THE AFRICAN AMERICANS: A MIX BETWEEN RELIGION AND MUSIC

This essay is going to be associated with the relation between the religion and music, especially in the context of African American Music, like gospel and Negro Spiritual. It’ll have by scenery the work of JW Johnson and JR Johnson, which is called “The Books of American Negro Spirituals” and the history of gospel music.

Some people may think there’s no relation between music and religion, but this essay is going to explain what the links among these categories are. That’s why this problematic appears: does religion affect the kind of music you listen to or does it not? This paper will try to argue that in some cases like in the African American Music it does. Gospel music has much influence of religion aspects, and generally the African American music has a history which is involve in the culture and Christianity that is reveled in their lyrics.

When the African slaves arrive to America once they were kidnaped from their lands, leaving their lives, their culture, their tribe, and their all, brought with them a wonderful piece of the African culture as Johnson and Johnson say “The negro brought with him from Africa his native musical instinct and talent” (Johnson and Johnson, 1969, p. 17). The African Negro was abused in a labor sense, they felt like literally slaves and they discover the Christianity and found in here that there exists a God who can let them free of that abuse and cut the thread that their were attached.

The African American found in the Christianity a refuge, they found in the church a home. They combine their African talent with the Christianity and created with it a wonderful relief.  According to Johnson and Johnson “the Negro took complete refuge in Christianity, and the Spiritual were literally forged of sorrow in the heat of religious fervor” (Johnson and Johnson, 1969, p. 20). The Spiritual is highly influenced by the combination of African talent with Christian lines.

Once they found discover the Christianity they add a lot of that sense to their songs, they used the psalms and all they’ve learned in the church and in the Bible and they put it on their songs, this is just related by “the fact that the bible was the chief source of material for the lines of these songs” (Johnson and Johnson, 1969, p. 38).  

The Negro Spirituals reflect the sentiments of the American slaves who express the begins to God, the “Hallelujahs”, they were used for expressing personal feeling, and sometimes to express secrets messages, covert to their owners. “Therefore, only Christian slaves understood them, and even when ordinary words were”[1]. They associated many meanings from the Bible with their lives and their suffering for being a slave, and this can be shown in several songs. For example, “they had faith in God, and they associate it with the freedom of Israel” (Johnson and Johnson, 1969, p. 21), it means, they related the issue of Israel to their issue, both prayed for freedom and God save them.

Between 1865 and 1985 Gospel music showed those characteristics, and it can be seen in the lyrics of the songs, like “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” and “Heaven” by JoAnne Stephenson. Then Spiritual was evolving but Gospel music was created and taking new sceneries, for example, “the struggle for Civil Rights, in the 1960s, negro spirituals like “We shall overcome”, “Oh Freedom” and “This Little Light of Mine” used to be sung”[2] , but this gospel also expressed music with exalted melodies.

The Dixie Hummingbirds can be considered the perfect example of how much the religion affect the music, even in the present this group is still active and reflect in many of their songs the Christianity, that shows how does it remain from the epoch of the spirituals till the present.

Having all of this in mind, this essay argues that there is a close relation among the music and the religion, especially if it is related with the African American music. Nonetheless, there is no only with African American music, another kind of music reflect that, in some cases a genre reflect the absence of religion, which is a relation with religion too, it is the heavy metal, or reggaeton, these kind of music can´t be more away from religion, it is the opposite of gospel music, instead having a Christian message it has another way to see it, like secular or profane.

Finally and to conclude, the essay exposes reasons that explain a close relation between music and religion, which can’t be better showed that in the gospel music, which is based in lines of the Bible and mixes of African rituals songs with Christian songs and this kind of music is the example that try to answer why the religion affect the kind of music you listen to.

