Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part III of a three part series on African American Church of Christ music traditions.
Part III provides information about beatboxing and excerpts from a 2014 reddit.com discussion about the subject of beatboxing in Church of Christ worship services. (No indication was made in that discussion about the race of the people attending the churches mentioned.) That discussion also referred to two videos of religious beatboxing. Those two videos are also included in this post.
This post also showcases two examples of beatboxing (b-boxing) during African American and during Anglo-American Church of Christ praise singing. Selected discussion thread comments about handclapping during the worship service and religious beatboxing are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/seven-examples-of-african-american.html for Part II showcases several YouTube examples of African American Church of Christ a capella singing, song leader, and praise team singing. Selected comments from some of the discussion threads of these videos are also included in that post. This post doesn't include song lyrics.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/african-american-church-of-christ.html for Part I of this series. Part I features an excerpt from Lamont Ali Francies' 2013 University of San Francisco, School of Education's doctoral dissertation entitled "An Exploration of Worship Practices at an African American Church of Christ." This excerpt focuses on church traditions and possibly changing attitudes regarding hand clapping, foot patting, and the display of emotions in African American Church of Christ congregations. This excerpt also addresses attitudes regarding the a cappella singing, praise and worship teams, and song leaders in African American Churches of Christ.
Additional examples of Church of Christ singing will be showcased in other pancocojams posts. Click the "Church of Christ" tag below for those posts.
Note: The designation "Church of Christ" (CoC) isn't the same as the designation "Church of God In Christ" (COGIC).
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The content of this post is presented for cultural, religious, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composers of these songs and thanks to all those who are featured in the videos that are embedded in this post. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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INFORMATION ABOUT BEAT BOXING (B-BOXING)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatboxing
"Beatboxing (also beat boxing or b-boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum beats using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve vocal imitation of turntablism, and other musical instruments. Beatboxing today is connected with hip-hop culture, often referred to as "the fifth element" of hip-hop, although it is not limited to hip-hop music.[1][2] The term "beatboxing" is sometimes used to refer to vocal percussion in general...
History
...Techniques similar to beatboxing have been present in many American musical genres since the 19th century, such as early rural music, both black and white, religious songs, blues, ragtime, vaudeville, and hokum. Few examples are the Appalachian technique of eefing and the blues song Bye bye bird written and performed by the harmonica player Alex or Aleck Miller aka Sonny Boy Williamson II...
Origins in hip hop
The term "beatboxing" is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes. "Human beatboxing" in hip-hop originated in 1980s. Its early pioneers include Doug E. Fresh, the self-proclaimed first "human beatbox"...
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EXCERPT FROM REDDIT.COM DISCUSSION THREAD (including two video examples)
From https://www.reddit.com/r/Christianity/comments/2rzedq/church_of_christ_goers_where_instruments_are/ Church of Christ goers where instruments are forbidden, would beat boxing be allowed? submitted, 2014 by kutNpaste
"There was a thread here recently where a few CoC people were talking about how strict their Church's views on baptism and instruments in the church are and how those views sometimes drive younger people away. While it may seem tasteless, or in bad form, is there anything Biblically forbidding beat boxing in the church? Could beatboxing replace the instrumentals in traditional hymns?
Example: http://youtu.be/agkuT7a_IdY"
-snip-
Here’s that video:
Hannah and Curtis- "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" Beatbox Style
wingsofwaxonhannah, Uploaded on Nov 10, 2009
Bryn Athyn College Chapel with a new twist on music. Classic Hymn meets Beat Box style (and check out our Charity in Action Shirts!) in praise and worship.
[anonymous represented by a hypen], 2014
"So, this answer is cross-denominational and not really specific to CoC:
Depending on the church, music's style can sometimes work against its intended function. For example, in some worship services, the content is special or unusual in various ways, and that characteristic helps underscore the sense that church is sacred, that it is separate from the everyday.
... you're likely to encounter two objections to beatboxing in many churches, not just CoC: (1) it falls outside of the usual characteristics of what they would consider appropriate music for church, and (2) it means a whole set of other things that don't fit into their view of church, either."
