
‘GRATITUDE’ A COLLECTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN SPIRITUALS
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/