African American Spirituals
When I saw African American spirituals on the list of options, I had to choose the topic. As black people, growing up my cousins and I listened to African American spirituals a lot. My grandma used to tell us about the hidden meanings in different songs. Some of the songs are very empowering, while others have very sad connotations. African American spirituals come from enslaved African Americans singing in unison as a form of encouragement. Due to the time period the music came from, some people called the songs Negro Spirituals. While the slave owners tried to strip the slaves of their culture and religion, they couldn't take away their music. Music was a beautiful momentary distraction from the everyday horrors of slavery. A popular African American spiritual I like is "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." While it is classified as a "children's church" song, it was originally a song sung by slaves when they needed encouragement. The &qu