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ThunderCrab, 2014
"I spent the first 18 years of my life in the church of Christ and going to a church of Christ high school, so here's what I have experienced. Because each church is self governing, it will really depend on which church you are at. For example, my grandparents go to a very traditional CoC, and because they have been singing the same hymns for the last 50 years, so they would see beatboxing as an attempt to bring the secular world into the church, and may even see it as immature. My school and church at home, on the other hand, tend to lean towards the "non-denominational" churches of Christ (meaning they tend to use newer worship songs over the old hymns, and are less strict on the instrument rules"), and used beat boxing. For example, at my school, we had a "varsity" choir who used beat boxing at many events.
Personally, I'm not a fan of beatboxing. I say if you are going to imitate the sounds of instruments, I say just bring in the instruments because it will always sound better, and I'm quite biased cause I grew up loving loving the old hymns and I am not a fan of some of the new "pop" worship songs."
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[anonymous represented by a hyphen], 2014
..."Beatboxing at the churches I grew up would have gotten you side eyed during service and probably admonished afterwards."
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Mozen, 2014
"How is your voice not an instrument already? And how do you deal with versus like Psalm 150:5 "praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals." or other versus talking about using instruments to praise God?"
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ThunderCrab, 2014
"To answer that you have to go back to the beliefs that the Church of Christ and other churches that emerged from American Restoration movement were founded on. Basically, the founders of the Church of Christ looked around and came to the belief that all these different creeds that all these different churches had were unbiblical and did nothing but distorted Christ's vision of the church. So they decided the only way to restore the early church was to only look at what is described in the New Testament. There is no mention of the use of instruments in the New Testament, therefore to use them is unbiblical."
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havearemotecontrol, 2014
"Technically, yes. I grew up in very strict Churches of Christ, and this was generally acceptable at youth rallies that featured acapella music groups. However, in my experience, it was something that there were just unspoken rules about (clapping also fell into this category). These were things that were totally cool in youth-oriented events and perhaps in special, non-Sunday worship events, but no one ever seemed to even consider in normal church services. I never heard anyone talk about the principles behind this. It was just the way things were.
More than anything, though, you NEED to see this wonderful gem from the 80s/early 90s.
It has beatboxing.
It has mullets.
It has baggy pants with elastic waistbands.
-snip-
Here’s that video:
AVB - A Song In My Soul
The Acappella Company, Uploaded on Jan 24, 2009
Wes McKenzie - Bass Jarel Jay Smith - Baritone and Vocal Percussion Danny Elliot - 2nd Tenor Bret Testerman - Baritone Terry Cheatman - 1st Tenor In this place where Acappella sings Well On My Way.
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Church of ChristHUmarWhitill, 2014
"I a youth minister in a CofC. Typically beatboxing is "ok" but not really done at any of the churches I've been at. Like no one will complain if it was done at a youth thing but would not be a fan of it happening all the time or in Sunday morning service. As mentioned by u/a_p_carter_year_b there isnt a desire for it on a typical sunday worship because it doesn't "fit" in most older members characteristics of church songs. While I personally have no problem with instruments our "traditional hymns" don't have anything that really needs replaced with beatboxing especailly since most CofC only have one person leading and no one mic'd to hear if they were beatboxing."
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Church of ChristLucasWG, 2014
"Just like a lot of others have mentioned, it's most likely going to depend on which church you are at. I know for example a lot of CoC don't typically clap during worship services, but at mine we have always clapped after a baptism. I think most members of my church believe, at least in part, that instruments could be distracting from the meaning of the hymns. If beatboxing could be seen as having that same effect, then there would most likely be at least a few people that wouldn't feel comfortable with it. I think it'd be interesting to hear, but I don't know that I would personally want to listen to it a lot anyways, especially during worship service haha." ...
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FEATURED VIDEOS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH OF CHRIST PRAISE TEAMS
Example #1: Chris Turner - Let The Spirit of The Lord
humbleisdaway Uploaded on Dec 18, 2011
must see tv. chris performing let it rise at the newark church of christ during the easternaires annual end of the year concert.
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread. These comments are given in relative chronological order based on the year that they were published with the oldest dated comment by year given first. However, these comments may not be in consecutive order. I've assigned numbers for referencing purposes only.
2013
1. alibjohn
"saaang Bro.!!!"
