Thursday, February 08, 2007
W.E.B. Du Bois II
Katja
ENGL 48 B
Journal # 16, Du Bois II
8 February, 2007
"Before each chapter, as now printed, stands a bar of the Sorrow Songs, some echo of haunting melody from the only American music which welled up from black souls in the dark past." (W.E.B. Du Bois 878)
The quote is from the preface of Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk and refers to his personal affection for the musical heritage of slaves: the Negro spirituals.
Du Bois’ Sorrow Songs excerpts stand like sentinels at the entry to each of his chapters, guarding the African heritage and American culture of black Americans. The music represents the spirit of survival of slaves and a rare source of joy for those oppressed. Du Bois’ word choice gives the impression that the slaves had little choice in terms of these songs, they "welled up’ (878) from deep within; unstoppable like the flood.
Additionally, one understands that the spirituals came from way back, from some deep level of cellular memory buried in the brain stem. The spirituals are Africa, even if they are, as Du Bois states, "American music" (878), they hark back to a time and place in the "dark past" (878). I think the musical heritage of slaves was important to Du Bois because it was a way for him to experience the emotional repercussions of slavery since he himself was born post-emancipation.
The evolving culture of African-Americans in the days of W.E.B. Du Bois is fascinating. Not only was there a huge generational shift between the ex-slaves and those born free, but there was also this vast gap in long-term cultural heritage. Surely, African customs must have been repressed on the slave ships and plantations in favor of Americanized European-ism and Christianity. The creation of Sorrow Songs seems to bridge the gap between things African and things American and sets the pace for the formation of new customs relevant to the future of African-American heritage.
ENGL 48 B
Journal # 16, Du Bois II
8 February, 2007
"Before each chapter, as now printed, stands a bar of the Sorrow Songs, some echo of haunting melody from the only American music which welled up from black souls in the dark past." (W.E.B. Du Bois 878)
The quote is from the preface of Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk and refers to his personal affection for the musical heritage of slaves: the Negro spirituals.
Du Bois’ Sorrow Songs excerpts stand like sentinels at the entry to each of his chapters, guarding the African heritage and American culture of black Americans. The music represents the spirit of survival of slaves and a rare source of joy for those oppressed. Du Bois’ word choice gives the impression that the slaves had little choice in terms of these songs, they "welled up’ (878) from deep within; unstoppable like the flood.
Additionally, one understands that the spirituals came from way back, from some deep level of cellular memory buried in the brain stem. The spirituals are Africa, even if they are, as Du Bois states, "American music" (878), they hark back to a time and place in the "dark past" (878). I think the musical heritage of slaves was important to Du Bois because it was a way for him to experience the emotional repercussions of slavery since he himself was born post-emancipation.
The evolving culture of African-Americans in the days of W.E.B. Du Bois is fascinating. Not only was there a huge generational shift between the ex-slaves and those born free, but there was also this vast gap in long-term cultural heritage. Surely, African customs must have been repressed on the slave ships and plantations in favor of Americanized European-ism and Christianity. The creation of Sorrow Songs seems to bridge the gap between things African and things American and sets the pace for the formation of new customs relevant to the future of African-American heritage.
# posted by Katja @ 4:05 PM 
