[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3376-3379]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE AFRICAN AMERICAN SPIRITUAL AS A NATIONAL TREASURE

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 120) recognizing the African 
American spiritual as a national treasure.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 120

       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.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Davis) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days 
during which Members may insert material relevant to H. Res. 120 into 
the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the African American spiritual 
as a national treasure. From 1619 to 1865, enslaved African Americans 
created their own unique form of expression

[[Page 3377]]

known today as spirituals. As African Americans were not allowed to 
speak their native languages or play African musical instruments, 
spirituals were incorporated into the English language and the 
Christian religious faith. These spirituals were the strong African 
oral tradition of songs, stories, proverbs and historical accounts. 
Spirituals have been a part of American culture from times of slavery 
to today, and their legacy is clear in today's gospel music.
  Spirituals were also sung during the civil rights movement in the 
1960s. Songs that we are familiar with, such as ``We Shall Overcome'' 
and ``Marching 'Round Selma,'' were heard in the South to unite African 
Americans in the struggle for civil rights.
  Some of the more commonly known songs, including ``Swing Low Sweet 
Chariot'' and ``The Gospel Train,'' used language which described 
religious activities but had a second meaning relating to the 
Underground Railroad.
  Calvin Earl, a noted performer and educator of African American 
spirituals, stated that the lyrics used in spirituals became a metaphor 
for freedom from slavery, and they were a secret way for slaves to 
communicate with each other, teach their young, record their history 
and heal their pain.
  Frederick Douglass, a fugitive slave who became one of the United 
States' leading abolitionists, stated that spirituals ``told a tale of 
woe which was then altogether beyond my feeble comprehension'' and that 
``every tone was a testimony against slavery and a prayer to God for 
deliverance from chains.''
  This resolution is endorsed by the NAACP and the National Council of 
Negro Women, and I want to add my voice to theirs in support of helping 
to preserve a treasured, a really treasured piece of American history.
  I urge my colleagues to resoundingly pass this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 120, 
recognizing African American spirituals as a national treasure.
  Simply defined, spirituals are the songs created and first sung by 
African Americans during the times of slavery. These songs should be 
celebrated as a part of the American culture today, for they are the 
source from which gospel, jazz and blues evolved. The lyrics of these 
songs are tightly linked with the lives of their authors and were 
inspired by the message of Jesus Christ and the Gospel of the Bible.

