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African American Carols, from Family Christmas Online™This section of the site is dedicated to Christmas songs that were created by people who endured brutal hardships as the result of African colonization and North American slavery. But, though people of African descent were ripped from much of their cultural heritage, they maintained their heritage of group song, punctuated by West African rythms and vocal stylings. Of course the safest thing for oppressed peoples to sing about was the religious beliefs that, first forced upon them by their oppressors, later gave many hope in the midst of suffering.In the 1800s, many white Americans noted the rich tradition of "Negro Spirituals," and some performers even attempted to emulate them in minstrel shows and other venues. But within the constantly-changing African American community, the rythms and raw emotional power of those spirituals gave birth to what we now call "Traditional" Gospel music, as well as Jazz and the Blues. The best-known African American Christmas song is probably "Go Tell it on the Mountain," which became popular with white audiences many decades ago. But many other traditional African American Christmas songs deserve the same notice. We hope to add several here as time permits. The following songs are currently in our catalog:
If you have any comments, additions, or corrections you would like to make about these pages, please contact me and I will be glad to hear from you. God bless - Paul |
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Note: Family Christmas Online™ is a trademark of Breakthrough Communications(tm) (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are Copyright (c) 2006, 2007 by Paul D. Race. Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically forbidden.
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