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First Ship of Slaves Brought to North America
In 1619, a Portuguese ship, Sao Jao Bautista, was hijacked by the British boat The White Lion. On that boat, there were 20 African slaves bound to Mexico, where the Portuguese inhabited. The White Lion brought the African slaves ashore in the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia. -
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Slavery as an Instution in America
Slavery as an inherited condition starts in 1662. Africans would be shipped from their home continent and sold at auctions. They would be purchased to work on a plantation with horrible living conditions. For any minor infraction, a slave would be punished, commonly by whipping. If they tried to escape and were caught, they would have their ears cut off, be beaten severely and/or be killed. Slavery ended after the American Civil War (1861- 1865). -
Songs During Transportation
While being transported from Africa, slaves from different tribes, cultures and countries sang songs to communicate. A shipmate on a slave transportation boat from 1760 to 1770 recounts that “They frequently sing, the men and woman answering another, but what is the subject of their songs [I] cannot say.” (Rediker, 2008 p. 282) There was a notable sorrowful tone to their songs, as if they knew what their fate was. -
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman (birth name Araminta Ross) was a slave born in 1822. She escaped slavery in 1849 but went back to bring her family. Over the course of decades, she would cross into slave territory to liberate slaves. She would use the song, “Wade in the Water” to tell runaway slaves to hide in the water to throw bloodhounds off of their scent (Jones, 2005, pg.54) -
Slaves Flee To Contraband Camps
In 1861, three enslaved families fled to Fort Monroe, Virginia, starting contraband camps. These camps were refugee camps for enslaved families in the Union-occupied portions of the Confederacy during the civil war. The men would join the Union Army. Here, they would sing songs to help them navigate between slavery and freedom. -
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Civil War
The Civil War was fought between the South (Confederacy) and the North (the Union). It was primarily caused because Southern states seceded from the United States and formed the Confederacy. The focus of the war shifted after the Battle of Antietam and Abraham Lincoln announcing the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, which freed slaves in Confederate states. In total, over 180,000 slaves fought for the Union. -
During the Civil War
Former slaves fighting on the side of the Union would sing hymns and songs. This united the Black and White soldiers. Songs like "John Brown’s Body" (John Brown was an abolitionist who led an unsuccessful raid at Harpers Ferry to liberate and arm slaves) and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" helped the abolitionist movement shift to the forefront of the Civil War. -
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Reconstruction Period
The Reconstruction Era refers to the period after the Civil War when the United States tried to reintegrate the states that seceded and joined the Confederacy, while determining the new status of freed African Americans. Despite slavery ending, there was still a lot of racism and injustice towards Black people. They started to express themselves through poems and a new genre of music called the blues. -
Jim Crow Era Starts
The Jim Crow Era was a period of time after the Civil War where rules were created to put down Black people. -
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Jim Crow Era
From 1865 - 1968, a set of laws were created to legalize racial segregation and oppress Black people. The era was named after a racist character of Black stereotypes performed by a White person in blackface named Jim Crow. These laws denied African Americans the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education or other opportunities. Those who attempted to defy Jim Crow laws often faced arrest, fines, jail sentences, violence from the police and the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) and death. -
Juneteenth
Despite slavery being outlawed in 1863, not all slaves were freed. The Union General led federal troops to Galveston, Texas to let the slaves know that the Civil War has ended and they were free on June 19, 1865. -
The Birth of the Blues
After the Civil War, the South was in an economic rut. The main source of money for the South was the slave picked cotton, and slavery was no longer legal. Stricken with despair and stuck in poverty, African Americans created the blues. A mix of African spirituals, African chants, work songs, field hollers, revivalist hymns, and country dance music, the genre was spread across America by blackface shows (minstrel). Famous blues singers include Robert Johnson, BB King and Etta James. -
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WWI
During World War I (WWI), over 350,000 African Americans fought for the United States -
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The Great Migration
During WW1, many African-American families started moving from the rural South to cities in the North. This prompted White families to leave their neighborhoods (White Flight). Harlem, New York was a prominent example of the Great Migration and the White flight as over 200,000 African-Americans moved here. The experiences during this time in Harlem prompted the Harlem Renaissance and R&B music. -
"Lift Every Voice and Sing"
The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) declared that the song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the “Black National Anthem” (James, 2015). It was originally publicly performed as a poem commemorating Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and is seen as a cry for liberation and freedom for the abused and oppressed. -
Jazz
After WW1, the musical genre jazz became popular. Originating in New Orleans, it combined the blues and the musical traditions of New Orleans. It is characterized by innovative harmonies, collective improvisation, wide expressive timbres and exceptional arrangements. The singing and listening to jazz is a way of relieving and temporarily letting go of the stress of racism for many Black people. Famous jazz musicians include Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. -
R&B
When Black Americans migrated to the North during the Great Migration, they expected a better life. Instead, they were met with poverty, racism and unemployment. R&B (rhythm and blues) originated in Detroit with influences from jazz and the blues. The themes commonly expressed the experience of pain and the journey for freedom and joy and all triumphs and failures. Over time, the theme shifted towards love and sex. Famous R&B musicians include Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. -
Jim Crow Era Ends
The end of the Jim Crow era brought along more opportunities for Black Americans . -
Rap & Hip Hop
Rap music was created in the 1970’s in New York City, by Jamaican DJ Kool Herc, who was visiting his sister. He tinkered with turntables and later invited his friend, Coke La Rock, who started speaking over the music. Rap has been influenced by funk, soul, jazz, R&B and rock and roll as well as poetry. The topics of old-school rap were sex, violence and socio-economic struggle, seen as provocative. The themes have shifted over time. Famous rappers include Tupac, Jay-z and Nicki Minaj. -
Beyoncè Performs "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
At the first Coachella music festival headlined by a Black women, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles Carter, professionally known as "Beyoncé" performed the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing" -
Currently
All genres of music are listened to today. Technological changes and historical events have created new Black music. Though the function of music in Black culture has shifted over time, from a way to communicate to a way to express oneself, a similar theme is in almost all Black music. A common theme in Black music is the pain of slavery and the struggle of overcoming the strife and circumstances that have been used to oppress them.
