March 3-5I. Opening Annoucements
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II. The Spirituals
and Black Rhetoric African American Spirituals--- songs born in slavery--- are now considered America's most significant and proliferate "folksongs." They are categorized as sorrow songs and jubilee. We will listen to spirituals today and ask ourselves how these songs represent Black rhetoric and freedom. Our questions come in multiple layers. Be prepared to answer these questions in a few different rounds today. Feel free to work with a partner. You can use the handout... or you can write your answers in the google doc at the very bottom of this page.
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Theme One (stop at 9:35):
"Pilgrim of Sorrow" (struggle) 1. SPIRITUALS: Listen to the lyrics in the three songs called "sorrow songs"--- “I’ve Been Buked,” “Didn’t my Lord Deliver Daniel,” and “Fix Me, Jesus.” How and why might we see this as Black Rhetoric in terms of content and/or style? What does this teach us about enslaved people's rhetoric of life and freedom? How might this later become the foundation of The Blues (feel, sound, message)? 2. FISK UNIVERSITY: Listen to the sound of these songs as first performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers (created in 1871). The songs are presented in chorus. What are the FIRST Black college students conveying here*? 3. ALVIN AILEY: "Revelations"** had its debut in 1960 as one of Alvin Ailey's most famous creations and a signature piece in modern ballet. He called "Revelations" the "blood memories" of his childhood in rural Texas. Who is Ailey in this first segment as a Black rhetor and why do you think that? 4. THE DANCE: There is of course ALSO THE DANCE... THE MOVEMENT. Some of these "poses" are now as famous as the music. How and why might we see these bodies and these movements also as Black Rhetoric in terms of content and/or style? If we think of Black Rhetoric as a Freedom Imagination, how does that show up here? Theme Two (9:35-22:14):
"Take Me to the Water" (surrender) 1. SPIRITUALS: Listen to the lyrics in these songs---"Wade in the Water "& "I Wanna Be Ready"--- How and why might we see this as Black Rhetoric in terms of content and/or style? What does this teach us about enslaved people's rhetoric of life and freedom (note that "Wade in the Water" is considered an Underground Railroad song; "I Wanna Be Ready" is a hymn)? How might this later become the foundation of The Blues (feel, sound, message)? 2. FISK UNIVERSITY: "Wade in the Water" is performed here in a more contemporary version. However, it was first published and performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1901. What are these Black college students at Fisk conveying here, years after they began the chorus? 3. ALVIN AILEY: "Revelations"** had its debut in 1960 as one of Alvin Ailey's most famous creations and a signature piece in modern ballet. He called "Revelations" the "blood memories" of his childhood in rural Texas. Who is Ailey in this second segment as a Black rhetor and why do you think that? 4. THE DANCE: There is of course ALSO THE DANCE... THE MOVEMENT. How and why might we see these bodies and these movements also as Black Rhetoric in terms of content and/or style? If we think of Black Rhetoric as a Freedom Imagination, how does that show up here? Theme Three (22:14 to 29:00):
Move, Members, Move (salvation) 1. SPIRITUALS: Listen to the lyrics in the four songs---Sinner Man, The Day is Past Gone, You May Run On, Rock O My Soul--- How and why might we see this as Black Rhetoric in terms of content and/or style? What does this teach us about enslaved people's rhetoric of life and freedom? (note that three of these songs are remixes of the Spirituals)? 2. JUBILEE SONGS: "Sinner Man" remixes the 1928 Spiritual, "No Hiding Place"; "You May Run On" dates back to the 1934 Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet; "Rock O My Soul" is an 1857 Spiritual. Why are remixes of the Spirituals so foundational to Black religious sound/music? What does that have to do with Black Rhetoric? How might this later become the foundation of The Blues (feel, sound, message)? 3. ALVIN AILEY: "Revelations"** had its debut in 1960 as one of Alvin Ailey's most famous creations and a signature piece in modern ballet. He called "Revelations" the "blood memories" of his childhood in rural Texas. Who is Ailey as a Black rhetor in this third segment and why do you think that? 4. THE DANCE: There is of course ALSO THE DANCE... THE MOVEMENT. How and why might we see these bodies and these movements also as Black Rhetoric in terms of content and/or style? If we think of Black Rhetoric as a Freedom Imagination, how does that show up here? |
*The first Fisk University students in 1871 would have witnessed slavery and the Civil War, either as enslaved people themselves or via the community/Black masses around them. Fisk University was created in 1866, a year after the "official" end of slavery.
Watch the video below and answer the questions at the left. Why the title, Revelations (final book of New Testament )? Why might dance be relevant to Black Rhetoric (scholars often look at speeches, music, etc--- but not as much at dance)? |
III. The "Black in Blues"
Indigo, Haint Blue & Blue Bottle Trees
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I) How is BLUE also Black rhetoric?
II) How are The BLUES also Black rhetoric? What's the BLUE in The Blues? |
1-4min; 5:45-9min
3-6min
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More on Haint Blue
More on Indigo
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Blues Bank #1
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IV. From the Spirituals to the Blues: Hearing the Connection
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The blues was born behind a mule. |
Blues Form: The 12 bar structure used with an AAB lyric pattern
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And More . . .
Sorrow Song"Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"
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fugitive code"Go Down, Moses"
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