African American spirituals in the 21st century are dependent upon all of us to keep their sound alive. The deep roots of our American oral history & original music invite you to connect with others to honor the gifts from our ancestors by sharing Our Stories, Our History and Our Music with the world. Knowledge is power. By sharing this vibrant rich music & the oral history of our American roots with the world we can overcome the obstacles that for years have kept this information underground.
You see, after slavery ended our slave brothers and sisters wanted to forget everything that reminded them of slavery and that included their spirituals. We can all understand why. But by giving up the spirituals they had created during slavery to find inner strength, safety, courage and that connection to the power that created us all, now the freed slaves, and every generation after that would succumb to those external voices that would have us believe the thoughts, if you are a descendant of the people who were labeled with the word slave you aren’t good enough, you aren’t smart enough, and you are less than perfect. The truth is, we are all people in spite of any label we have been given. It is how we perceive ourselves that is the measure of the man. It is deeply concerning that the original intention & sound of the spirituals will be lost forever, just like the 6000+ fragments of these songs housed in the Library of Congress that will never be heard in their entirety if we don’t join together and tell our story.
Thankfully in 2007 the US Congress unanimously passed Twin Resolutions to honor our American slave brothers and sisters for their contributions to our nation with our deepest gratitude and respect and recognize the African American Spirituals as a National Treasure. Join the social community, to share the gifts of your ancestors, and the spirituals your grandmother used to sing to you with all of us. Stop by my website and share your stories, I’d love to hear from you! Watch the video to see my own journey and what it took to secure the spirituals as an American national treasure in 2007.
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