The Role of Music in the African American Quest for Survival, Dignity, and Equal Citizenship

Arlene Ashman

MUSI 3510
Rob Bowman
December 9, 2016
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Throughout their entire history of existence in America, black people have always

suffered from oppression and inequality. Starting with their relocation from Africa to America as

slaves beginning in the 16th century, to their present day battle with police brutality, black

Americans have always had to fight for survival. One specific weapon that African Americans

have continuously used to fight this battle is music. Music has always allowed African

Americans to express their collective displeasure towards their treatment in society and to protest

on a large scale. Although there are many genres that have been used by black people to deliver a

protest message, there a few that arguably hold more historical significance in this context than

the rest. While all efforts to combat racism should be considered invaluable, certain material

emerging from spirituals, jazz and freedom songs have left a bigger imprint than the rest.

Spirituals were the first type of songs ever used by Blacks in America to express

opposition towards racism and oppression. When slaves were brought to America from Africa

they were separated based on tribe and language, and in a lot of cases banned from having drums

in order to prevent communication. Plantation owners feared that if slaves were able to

communicate with each other that they would be able to plot an escape or a rebellion. After

somewhat adapting to the native tongue in America, slaves soon began singing what we call

spirituals which were short repetitive verses that were often, but not always, based on biblical

scriptures. When no other form of communication existed, slaves were able to communicate

through spirituals. Eventually, after the abolition of slavery, a new method was introduced called

the concert spiritual. Concert spirituals were used by ensembles such as the Fisk Jubilee

Singers from Tennessee.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers were an ensemble of singers from Fisk University, one of the

first Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), that toured around the United States
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to fundraise for their university. They performed mostly for white people as many black people

did not want to associate with anything that had to do with slavery. They altered the original way

that spirituals were performed to appeal more to their primarily white audiences. For example,

they sung with a more reserved, bel canto voice and in a more rehearsed fashion as opposed to

slaves who would be free to improvise as they please. With that being said, they still kept many

aspects that would have been unheard of to white Americans including parallel intervals,

syncopated grooves, call and response texture and prolonged repetition.1 The Fisk Jubilee

Singers recorder their version of Oh Mary Dont You Weep Dont You Mourn in 1915 with

Columbia Records. In this performance they follow a very precise structure with evenly

weighted verses and choruses which, to many, would have indicated a higher social value. It is

evident when listening to this recording that the singers adopted many Western music techniques

in order to sound more professional and dignified to their white audiences. These performances

were particularly important in terms of the African American quest for survival, dignity and

equal citizenship because it was the money they earned during their tours that allowed their

school to stay open. That means that these performances supported the success of one of the first

HBCUs, from which many great African American activists and political leaders would emerge

and go forward to make significant changes in black communities.

The term Freedom Songs refers to a repertoire of songs that were used during the civil rights

movement by protesters. Most freedom songs were adapted from old Negro spirituals or gospel

songs with new lyrics that applied to the civil rights movement.2 These songs were sung during

mass meetings, demonstrations, in jail, and up north at fundraising events held by the Student

1. Rob Bowman, " Notion of African retentions, work songs " (York University, Toronto,
September 16, 2016).
2. Rob Bowman, "Sounds and Songs of the Civil Rights Movement 1" (York University,
Toronto, November 18, 2016).
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Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.3 The civil rights movement itself is noted to have begun

after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus in December of 1955. A

few days later, black people from all over Montgomery Alabama banded together to boycott

public transit for a period that lasted roughly a year. 4 This sparked the beginning of a decade

long movement which consisted of African Americans demanding a change. Two main

organisations existed during the civil rights movement the Southern Christian Leadership

Conference (SCLC) and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The SCLC

was first lead by Martin Luther King who organize several demonstrations which featured

freedom songs before he was assassinated in 1968.5

The primary function of freedom songs was to act as psychological armour for the

protestors. 6 Singing these songs would mentally prepare the protestors to face whatever might

occur during the demonstrations, including being attacked by the police. This is important

because when onlookers expected African Americans to behave barbarically, these songs helped

them to remain calm and prove otherwise. Because of this, the lyrics of the songs were not

necessarily relevant, it was the act of singing peacefully with strength and demonstrating

community that was being communicated.7 Television, which existed in most white homes and

some black homes, played a crucial role as well because it allowed the people at home to also

witness the protestors stability and composure while the police were often seen reacting

violently.

