape. Sweet Chariot to indicate that escape was imminent and that a "band of angels" was coming to take them to freedom. The Sweet Chariot -the Underground Railroad, would be coming low (to the south) to take them to the north or freedom (carry me home).  

 

Contrary to popular wisdom, the Africans were not willing nor happy slaves. In reality, the slave revolted over 100 times. Many were failures, lacked planning, and doomed the perpetrators to torture and death. Yet, the Africans continued to resist and fight for freedom. One of the earliest songs recorded, sung by Black Union soldiers as they escaped the plantations, was the Freedom song. It goes like this:

Oh freedom, oh freedom, oh freedom over me.

And before I'll be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave.

And go home to my Lord and be free.

No more master, no more master, no more master calling me.

And before I'll be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave.

And go home to my Lord and be free.

No more misery, no more misery, no more misery over me.

And before I'll be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave.

And go home to my Lord and be free.

Oh freedom, oh freedom, oh freedom over me.

And before I'll be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave.

And go home to my Lord and be free.

 

It is not without irony that a central theme of many African American spirituals is freedom. These songs of space can be heard as far away as South Africa during the struggle against apartheid (1948-1994) and the song "Freedom is Coming." (Hawn 2018)  

As Blacks began to escape from the south, in what has come to be known as the "Great Migration," a new music form came into being. Colorful melodies, arrangements that, while using white songs, made them black through syncopation -the rhythmical recasting of words, accentuating normally weak beats. This new music, also associated with the rise of Pentecostal churches, featured "shouting," "speaking in tongues," and the "circle dances" that came out of Africa. One of the most significant composers of this period was Rev. C.A. Tindley, a composer who wrote "I'll overcome someday," which became the basis of the American civil rights movement "We Shall Overcome" by Reverend Gary Davis. Perhaps the most prolific and known songwriter was Thomas A. Dorsey, who could forget his "Precious Lord,m Take My hand, " or Aretha Franklin's father, Reverend C.L. Franklin. The list would be incomplete if we did not include Robert Martin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and who could forget Mahalia Jackson singing "Precious Lord" on the capital steps under the shadow of Lincoln's statute. 

Gospel music not only captured the religious experiences but also preserved the West African cultural roots and provided both hopes and dreams of freedom.