Fourth Sacred Music Essay
This fourth essay for the African American History Through Sacred Music class covers Michael W. Harris', The Rise of Gospel Blues: The Music of Thomas Andrew Dorsey in the Urban Church, the final section of Wyatt Tee Walker's Somebody's Calling My Name: Black Sacred Music and Social Change, and three pieces from Milton C. Sernett's African American Religious History: A Documentary Witness. Sernett's pieces are "Effects of Urbanization on Religious Life", "Singing of Good Tidings and Freedom", and "Black Theology and the Black Church: Where Do We Go from Here." A familiar theme keeps recurring in these readings. Blacks were still struggling for equality, still fighting the racism prevalent in the America. Michael Harris has written an interesting book about Thomas Andrew Dorsey. He describes Dorsey as a pianist, composer and arranger for prominent blues singers, one of whom we know as Ma Rainey. Dorsey took his blues style into Chicago's African American protestant churches, beginning in the late 1930's. Due to the unseemly reputation of the blues performance and the excitement that gosp
Harris has written a scholarly portrait of Dorsey, who continued to perform throughout the 80's. As Sernett is the editor of this collection, scholarly quality does not seem that easy to comment on. This book highlights the conflict that developed. His writing is concise, easily read and understood, and has listed numerous bibliography sources and countless notes. Then there was the segment that wanted the church to be a way in which African Americans would ease into American Christianity and the prevailing white-American culture. (373) The third article is "Black Theology and the Black Church: Where Do We Go from Here?" by James H. Jackson discusses her beginnings in gospel, the need to feel the words in her music. This brings us to the readings in Sernett. The first one to be discussed is "Singing of Good Tidings and Freedom" about and by Mahalia Jackson. There was a segment that wanted the African-American culture and religion nurtured, and kept alive. He carries us up through the 60's and 70's, referring to Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack, and the Edwin Hawkins singers. He has included an extensive notes section, and a comprehensive bibliography, so we can conclude that this is a scholarly document. All in all, these readings focus on Gospel music as a means to protest songs of the era of the 60's, 70's and 80's. Although writing styles vary, they all bring forth the same message, freedom and equality for everyone.
Common topics in this essay:
Calling Name,
Black Power,
Thomas Dorsey,
African American,
American Christianity,
Williams Baptist,
Edwin Hawkins,
Gospel Jazz,
Black Church,
Ms Jackson,
sacred music,
african american,
60's 70's,
gospel music,
urbanization religious life,
religious life,
thomas andrew,
singing tidings,
tidings freedom,
black theology,
somebody's calling,
theology black church,
somebody's calling name,
effects urbanization religious,
black theology black,
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Acceptance Essays