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2. msdonna2008
"It was mentioned in a comment that someone remembered him from St. Augustine COGIC. Being a COC member myself, this is definitely COC singing. I wonder if the person meant COC and not COGIC."
-snip-
COC= Church Of Christ; COGIC= Church Of God In Christ
-snip-
Chris Turner is a Church Of Christ song leader.
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2014
3. patientz430
"I'm just curious, but did the Lord authorize clapping in his church?"
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Reply
4. Clark Raulerson
"yes."
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Reply
5. Ayanna Ayeni
"+patientz430 Psalms 47!!"
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Reply
6. ShaMyiah Langston
"+Ayanna Ayeni Dont get me wrong, its a beautiful song, but thats an old testament scripture. Hebrews 8:8;13 and 9:15-18"
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Reply
7. Ayanna Ayeni
"+ShaMyiah Langston I still love the song and the clapping is not a sin!"
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8. edthorn24
"I can't believe people are still arguing whether or not you can clap or not. Please grow up spiritually. Too much Jesus to be preached. Too many souls to be saved to be that concerned by an expression of excitement. I laugh at people these days."
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Reply
9. TheEmanram
"Why laugh??? Many people feel strongly about that situation of clapping or beat boxing in the worship. Its not the place to do things like that. Sing from the heart and give HIM praise, honor, and the glory that he deserves."
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Reply
10. TheEmanram
"Honestly what do you get out of clapping and beatbox??? This is such a beautiful song that is sung to praise him. Voice is being drowned out with all the other stuff going on. The saints gather to sing and hear his word. We praise him everyday by being obedient to his word and his teachings. When we gather, we should give HIM the upmost respect. That's praise."
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Reply
11. Quentin Scott
"So what you are saying is clapping our hands is not praising or respecting God? That doesn't really make much sense."
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Reply
12. Chela Carter
"I know this one thing! Although this is something felt strongly about, I don't believe it's worth arguing about. If you don't believe in clapping, then don't clap. If you believe in clapping and you go somewhere where they don't, then I think common sense tells you not to clap as not to offend your brother in Christ. Let the Lord be the judge in the end. Until then, back to the worshipping!"
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Reply
13. Paul Woodard [2016]
"+Chela Carter Said it perfect"
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14. Calvin Bowe
"psalms 47:1,98:8,O clap your hands, All ye people;Shout unto GOD with the voice of Triumph.Let the floods clap their hands;let the hills be Joyful together.Are clear exhortation to Clap and Sing,But those pious people thought it was a sin.And whenever GOD gave a comand not tod o something,There is judgement behind it.There is not judgement behind what David did,Only the mention of him bringing music into the temple,Never did GOD condeem David for that.Example of judgement,eli's two sons were burning strange incense in the twmple and GOD consummed them,Uzziah touched the ark of the convent and was killed right then,But no where does GOD condeem music,It was their heart read Amos from chp 1til you get to the vs.they love to quote as GOD condeming music in Worship Be Bless by the way GOD speaks and what He speak about"
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Reply
15. Ayanna Ayeni
"+Calvin Bowe Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love how u back that up with scriptures!! I was wondering what is all this talk about clapping hands? I will clap, jump, run, dance, sing for my loud and Praise his name!!"
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Reply
16. Calvin Bowe
"Ayanna,Thanks for that they always have hit me over my head formsaying this lol,the believers whom i worship with don't even think to clap.All this is from wrong teachings.European stiffedneck people,who were scared of everything.Don't Quench my SPIRIT! or JOY! Because you don't know where i'm come from,just the past week,let alone years SO PRAISE HIM PRAISE in the morning PRAISE HIM in the Noon time PRAISE HIM in the Night Time PRAISE YE THE LORD!"
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17. antwaniesha daniels
"Sing it brother"
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2015
18. 6153calme
"too much boom boom...would like to hear it as in the church...that is a capella... he sounds way to good...come on church of Christ, let's not bring secular beat boxing in the church...it neither teaches or admonishes...it is an addition to the song...Let Chris sing he sounds so beautiful!!!"
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Reply
19. Clifford Dotson
"+6153calme its all voice,, nothing wrong with that,, its still acapella and nothing secular about that,,, dont be against everything."
