Blog - Calvin Earl

21 Mar 2018

‘GRATITUDE’ A COLLECTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN SPIRITUALS

by Calvin Earl | posted in: African American Spirituals as a National Treasure, Blog, United States Congress | 0

It is with great pride and love I present to you my new CD rerelease ‘GRATITUDE’ a collection of African American Spirituals As A National Treasure. I was thrilled to have the incomparable Katreese Barnes as background vocalist on this album. She was the first African American female music director of SNL and she is background vocalist for a multitude of artists including Sting, Alicia Keys, and many others. This CD also includes in the accompanying booklet the historic 2007 Twin Resolutions H.RES 120 and S RES 69 language recognizing the African American Spiritual as as National Treasure and honoring the Enslaved Africans for their contributions to our nation with our deepest gratitude and respect. As the US spokesman for the African American Spirituals as a National Treasure my love for the Spirituals and my passion to guarantee their preservation grows stronger every day and I am very proud of this collection of spirituals as an American National Treasure. Buy your copy today on my shop page which will direct you to CD Baby or Monticello – Thomas Jefferson’s historical site and online shop. https://www.calvinearl.com/spirituals-and-freedom-songs-shop/

The African American spirituals in the 21st century are dependent upon all of us to keep their original intention and 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. By sharing this rich vibrant music & the oral history of our American roots we can and will overcome the obstacles that for years have kept this information underground.

For African Americans, after slavery ended our beloved enslaved brothers and sisters wanted to forget everything that reminded them of slavery and that included their spirituals. We all can understand why. But the spirituals had helped them navigate their way to freedom. So by giving up the spirituals they had created during slavery to find inner peace, hope, strength, safety, courage and that eternal connection to the power that created us all, the now freed Africans had given up the one thing that had helped them on their journey all those years before. For themselves and every generation afterwards left them venerable to succumb to those continuing loud external voices that would have us believe if we are a descendant of the people who were labeled slaves that we somehow aren’t good enough, we aren’t smart enough, and we are less than perfect. The Supreme Court cited Dr. Kenneth Clark’s 1950 paper “To separate [African-American children] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.” in the landmark decision Brown VS. Board of Education.

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 a man. It should be deeply concerning to us as American citizens within our diverse nation 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 inclusive and collective story. As a wonderfully diverse country, ‘We The People’ truly believe in Thomas Jefferson’s words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Join me in cerebrating Our Stories, Our History and Our Music together. And don’t forget to purchase your copy of ‘Gratitude’ today on my shop page which will direct you to CD Baby or Monticello – Thomas Jefferson’s historical site and online shop. I love y’all and thank you in advance for your business! https://www.calvinearl.com/spirituals-and-freedom-songs-shop/

13 Jul 2017

21st CENTURY AFRICAN AMERICAN SPIRITUALS

by Calvin Earl | posted in: African American Spirituals as a National Treasure, Blog | 0

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.

30 Jun 2017

THE SPIRITUALS TRANSCEND AMERICA’S REFLECTION OF HISTORY

by Calvin Earl | posted in: African American History, African American Spirituals as a National Treasure, Blog, Spirituals | 0

In historical context, the spirituals transcended and survived societies one sided reflection of history in a time period that would not allow the slaves who created the spirituals to have a voice. Therefore the essence and secret intent of the spirituals were hidden in plain view in order to preserve and document the history of the slaves existence in America. We all have the need to feel valued and know that at the very least our collective story will remain for future generations to study. The slaves were no different, they just couldn’t tell their story out right in their life time for the world to see. They were depending on each other orally to keep their history alive for future generations. Although we don’t know the individual names of the slaves who created these beautiful spiritual songs, the spirituals represent one of the deepest raw expressions of the human spirit ever created on American soil or the world for that matter. What is so important about preserving the spirituals is not only what these songs did for our nation but also recognizing the enormous contributions the slaves in America made to ensure the birth of our nation. We must never forget the strength and courage of our slaves brothers and sisters who actually survived the atrocities and dehumanization of slavery. And once free were faced with a new set of unjust American laws meant to continue to dehumanize a people for the color of their skin. As survivors, unfazed and unbroken they took the fight for justice forward.

Many American heroes have expressed the value and importance of the old spirituals and what the songs meant to them. In his book, Why We Can’t Wait. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. stated “An important part of the mass meetings was the freedom songs. In a sense the freedom songs are the soul of the movement. They are more than just incantations of clever phrases designed to invigorate a campaign; they are as old as the history of the Negro in America. They are adaptations of the song the slaves sang— the sorrow songs, the shouts for joy, the battle hymns and the anthems of our movement. I have heard people talk of their beat and rhythm, but we in the movement are as inspired by their words. “Woke Up This Morning with My Mind Stayed on Freedom” is a sentence that needs no music to make its point. We sing the freedom songs today for the same reason the slaves sang them, because we too are in bondage and the songs add hope to our determination that “ We shall overcome, black and white together, We shall overcome someday.”

The famous musician, composer, & music producer Quincy Jones stated, “A lot of history is in the words, and some words don’t mean what you think. The true history of Blacks is not in the history books but in our music”. For additional information visit https://www.calvinearl.com

19 Jun 2017

SACRED VOICES OF ALL OUR ANCESTORS, NOT JUST SOME.

by Calvin Earl | posted in: African American History, Blog | 0

Are we forgetting and leaving out some of the sacred voices of all our ancestors? When you don’t know your history, you don’t know your ancestors fortitude, or their inspiring determination to get right back up when they failed, or their triumphs, or their powerful spirit that succeeded in overcoming the impossible in a flat world of boundaries and limitations. If we don’t know where we came from how can you possibly know who you are or where you are going? The intention of our nation as a democracy was for all people in our nation to live free, and have the right to pursue “those truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.

The real truth is, from the beginning of this “great experiment” just staying alive, finding fresh water to drink, food to eat, shelter from the elements, and a spirit so strong to build a new nation it took an immeasurable amount of determination, courage and working together to accomplish their goals. All our ancestors together endured unspeakable hardships, no matter how they got here willingly or by force. These ordinary folks worked hard, and sacrificed much to build this nation and when greed and corruption set in, they set out to correct the greed of a few and abolish the evil institution of slavery that threatened the very foundation of the values this nation was built on. All our ancestors gave us our fundamental God given freedoms as human beings including our slave brothers and sisters, the abolitionists, the founding fathers, pilgrims, the Revolutionary War patriots, the Union Army soldiers, and yes even the Confederate soldiers who fought but lost a lifestyle of values that served only a few citizens not the values we set forth as a new nation.

Our ancestors built a nation where we value the ideals that no human beings are less or more than another, because we believe each person’s creative and inventive ideas and contribution will make the world a better place for all of us. Regardless of whether the immigrants who came to America willingly or by force they all gave their blood, sweat and tears to build a nation for, of and by the people. The American story is not a black story or a white story, it is a ‘WE THE PEOPLE’ story. They all built a country together because their lives depended on it. I don’t know about you but I believe today we have a lot more work to do. Slavery has turned into racism, not freedom’s song. There is no reason for any of us to be slaves to corporate greed and fear mongering that would choose to divide us as a nation and make the world unfit to live in. We all belong to one race: THE HUMAN RACE. We are better together as a united nation, knowing this country belongs to all of us and it is our diversity that gives us pride, strength and an innovative edge to breakdown the boundaries that challenge us today. We must honor all of our ancestors, not just some. We are following in the footsteps of extraordinary human beings who took a bold and courageous idea and chose to believe in the kindness and loving nature of the human spirit and that our Creators unalienable Rights belong to all of us together as Americans.

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