African American Influence On Music

The rise of Soul music was a product of the particular environment of that time in which the musicians who created it lived, a period much paralleled with the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) and Black Power Movement (BPM) (Maultsby, 1983, 54). The objective of this research was to examine any existence of political and social messages delivered in Soul music around the civil rights movement era in America, which would lead to a better understanding of the role of Soul music having served in the process of political and social changes in the country.

Thesis: Despite the oppression of slavery, African Americans were able to keep their culture alive through their music and oral traditions.

Amidst the development of a private society, African-Americans had created a large music scene that aided in the raising of their spirits and creating hope. Music that was heavily inspired by their ancestors Negro spirituals. In the close-knit, southern community brought comfort to the African-Americans as well. Maya Angelou describes the use of music in her autobiography Gather Together in My Name as “Harmonious black music drifts like perfume through this precious air, and nothing of a threatening nature intrudes.” (Gilyard & Wardi, 319)

African American religious music is the foundation of all contemporary forms of so called “black music.” African American religious music has been a fundamental part of the black experience in this country. This common staple of the African American experience can be traced back to the cruel system of slavery. It then evolved into what we refer to today as gospel music. The goal of this paper is to answer three main questions. What are the origins of African American religious music? How did this musical expression develop into a secular form of music? What is the future of African American religious music? These questions will be answered through factual research of African American traditions, artists, and various other sources.

Point of fact, the music the African American society produce, does not speak to our way of life in general. Every one of the an entire, we as a whole don't do likewise things, for example, smoke weed and posse blast that some of our musical representors depict that we do. The make our way of life look repulsive from numerous points of view, however for the most part it gives us an awful out look towards different societies. In spite of the fact that we may give out a great deal of good motivational music, for example, Andrea Day 'Ascend,' the wrong exceed the great. The African American people group been through a ton however that is not a reason to give in and produce subliminal messages to the group that influence whatever is left of the African American people group that is attempting to live right.

While hymns and Negro spirituals have become staples in predominantly Black churches, gospel music or music based on the gospel of Jesus Christ has taken a decidedly contemporary slant. Gospel music in many white churches was interpreted in a folksy, southern way. Gospel music in Black churches was expressed with the same passion and soul that the slaves had expressed before them. Though slavery had ended, Jim Crow had begun and the struggle that segregation, poverty, and oppression had brought was expressed in these churches and in song. For a community seeking “deliverance”, singing the gospel brought them one step closer to feeling free even when their lives were anything but.

The Negro Spirituals in antebellum America were packed full of theological significance and taught adults and children about living a life of faith (Massey 426). Also, the songs gave incredible encouragement to people who were being unjustly treated in deplorable conditions. As one author states, “The songs nurtured a sense of faith and hope in an oppressed people, which were passed on to subsequent generations” (Massey 427). Furthermore, there was a deep connection with the Old Testament nation of Israel and the African slaves in America; meaning, they identified “with Israel in bondage, and the idealization of Moses as the divine agent of liberation” (Newman 700). Also, as they longed for freedom, “The spirituals gave them a sense of identity

A small weakness in this article is that the author does not give a lot of information on what might have caused the Afro-Americans to not bring a lot of their knowledge in their cultures over to America and how it affects society today. I think this author is very reliable because they used examples and talked a lot about the different topics throughout the article. The motivation of this author was to talk about how people are now looking at African and Afro-American music to gain more knowledge in the music world. Also, another motivation was to talk about the different types of music from

creating their own brand and although the target audience may not be African-American consumers, there has been a correlation established between the two. This has decreased the affluence gap that never seemed to shorten between whites and blacks. With there not being any African-Americans in any of the professional sport teams available in America, only the white players received the financial benefits of participating in sports.

African American religious music is the foundation of all contemporary forms of so called "black music." African American religious music has been a fundamental part of the black experience in this country. This common staple of the African American experience can be traced back to the cruel system of slavery. It then evolved into what we refer to today as gospel music. The goal of this paper is to answer three main questions. What are the origins of African American religious music? How did this musical expression develop into a secular form of music? What is the future of African American religious music? These questions will be answered through factual research of African American traditions, artists, and various other sources.

America has had a longstanding problematic relationship with black people. Not only, have they been subjected to the atrocious lifestyle of slavery, they have been the subject of constant ridicule and injustice. The history of minstrel shows and minstrelsy reflect one of the many ways black people have been exploited. Though the practice or tradition of minstrelsy no longer exists in the way it did in the past, its long term effects are still present in today’s music culture and society.

African Americans had influence on every genre in the world today. As stated during my presentation African American weren’t allowed to perform with whites. Many genre’s appeared while slavery was still allowed. One fact I found very odd is how African Americans weren’t allowed to do everything with whites and how we were looked down upon, but so many things were taken from our culture and put or combined with what the whites had “started”. Clearly our culture was very entertaining more than that of what the whites were doing; being that they had to portray us and where blackface.

Music always played an important role in African American culture, especially Jazz. Being one of the oldest musical genres in North America, it gained a lot of popularity. There were many popular styles, one being New Orleans Jazz dating back to the 19th century. When Jazz is mentioned, years of partying of the Charleston and Jazz bands came to mind. The Jazz age was an outburst of music, art, and culture in America.

Our cultures are what makes us who we are today, and one of the biggest things culture has provided us with is music.With the help of venues, artists, and schools jazz music is becoming a more popular genre. Jazz was once a popular way to express yourself and it greatly impacted many cultures. It also has greatly impacted the music we listen to today. There is an infinite amount of music genres, and jazz music is a very crucial one to our history.

For centuries, Gospel music has influenced and promoted African-American social, moral and ethical values, playing an imperative role in modelling their past and future. Originating from the hardships of slavery and the strength of Christian worship, Gospel music has adapted to musical tastes through the development of a number of sub-genres, while retaining its moral and spiritual framework. Throughout its musical history, Gospel music has had a profound and predominant influence on its devotees and followers. During the turbulent years of the American Civil Rights Movement, Gospel music played a vital role in building the foundations of stability and