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Reply
20. 6153calme
"+Clifford Dotson +Clifford Dotson it is not still a capella because a capella means, "as in the church." The bible says when we sing we are to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, TEACHING and ADMONISHING one another...the melody is supposed to come from the HEART...We are supposed to sing with the UNDERSTANDING....neither of which can be accomplished by bringing street performances into the house of God....it's time we give God what HE desires not what feels good and entertains us....want entertainment get it at home"
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21. Clark Raulerson
"Please LET the Spirit rise among us and not argue over petty matters, Ephesians 5 is about being filled with the Holy Spirit not exclusively meeting in a "church setting service."
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Reply
22. pumpsumiron
"Yes, have the freedom to sing about the Spirit of God rise among us, clap your hands and let your voices rise!
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24. Justin
"Sang church!!!"
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25. LuJack Martinez
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, LET IT RISE!!! "Stand if you will???" How can you NOT STAND, SHOUT, CLAP, PRAISE, etc. when this brother leads a song??? "I don't mind, I don't mind, I don't mind!!!" YOU GO, CHRIS TURNER!!! We're gonna do this at our Global Leadership Conference this August!!! LJM "
-snip-
Here are two other comments from this video - No1191. Let it Rise- Chris Turner-song leader [2011]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwE02xx_b
Greg Allmon, 2012
"Love the song, but hate the B-Boxing.."
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Reply
jean19171, 2013
"+Greg Allmon Its their voice thats making the sound, didnt God say everything with breath praise him?anything livin its not a dead instrument its their voice, i love it i use to disagree til i had a deep thought thinking session with myself"
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Example #2: Frank Melton III "Let The Spirit of the Lord Rise" @ [at] West Oak Grove C.O.C.
TheArchieB, Uploaded on Jan 24, 2011
Sunday Morning Going down in Mississippi!!!! This is how it goes down in the sipp!!!!! This is at West Oak Grove Church Of Christ!!!! Frank doing it!!!!!!
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
2014
1. Arthur Howell BE A POET
"they are jamming in the house of the lord! did you hear those boys. they dont need any drums."
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2. Adrianne Gibbs
"Praising the Lord COC style Go Frank III.....sang!!!"
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3. LuJack Martinez
Psalm 47:1
http://www.biblestudytools.com/psalms/47-1.html
"1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy"
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2015
4. Stanley Adams
"Pentecostal church of Christ looks like it to me with their rhythm of machine, etc."
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Reply
5. TheArchieB
"+Stanley Adams I love this you don't like it?"
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Reply
6. Stanley Adams
"Hey Archie, these are great singers, and I am a member of the cofc. The issue is why must some of our black churches insist on making drum noises? Is this not the same as a drum?? That is my point, all it does is excite the spirit to the point of almost being a Pentecostal religion."
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Reply
7. TheArchieB
"which came first the drum or the voice? and does it make it wrong because you don't like it? AS far as some our BLACK Churches insist on making???? Some of our WHITE Churches has went to instrument.... you do know that the culture is different from yours right?"
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This concludes this pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Seven Examples Of African American Church Of Christ Singing (videos & comments)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a three part series on African American Church of Christ music traditions.
Part II showcases several YouTube examples of African American Church of Christ a capella singing, song leader, and praise team singing. Selected comments from some of the discussion threads of these videos are also included in that post. This post doesn't include song lyrics.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/african-american-church-of-christ.html for Part I of this series. Part I features an excerpt from Lamont Ali Francies' 2013 University of San Francisco, School of Education's doctoral dissertation entitled "An Exploration of Worship Practices at an African American Church of Christ." This excerpt focuses on church traditions and possibly changing attitudes regarding hand clapping, foot patting, and the display of emotions in African American Church of Christ congregations. This excerpt also addresses attitudes regarding the a cappella singing, praise and worship teams, and song leaders in African American Churches of Christ.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/handclapping-beatboxing-in-church-of.html for Part III of this series. Part III provides an excerpt from a reddit.com discussion of beatboxing and handclapping in Church of Christ congregations. That discussion also referenced two videos which are included in this pancocojams post. Part III also showcases two videos of African American Church of Christ praise singing which includes beatboxing. Selected comments about handclapping and beatboxing from those discussion threads are also included in that post.