                              {time}  1130

  The most pervasive message conveyed by spirituals is that of an 
enslaved people yearning to be set free. The slaves believed they 
understood better than anyone what freedom truly meant in both a 
spiritual and a physical sense, and I believe they were correct in 
believing that.
  The Old Testament Scriptures that are referenced in their songs spoke 
of deliverance in this world, and they believed God would deliver them 
from bondage just as he had delivered the people of Israel.
  These spirituals are different from hymns and psalms, because their 
creators used them as a way of sharing the hard condition of being a 
slave while also singing about their love and faith in God. They used 
the songs to teach their young, to record their history, and to heal 
their pain. These songs awakened possibilities in their lives and 
inspired so many to dream.
  Because the slaves were forbidden to learn how to read and write, 
they had to find ways to communicate secretly. The spirituals were a 
medium for several layers of communication and meaning.
  Throughout the 20th century the spirituals experienced a renaissance 
as African Americans documented their struggles for equality. During 
the 1950s and 1960s, before and during rallies for civil rights, 
demonstrators often sang spirituals such as, ``We Shall Overcome,'' 
and, believe it or not, ``This Little Light of Mine,'' one of my 
favorite songs in my childhood.
  The lyrics of these new spirituals dealt with improvement and with a 
new kind of freedom. Many of them were inspired by social problems such 
as segregation, drug and alcohol abuse, and a basic lack of human 
equality. Today the congregation of my church in Grand Rapids, 
Michigan, and so many other churches in our community and across the 
country, continues to sing these spirituals. They inspire in us the 
human struggle for freedom and remind us of the lessons of history.
  I am honored to stand here today in support of House Resolution 120 
to express the deepest gratitude and recognition to the former enslaved 
African Americans for their gifts to our Nation, including their 
spiritual music and oral history. I ask my colleagues to support this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of legislation that 
would recognize the African American spiritual as a national treasure, 
and would like to say thank you to my colleague from Georgia (Mr. 
Lewis) with whom I introduced this legislation in the Congress, as well 
as my colleagues on the floor this morning, the gentlewoman from 
California and the gentleman from Michigan, and also the chairman, Mr. 
Miller, for bringing the bill to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, even though they sprang from one of the darkest periods 
of our Nation's history, a period of turmoil that Americans still live 
with to this day, as we all know, African American spirituals have 
inspired many of America's most remarkable and enduring musical 
accomplishments. Name the modern music form, and it owes a debt to the 
spiritual. Jazz, blues, rock and roll, gospel all trace their origins 
to this particular musical heritage. Today people around the world 
play, listen to, and find the deepest of inspiration in the music of 
Africans who lived their lives in slavery.
  In so many ways this is a uniquely American music, one born of our 
uniquely American experience, reminding us who we are, where we come 
from, and all that we are capable of as a society and as a Nation.
  The African American spiritual is as poignant and powerful a genre of 
music as any in history. And throughout history the African American 
spiritual has been kept alive through that oral tradition. For certain, 
this was so before the abolition of slavery in 1865 when these songs 
provided comfort and an outlet for spiritual yearning for so many, but 
also in the years immediately following abolition when few wished to 
sing African American spirituals, so acute was the pain and anguish 
they called to mind.
  Thankfully there were some who recognized in the power of these songs 
the collective experiences from which they came and their intrinsic 
cultural and musical value. And by the late 19th and early 20th 
century, the spiritual was kept alive by churches and singing groups 
like the Fisk Jubilee Singers, who traveled and performed these 
remarkable pieces in the face of hostility and intolerance. Indeed, in 
1872, the Jubilee Singers sang at the World Peace Festival in Boston 
and were invited to perform at the White House that year by no less 
than President Grant himself.
  Today African American spirituals are not only performed in 
spirituals and concert halls across the world, they are also studied by 
sociologists and musicologists across the country. The University of 
Denver's Spirituals Project puts it aptly in its mission statement: 
``Spirituals uplift in times of crisis, heal, comfort, inspire, and 
instill hopes and dreams, thereby transforming individuals, 
communities, and whole societies.''
  And in much the same spirit of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, I want to 
say thank you to a good friend, a musicologist himself, for bringing to 
my attention the need for the Congress to honor this vital piece of our 
national heritage, Calvin Earl. As the youngest of nine children in 
North Carolina, Calvin

[[Page 3378]]