3. Ibid.
4. Taylor Branch, The King Years: Historic Moments in the Civil Rights Movement (New York:
Simon & Schuster, 2013), 6-12.
5. Rob Bowman, "Sounds and Songs of the Civil Rights Movement 1".
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
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Musically speaking, most freedom songs were in call and response form between a

soloist and the crowd in which the crowd would either answer a question posed by the soloist, or

complete the second half of a phrase. Freedom songs were naturally heterophonic as a result of

the number of voices singing at once and were subject to lyrical variation. While some freedom

songs were written exclusively for the civil rights movement, the majority of them were

spirituals or gospel songs with altered lyrics. Just like with spirituals, freedom songs were very

repetitive and often times the lyrics would be substituted after every few repetitions.8

An example of a freedom song used during the civil rights movement is compilation of

Oh Freedom and This Little Light of Mine lead by the Freedom Singers in 1964. This

recording begins with a freedom chant which follows a question and answer call and response

format. A solo voice repeats, what do you want? to which the crowd responds, freedom!

after which the solo voice says, when do you want it? and the crowd replies, now!9 After this

they segue into Oh freedom and then This Little Light of Mine. This recording features

many of the characteristics that are associated with spirituals including prolonged repetition,

heterophony among the large number of voices, improvisation by the soloists, and an off-beat

rhythm reinforced by handclapping on beats two and four of every measure. A juxtaposition is

created between Oh Freedom and This Little Light of Mine as the lyrics of the first tune are

oppositional and resilient whereas the lyrics in the next tune are optimistic and uplifting. This

juxtaposition is supported by the tempo as is abruptly speeds up when This Little Light of

Mine begins. These uplifting lyrics and upbeat tempo are factors that would have helped set the

behaviour changing mood during demonstrations.

8. Rob Bowman, "Sounds and Songs of the Civil Rights Movement 1".
9. Freedom Singers, Freedom Medley: Oh Freedom/This Little Light of Mine, 1964, MP3.
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Another genre that has generated greatly impactful material is jazz. Jazz was first

distinguished in the 1890s, around the same time as blues and ragtime. One of the greatest

influencing factors in the emergence of these new genres was the new social conditions created

by a new generation reaching adulthood. More specifically, around this time, the first generation

of African Americans born outside of slavery would have reached adulthood and presented a

whole new mindset in comparison to their parents and grandparents who were former slaves. In

cases like this, new social conditions warrant new sociological needs which results in new

music.10 While this new generation was born outside of slavery, they were still aware of the

torture that their elders faced and were also subject to racism and violent hate crimes such as

lynching. As a result, many successful jazz artists such as Billy Holiday, Duke Ellington, Louis

Armstrong, John Coltrane and Nina Simone used their music as a platform to express opposition

to this cruelty or to pay homage to Africa.11

Many of these artists were secular artists that were triggered by one or more events to

begin writing protest music. Nina Simone in particular was triggered by the 16th Street Baptist

Church bombing in 1963 saying that she, stopped singing love songs after the murder.12 The

16th Street Baptist Church bombing unfolded on a Sunday morning in 1963 where an explosion

occurred injuring many members of the congregation and killing four young girls. A member of

the church recalls going to the basement bathroom and seeing the four girls there, encouraging

them to go back to their Sunday School class only minutes before the explosion occurred.13

Simone wrote the song Mississippi Goddam in opposition to this specific event and to

racism as a whole in Mississippi and southern states. She premiered this piece live at Carnegie