Additional examples of Church of Christ singing will be showcased in other pancocojams posts. Click the "Church of Christ" tag below for those posts.
Note: The designations "Church of Christ" ("CoC" or "CofC") isn't the same as the designation "Church of God In Christ" (COGIC).
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The content of this post is presented for cultural, religious, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composers of these songs and thanks to all those who are featured in the videos that are embedded in this post. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: 77. Harold Robinson - Sing Hallelujah
.
pkteemaxUploaded on Sep 29, 2008
Harold Robinson-leading Sing Hallelujah
@ Harlem CoC [Church of Christ]
-snip-
I think the numbers in front of the song leader's name for most of these featured examples indicates the number that this song is found in the hymnal.
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
DonnellBolton, 2009
"keep on singing brother :-)"
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joe pit, 2013
"could some one share the words to this song with me please. its a sweet song it set my joy bells ringing"
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Example #2: Paul Williams -I Am Resolved
pkteemax, Uploaded on Oct 2, 2008
Paul Williams leading COC singing at Northeastern Lectureship in Harlem Wednesday nite.
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Example #3: 507. Oh I Want to See Him-Central coC and Curtis Williamson
pkteemax, Uploaded on May 10, 2009
Gospel Explosion weekend in Rochester, NY. Song leader is from Indianapolis, Indiana
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
2009
Marcus Carter*
"i have a slight problem with this...while the coc does not believe in instruments (as they interpret the Pauline scripture)...I don't think Paul had in mind that we sound like instruments...one guy sounded like a bass guitar! It's like the 7th Day Adventists who don't eat pork or some who are vegetarians will buy that fake pork or meat product...that 'tastes like' what they believe they should not eat? Harmony is one thing...but replicating instruments is another...just my thoughts...no harm."
-snip-
*Replies to this comment suggest that Marcus Carte also used the name “The Methodist Preacher”
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Reply
Phillip Simmons*
"To the "Methodist Preacher". That's what you call bass and a nice sound system with good acoustics.......The vocal chord is the original instrument. All instruments that came after are replicating sounds that man's vocal chords can produce.....just without being limited by breath. Do you not agree?"
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Reply
quietnesswisdom [2011]
"The Methodist Preacher pointed out a valid problem. The man that "sounds like a bass guitar" is not singing. The Bible teaches that we should be "teaching and admonishing in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." Each Christian is to obey that command. The man that "sounds like a bass guitar" is violating that scripture because no one is being taught or admonished by his bass sound. Lets keep looking at scripture and making sure that we are being obedient and not just following traditions."
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cpink19 [2011]
"+quietnesswisdom @quietnesswisdom He may SOUND like a bass guitar, but I bet he's not trying to! He is using his voice, just in a deep pitch! And just a note for bass singers: most of the time, the man that's singing bass(at the time) is usually SINGING the words, just at a tad different speed, to keep the speed of the song! Point is COC members don't use instruments. It just so happens that the voice God gave us, gives us the creativity to SING and SING like the possible sound of an instrument!"
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Reply
mrslowens1 [2011]
"@MethodistPreacher The Church of Christ does not having instruments during worship service because you (or anyone else) can not find New Testament scripture that charges the church to use them. the Church of christ follows New Testament scripture only.....Mr Preacher as you know (or should) the Mosaic law was killed when Jesus came to die for our sins. You can't pick and choose what you see fit to follow."
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Reply
a1xluv [2011]
"I do AGREE with the MethodistPreacher on that...We should sing melody and make music in our hearts to the Lord. Edifying with our words...And sounding like an instrument is not edification. We should sing our hearts out to the Lord! BTW David NEVER came into the temple with his harp...He always played outside in the courts...And if you study you would understand that we were commanded in the New Testament to "sing" not Play musical instruments. Man "added" and brought that in on their own accord"
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2011
TJ Braggs
"The bible says that we should sing with melody from our hearts. That is why we do not use instruments. We don't need them look how great they sound. God Bless!"
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2013
LeAndra Dozier
"Can't we put our differences aside and enjoy the song. It's so beautiful. Nothing else should matter."
