African American Spirituals and Their Legacy (original) (raw)

2022

Abstract

The mysterious and compelling lyrics created by enslaved African Americans are an abiding and unique contribution to the national and global songbook, and central to the body of national and world literature that uses poems as instruments of protest and political action. Transporting the community's emotions and information, the spirituals were performed by the ensemble in all social contexts during times of relaxation, worship, and labor. Several dominant literary operations are also identifiable in many of the spirituals. The spirituals serve as an omnipresent source of allusions in African American and world literature. The spirituals provide early and indisputable proof of the existence of a self-referring African American literary tradition, and the intent of their creators to insert African American voices into the canon. Spirituals as lyric poetry record the enslaved poets' ability to overcome adversity and illuminate the strength of pre-Emancipation society in achieving unprecedented cultural production under circumstances of unimaginable hardship.

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