taught himself the guitar at age 7, forming his first rhythm and blues 
group while serving in the Army before spending several decades 
performing jazz and big band music. Since 1989, Calvin has dedicated 
himself to preserving and sharing spirituals with a new generation of 
Americans. Traveling the country, he builds on the traditional words 
and melodies to illuminate the history and complexity of this unique 
art form.
  It was from Calvin that I learned about this remarkable tradition, 
how spirituals enabled slaves to teach their children, record their 
history, and surreptitiously communicate with one another. Indeed, 
songs such as ``Wade in the Water,'' ``The Gospel Train,'' and ``Swing 
Low, Sweet Chariot'' all reference the Underground Railroad. Another, 
``Follow the Drinking Gourd,'' even contained a coded map to the 
Underground Railroad. As these songs were spontaneous, their authors 
are not known, though they were the inspiration for the writers of the 
first gospel songs, from Charles Albert Tindley to Harry Thackert 
Burleigh to John Rosamond Johnson.
  Mr. Speaker, no less than Frederick Douglass remarked that such 
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.''
  Indeed, in so many ways the African American spiritual embodies who 
we are as Americans. The impact it has made on the cultural heritage of 
America, and indeed every American, is incalculable. I thank all who 
have allowed us to bring this resolution for consideration today. I 
urge my colleagues to support honoring this national treasure and this 
timeless reminder of the enduring human spirit.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Sires) for 2 minutes.
  Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 120, which 
recognizes the African American spiritual as a national treasure. The 
slave Africans who came to the European colonies were forbidden to 
speak their native languages, use African musical instruments, or 
practice their spiritual beliefs. To keep their African traditions 
alive through songs and stories, the slaves created a new kind of 
music. Today these are known as spirituals.
  Mr. Calvin Earl, my constituent from Jersey City, has devoted his 
entire life to educating people about the history and the importance of 
African American spirituals. He started a program called The Gifts from 
My Ancestors. Through songs, dances, and storytelling, this program has 
helped people experience the story of enslaved African Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Mr. Earl for his work, and I believe it is 
time to recognize the importance of these spirituals and preserve them 
for future generations by voting in favor of H. Res. 120.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) for 2 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman 
from California for yielding. I rise in strong support of H. Res. 120, 
recognizing the African American spiritual as a national treasure.
  Growing up in the rural South in the 1950s, we grew up on what was 
then called the Negro spiritual, and many of these songs, of course, 
had great meaning, especially the lyrics. I remember, ``Follow the Old 
Man'' that is ``Coming to Carry Me to Freedom'' if you ``Follow the 
Drinking Gourd.'' Well, gourds supposedly grew northward, and if you 
followed the direction of the gourd, you would get out of the slave 
South back during slavery and the abolitionist period, and you would be 
headed north. And so not only did these songs sound good, not only were 
they spiritually uplifting as one that I heard on this past Sunday at 
the Second Baptist Church in Maywood, Illinois, but they also were 
didactic; they were teaching and inspirational.
  So I commend the gentlewoman from Connecticut for her introduction of 
this great resolution and urge its support.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper) for 2 minutes.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for 
yielding.
  I would like to lend my voice and praise of the African American 
spiritual and a group that I consider to be the leading practitioners 
of today and for the last 135 years, namely the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
  As the Representative from Nashville, Tennessee, I have the honor of 
representing Fisk University, which, under the able leadership of 
President Hazel O'Leary, is achieving new heights and excellence. The 
Fisk Jubilee Singers have been there since 1871, singing some of the 
most beautiful music in the world and a music that is laden with a God-
given message.
  No other music that I am familiar with covers the range from agony to 
inspiration, from the depths of human misery and despair all the way up 
to religious bliss. This is remarkable music, and I would suggest to 
you if you haven't heard the Fisk Jubilee Singers sing it under the 
able direction of Dr. Paul Kwami, you have not fully lived. This is a 
truly remarkable group and a remarkable inspirational message.
  So let's praise today the anonymous African American genius that has 
allowed these songs to flourish and survive some of the toughest 
conditions on our planet, and let's honor groups like the Fisk Jubilee 
Singers that keep that tradition alive and fresh for each new 
generation. Yes, Mr. Speaker, this is truly a national treasure. We 
need to honor and preserve it and spread its wonderful message all 
around the world. The African American spiritual is part of God's great 
heritage.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud that today this House will honor one of 
America's oldest and most unique cultural treasures, the African 
American spiritual. No music in the world communicates as much as the 
African American spiritual. It is music borne of suffering. Music that 
expresses anguish, unity, and hopeful transcendence. Our reverence and 
deep gratitude for this music is only surpassed by our shame over the 
conditions that gave it rise. What we are doing today is wholly 
appropriate--and long overdue.
  Mr. Speaker, I am particularly proud to represent Fisk University, a 
fine American college with a tremendous sense of history and purpose. 
Fisk was founded in the wake of the Civil War to educate all students, 
regardless of color. It was a costly and controversial mission, and in 
order to keep the school's doors open, a group of students embarked on 
a fundraising tour in October 1871. This choral ensemble soon became 
known as the Fisk Jubilee Singers. They earned renown all over the 
world, singing for U.S. presidents and poets, European royals and 
American intellectuals alike.
  But most of all, Mr. Speaker, in their 135 years of existence, the 
Fisk Jubilee Singers have exposed people across the globe to the 
African American spiritual. They have reminded us all of our country's 
shared history, and they have told, in vivid word and tune, the story 
of a People. From ``Wade in the Water'' to ``Go Down, Moses,'' and many 
songs between and since, the African American spiritual is a vital 
piece of American culture. Today we honor that tradition and those 
groups who keep it alive--groups like the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
  The word ``jublilee,'' Mr. Speaker, rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, 
came to signify the proclamation of freedom from slavery. Today let 
this House rededicate itself to that powerful message and to those who 
have lifted their voices to express the pain of bondage and redemptive 
promise of freedom--of jubilee--throughout our Nation's history.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers.
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  It always amazes me how the Lord manages to turn evil to good. And 
this is a good example of that; how under the terrible abuse and sin of 
slavery came the beautiful spirituals that we are honoring in this 
particular resolution. It is a real national treasure. It is something 
that I grew up with.
  I recall my family, in which we had a number of musicians. Very 
frequently

[[Page 3379]]

we were singing Negro spirituals, and in groups at church we would sing 
Negro spirituals, and yet look where this music came from, out of the 
terrible black mark on the history of this country when we had slavery 
over half the Nation. And yet the human response guided by God came out 
of these people and produced this beautiful, beautiful music. It is a 
heritage we all have, it is a heritage we must enjoy and, above all, a 
heritage that we must honor, as we are honoring in this resolution 
today.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to close on House 
Resolution 120.

