Most people know the lyrics to “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Fewer people realize how songs like this, sung by many Africans enslaved in America in the 18th and 19th centuries — that we now call ...

From the moment of capture, through the treacherous middle passage, after the final sale and throughout life in North America, the experience of enslaved Africans who first arrived at Jamestown, ...

From the bitter roots of slavery blossomed Negro spirituals, songs of heartfelt faith exuding hope amid despair. Jason Oby wants to preserve every note. Oby, associate professor of music at Texas ...

Editor's Note: PBS has partnered with historians and experts to bring fans the Mercy Street Revealed blog. Kenyatta D. Berry is genealogist and lawyer with more than 15 years of experience in ...

October 3, 2022 • In this episode, Christen identifies the musical characteristics that make up Black Spirituals. See how the American Black community has preserved Spirituals, in spite of its ...

I was daydreaming at a stoplight recently when the sound of thunder shook me from my reverie. It was pulsing rhythmically, and there seemed to be a faint whistling or screeching sound, as if I was in ...

Faithfully recreating the music of slave organizers, freedom fighters, and abolitionists, a recent compilation sheds light on the politics of collective liberation at the root of 19th-century American ...

...many enslaved Africans adopted biblical figures not only as heroes, but as ancestors, to replace the African ancestors from whom they had been torn. -M. Roger Holland, II If you want some ...