Bibliography

“A History of Gospel Music”. 2004. M, Norris. Accessed from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4233793

“Songs”, (s.f.). Negro Spiritual. Accessed from http://www.negrospirituals.com/

“The Books of American Negro Spirituals”. 1969. J. W., Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson.  Da Capo Press. New York. Accessed from http://books.google.es/books?hl=es&lr=&id=cP-vouiZ0JsC&oi=fnd&pg=PA11&dq=the+books+of+american+negro+spiritual&ots=AyTiXbXTEC&sig=7mW9glaiLtxJ0NK7YjY5cwPB_5I#v=onepage&q&f=false

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[1] See into http://www.negrospirituals.com/

[2] See into http://www.negrospirituals.com/

The trade-off of use the N word

If was a teacher in The United States and if i taught a class in which I treated the theme or the topic of African Americans, being a Caucasian teacher, I wouldn’t use the N word. I don’t think it is a bad word or it has a bad meaning, referring to the debate of the last class, my position or my way to see that word is not respectful, depending to the context. I would use it only if I have confidence with the person I would say to.

Anyway, I wouldn’t use the N word in the class, teaching “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” because of the context. First of all, is an academic context in which you probably won’t have the confidence with your students to call them “N**s”. And second, I prefer to use “African American” to refer to them.

I would continue teaching the class without skip the important topic, the deep of that book, or of the literature. I mean, I if would use “African American” I didn’t change the meaning of the story and I could continue with the class.

According to the debate between Ann Silvio and Byron Pitts, I think that even nowadays the word is controversial for the American society, and it don’t depends of the context or on the confidence you have to say it, but it depends on the people whether is he/she agreed to the use of the N word or not, whether he/she find it offensive, not respectful, violent or anything. 

Alicia Keys has a dream and it is one shared by all African American

The video illustrates the love story between a black woman and a White gentleman. It takes place in several scenarios, from the 1950’s which is greatly depicted by its scenery until the present. Not only do the backgrounds but also the great portrayals of the artist help to demonstrate the adaptation to the fifties with all details, which is no easy task.

In the video we can observe the situation that lovers live through. It shows that in every decade until the present the situation has not changed much. This is due to the fact that the oppression of the society and the family remained constant. Also, we could observe the scene where the couple, who is just trying to live their lives, is in a grocery store and they are observed by the people there who judge them, in a silent way.

 Unfortunately, through the years the relationship between a white and black people has been criticized, as in the 90’s when the video shows a fight between the brother of the black woman and her lover. Even in the present it is still extremely common to find interracial couples who are judged by the community around them.

Also, it teaches us to be more tolerant with the racial issue. No matter what color, gender or religious beliefs people should not be treated as that. The 1950’s are often depicted as the ultimate utopia of the American dream, white fences, happy families, but if one makes a quick research among the multimedia contents that remains of this apparently golden ages it is going to be sure that black families are not as represented as white ones, or not at the same level.

The 1950’s were fundamental in the struggle of the African Americans, it just brings to mind the memories of the bravery and courage of such men as Martin Luther King, whose speech “I have a dream” has long since been like a prayer for every citizen of the United States, remembering them that their great nation is founded under the principles of equality, justice and fraternity. Gone are the days in which black and white women could not share the same spot in the public buses, but there is still remaining of this dark years and “Unthinkable” can perfectly serve as one. The prominence of black women in every industry, including the music industry gives us clues about a bright future for African Americans. On the other hand we must never underestimate the power of reminders because cases as Trayvon Martin’s show a bitter side of the story. Even though scientists have widely proved that there’s no intellectual difference between black and whites the racist fallacy still very much present this days, not always in the form of murder or Ku Klux Klan but in the subtle subjects. Just taking a look of internet memes that show African American as less educated or polite (for example that ain’t nobody got time for that meme).

We know about the Obama’s, we have heard Ms and Mr Carter songs, we have cried with Oprah, but little de we know about common families, about the love and struggle history of couples such as the one that is showed in the video. Until the day we manage to look beyond the color we could never be a successfully society.

Unthinkable is a wonderful way of look at the black issue in North America, and understand todays dynamics in politics and life in general, there is no bigger triumph for the African Americans that having an including government and look at tomorrow with the nostalgia of the past but the hope in the future.