by Renae Richardson

Created on: February 22, 2008

The Negro spiritual is a poetic outcry of the soul set to lyric. Each verse speaks of a refuge from hurt and oppression. Each song is an outcry for freedom. Lyrical rhythm and soul are wrapped in one stirring selection; speaking of a balm and a respite; the type of peace that can only be found in keeping one's thoughts fastened on God, the giver of perfect peace in the midst of a raging storm. These are songs that speak of, He (the Almighty), our ever present help in times of need.

The Negro spiritual dates back to an era when enslavement abounded. In and of itself the spiritual is a historical snapshot, it is an emotional language of a people, speaking volumes of their thoughts, moods, and feelings an avid response to their circumstances.

It was often said that while in the fields the slaves would communicate by way of spirituals and hymns. In those times the gathering of slaves was often discouraged. Many felt as if convening would be a precursor to insurrection, and uprising. Slaves communicated amongst themselves through songs, reassuring one another and passing along hope.

Some of those spirituals that are

1. Deep River
2. Soon-a Will Be Done
3. Wade in the Water
4. Swing Low
5. Walk with Me
6. We Shall Overcome
7. Steal Away to Jesus
8. Over my Head
9. Oh Freedom
10. Lift Every Voice and Sing

These are just a few of the moving hymns that stirred the hearts and moved souls, for there are many more. But these hymns are photographs. Close examinations of the words are akin to peering through a looking glass; gazing into the lives and struggles of a suffering people. Not only does one see the response of the enslaved but the hearts of the enslaver. In these songs are reflected the sentiment and the mood of America in era's past, an era never to be forgotten. An era always to be remembered lest we revisit a past filled with pain, bloodshed, and oppression; lest we forget the birth pangs of freedom.

If the same could sing their songs today, if they could communicate what their songs have meant to the world and the cause of freedom I believe they would sing these words.

"Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us. Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us. Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won." (James Weldon Johnson, The New National Baptist Hymn, p. 457)

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