10. Rob Bowman, "Jazz" (York University, Toronto, November 11, 2016).
11. Rob Bowman, "Jazz" (York University, Toronto, November 11, 2016).
12. Rob Bowman, "Sounds and Songs of the Civil Rights Movement 1".
13. Taylor Branch, The King Years, 70-73.
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Hall in New York for a primarily white audience who, at first, mistook her seriousness for

playfulness because of the light and energetic instrumentation. This is evident as towards the

beginning of the peace, laughter can be heard amidst the audience in the pauses in between

sections, but as the song progresses, the audience remains silent.14 In this song, the jazz musician

uses show tune-like instrumentation, melodies and performance techniques to juxtapose the

harsh realities in the content of which she speaks. The song features a quick tempo, a bubbly

piano accompaniment played by Simon herself, along with upright bass and percussion.

The lyrics, on the other hand, deliver a completely different feeling in comparison to the

music. The first few lines read:

The name of this tune is Mississippi Goddam

And I mean every word of it

Alabamas gotten me so upset

Tennessee made me lose my rest
And Everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam15

In these lyrics, Simone is addressing the injustices towards black people that have been plaguing

the southern states, giving particular recognition to Alabama and Mississippi. Towards the mid-

section of the song she goes on to sing:

Hound dogs on my trail

School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think everydays gonna be my last

Lord, have mercy on this land of mine

We all gonna get it in due time
I dont belong here, I dont belong there
Ive even stopped believing in prayer16

14. Rob Bowman, "Sounds and Songs of the Civil Rights Movement 1".
15. Nina Simone, Mississippi Goddam, Nina Simone, Phillips Records, 1964, MP3.
16. Nina Simone, Mississippi Goddam.
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In this section of the song, the lyrics become more blatant as they outline specific tragedies that

African Americans face. She highlights how black people are targeted by the criminal justice

system, and the day to day fear of whether or not they will see another day. A significant line that

would have sparked shock and controversy among the audience is her line about no longer

believing in prayer. In a society where the vast majority of citizens practiced some form of

Christianity, to say that you no longer believed in prayer would have been seen as an extremely

unpopular and outlandish opinion. At this point, the listeners should have begun to realize that

this was not the happy go-lucky performance that they thought it was. Simone continues to

outline issues that plague African Americans, more and more blatantly as the song goes on. She

addresses white Americas attempt to erase black culture, inequality, and Americas resistance to

resolve any of these issues. Nina Simone was able to reach audiences that may have otherwise

remained ignorant to the severity of the ill-treatment towards Blacks in America through this

song.

To sum up, it is clear that music has played a crucial role in the African American quest for

survival, dignity and equal citizenship, especially when examining spirituals, jazz and freedom

songs. All three of these genres have made an impact, either directly or non-directly, in the

advancements made towards the liberation of African Americans. Whether by supporting the

establishments that would later create some of the most influential activists in history, or by

appeasing the minds of protesters during civil rights demonstrations or even by spreading the

message of racism to a broader audience, these three genres, without a doubt, have produced

some of the most influential material in the African American quest for survival, dignity and

equal citizenship.
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Bibliography

Bowman, Rob. "Jazz." York University, Toronto, November 11, 2016.

Bowman, Rob. Notion of African retentions, work songs. York University, September 16,
2016.

Bowman, Rob. "Sounds and Songs of the Civil Rights Movement 1." York University, Toronto,
November 18, 2016.

Bowman, Rob. "Sounds and Songs of the Civil Rights Movement 2." York University, Toronto,
November 25, 2016.

Branch, Taylor. The King Years: Historic Moments in the Civil Rights Movement. New York:
Simon & Schuster, 2013.

Freedom Singers. Freedom Medley: Oh Freedom/This Little Light of Mine. 1964, MP3.

Simone, Nina. Mississippi Goddam. Nina Simone. Phillips Records, 1964, MP3.