                              {time}  1145

  I want to thank my colleagues for their eloquence in speaking to this 
resolution. Truly, the African American spiritual is a national 
treasure. It must be embraced as such, enjoyed and enhanced, always in 
our thoughts and in our history because it has played such a critical 
part to so many thousands and thousands and thousands of people. And so 
I thank everyone for being here today and for presenting that to us.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
strong support of this resolution to recognize the African American 
spiritual as a national treasure.
  Till the passage of the 13th Amendment, African Americn slaves were 
prevented from speaking their native languages, playing musical 
instruments they had used in Africa, and practicing their traditional 
religious beliefs. Despite attempts to strip away the history and 
identity of these individuals, they relied on a strong oral tradition 
to pass down stories and family narratives in the form of original 
songs, now known as spirituals.
  These African American spirituals came to represent a part of history 
that many tried to silence through oppression and slavery. These songs 
are a part of the spirit that could not be destroyed by the institution 
of slavery. And while the spirituals we know today likely represent 
only a small portion of the total number, they remain an important link 
to the past as we teach new generations the meaning of our roots.
  For African Americans, identifying their history and researching 
genealogy becomes challenging due to a lack of organized records. Many 
are left with piecing together records of their ancestors left from 
former slave owners. Through song we can identify with our past, and 
the African American spiritual is oe of the few remaining bastions of 
African American tradition and history though art.
  I urge my colleagues to honor our history by voting for this 
importance piece of legislation.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 
120, to recognize the African American spiritual as a national 
treasure.
  When slavery was introduced into the European colonies in 1619, the 
dark days that followed ignited the faith and hope of our ancestors 
that one day their descendants would live in freedom and helped them 
bear the unbearable burden of bondage.
  To help our ancestors tolerate the incorrigible injustices they 
suffered as slaves, they gathered together in unity and sang spiritual 
songs. Their strong faith in God was displayed through song and gave 
them hope that they would one day be free from the bondage of slavery. 
There was a transportation that took place when those songs were sung, 
for that moment they were carried away with their tunes from the 
problems and injustices they faced in their daily lives and could sing 
aloud to God who they depended on for help.
  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. . . .''
  Unfortunately their plight for freedom from slavery would not end 
until 1865 when the United States ratified the 13th amendment to the 
constitution, but our fight for equality against injustices, though 
easier today, still tarries on. The singing of these African American 
spirituals is just as much a part of America as our flag and should be 
celebrated and seen as a thread in the fabric of our rich and diverse 
nation.
  Many slaves were not allowed to learn to read and write but they were 
allowed to have their faith and their song. It was these two things 
that became a foundation in the African American community and 
intertwined, was used as a method of survival, as a means to cope with 
human servitude and echoed their strong desire to be free. It was in 
these songs that an oral history of their plight was communicated to 
each other, taught to their children, recorded their sad history and 
healed their broken hearts.
  The Old Negro spiritual is still alive today. The influence of these 
songs is felt in gospel and the many popular genres of music that 
evolved from gospel. 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 the spirituals that once existed.
  I thank my colleague, Ms. DeLauro, for introducing this important 
legislation, to ensure that we celebrate, treasure and recognize the 
African American spiritual as a national treasure and I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
strong support for H. Res. 120, which recognizes the African American 
spiritual as a national treasure. The African American spiritual is 
both an expression of culture and faith, and a symbol of the path to 
triumph in our democracy.
  The African American spiritual originated with many cultures in 
Africa, and became one of the few forms of expression that the African 
slaves were able to maintain while held in bondage in America. The 
spirituals not only served to uplift, but also served as a secret code 
to direct those enslaved to freedom. Lyrics from songs like ``Steal 
Away (to Jesus)'' and ``Wade in the Water'' were guides for those who 
planned to escape and served as instructions to allow those escaping to 
avoid being traced by slave catchers. Spirituals such as ``Follow the 
Drinking Gourd'' were also means of secretly communicating maps and 
directions for escaping slaves to reach the network of the Underground 
Railroad. After the abolition of slavery in the United States in 1865, 
the African American spiritual remained an important expression of 
culture, faith, and social justice, especially during the Civil Rights 
movements across the Nation in the 1950s and 1960s.
  And so today, also in honor of Black History Month, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in celebrating the African American spiritual and 
the legacy left to us by those who fought for freedom and rights in 
this country for all citizens. The African American spiritual is not 
only testimony of history, but is a part of our national heritage.
  Mr. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield back my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 120.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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