[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 120 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                      February 7, 2007.
Whereas beginning in 1619, when slavery was introduced into the European 
        colonies, enslaved Africans remained in bondage until 1865, when the 
        United States ratified the 13th amendment to the Constitution;
Whereas during that period of the history of the United States, the first 
        expression of that unique American music was created by enslaved African 
        Americans who--

    (1) used their knowledge of the English language and the Christian 
religious faith, as it had been taught to them in the New World; and

    (2) stealthily wove within the music their experience of coping with 
human servitude and their strong desire to be free;

Whereas, as a method of survival, enslaved African Americans who were forbidden 
        to speak their native languages, play musical instruments they had used 
        in Africa, or practice their traditional religious beliefs, relied on 
        their strong African oral tradition of songs, stories, proverbs, and 
        historical accounts to create this original music, now known as 
        spirituals;
Whereas Calvin Earl, a noted performer and educator on African American 
        spirituals, remarked that the Christian lyrics became a metaphor for 
        freedom from slavery, a secret way for slaves to ``communicate with each 
        other, teach their children, record their history, and heal their 
        pain'';
Whereas the New Jersey Historical Commission found that ``some of those daring 
        and artful runaway slaves who entered New Jersey by way of the 
        Underground Railroad no doubt sang the words of old Negro spirituals 
        like `Steal Away' before embarking on their perilous journey north'';
Whereas African American spirituals spread all over the United States, and the 
        songs we know of today may only represent a small portion of the total 
        number of spirituals that once existed;
Whereas Frederick Douglass, a fugitive slave who would become one of the leading 
        abolitionists of the United States, remarked that the spirituals ``told 
        a tale of woe which was then altogether beyond my feeble comprehension; 
        they were tones loud, long, and deep; they breathed the prayer and 
        complaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish. Every tone 
        was a testimony against slavery and a prayer to God for deliverance from 
        chains. ...''; and
Whereas the American Folklife Preservation Act (Public Law 94-201; 20 U.S.C. 
        2101 note) finds that ``the diversity inherent in American folklife has 
        contributed greatly to the cultural richness of the nation and has 
        fostered a sense of individuality and identity among the American 
        people'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes that African American spirituals are a poignant and 
        powerful genre of music that have become one of the most significant 
        segments of American music in existence;
            (2) expresses the deepest gratitude, recognition, and honor to the 
        former enslaved Africans in the United States for their gifts to our 
        Nation, including their original music and oral history; and
            (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation that reflects 
        on the important contribution of African American spirituals to American 
        history, and naming the African American spiritual a national treasure.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.