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2014
LaurinlaRoux
"Rebecca Jean. In the new testament, which we are to live by says, we are to sing and make melodies in our hearts. They never included having instruments in that scripture. ephesians 5:19.
Hope I helped!"
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Reply
phil mcmaken
"well they didn't have microphones and amps and overhead lights in the original Jersualem church either but we use them because it sounds and looks better.
coc is just being traditionalistic and afraid of "new things" Would you drive a car
with no A.C. just because Henry Ford didn't originally put it in his cars?"
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Example #4: 723. I Know I've Been Changed- Earl Washington, song leader
pkteemax, Uploaded on Oct 19, 2009
Third Sunday singing at Harlem church of Christ
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
2010
Luiz henrique Campos
"Wonderful Negro Spiritual Style !!!!"
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Kenneth Morgan
"this song is not scriptural. i haven't read where the angels sign names. this is The Church Of Christ and we must watch what we say or sing".
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Reply
roziejo [2011]
"+Kenneth Morgan @kennethamorgan
though the words may not be directly scriptural, they are still good and true and worthy, because they are sung from the spirits and souls of god's people. who are you to judge and dampen their voices, the beautiful voices of your brothers and sisters in christ? let satan not turn us against one another, but let the saved and the saints sing together with love for each other and love for our lord... amen."
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Reply
PDemi [2012]
"+Kenneth Morgan Good point...we must be very careful! it's like me singing praises to my preacher for getting me to heaven...that's not scriptural at all. I'm not aware of angels adding to or taking away from the book of life! Song or not, this is during worship to God and should be 100% scriptural at all times! From another member of the Church of Christ"
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Reply
StoneCampbellforLife [2012]
"+Kenneth Morgan This is the spirit that has destroyed the CofC. Thankfully this kind of thinking and hermeneutic is fizzling out. It's called poetic license. C'mon, brother."
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2011
Shakia Johnson
"i really like Ear Washington singing. I'm a member of Gary COC under the leadership of Robert L. Holt. Good singing from the heart and soul, the angels in heaven are rejoicing"
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Example #5: Church of Christ regional singing 2010
tony cUploaded on Aug 20, 2010
SERSA regional singing 2010 preview video. Hosted by Sheldon Heights Church of Christ. Order your full DVD at 773-568-2929. The preview shows Sheldon Heights singing the theme song, "Give Me A Song" featuring Kamie Carter and Tony Carter and the Schrader Lane Acappella Chorus featuring Darwin Mason Sr. and Darwin Jr.
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Caramel6Cutie9, 2011
"Sing it sister!! It's such a blessing to see acapella music at its finest...#BellfortCofCHouTx"
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rachelmm05, 2012
"this is what i call Real singing! acapella singing leaves no wiggle room either you have the note or you dont! :) not hating on anyone who sings with music i do myself but this is jsut another level!"
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tony c, 2012
"Mark 14:26 (KJV)
"And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives."
I'm so glad many of you have been moved by this song. That's the sole purpose it was written and sung. Like Jesus chose to sing before facing His trial, persecution, and crucifixion, my prayer is that in your trial, you too will find comfort in a song. - Tony Carter"
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Cheryl Christian, 2013
"Who wrote "Give Me A Song"? It's beautiful!"
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Reply
tony c, 2013
"+Cheryl Christian Me, Tony Carter from Chicago, Il Thank you Cheryl!"
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strivingat40, 2015
"where is this commanded in God's word? how are we suppose to be different from denominational churches if this is going on?"
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Example #6: I'd Rather Have Jesus (Acapella Singing)
Wilsonrdcoc, Published on Jul 8, 2012
A few saints at Wilson Rd singing "Id rather have Jesus"
Church of Christ singing. There is no record of any Church of Christ in the New Testament scriptures that used instrumental music in their worship. In the Old testament God commanded David to ordain the Levites to use the instruments(1Chron15:16) (2Chron.29:30;30:21) (Neh.11:23) (Ezra.7:24-26). In God's word, God did not input Instruments in HIS CHURCH. If he would have wanted them HE WOULD HAVE PUT THEM, but Christ crucified the old law and ordinances to the cross. The Instrument that we use today is the Spirit and the Heart (Eph.5:19) (Col.3:16) (Heb.2:12) (James.5:13) (Matt.26:30) (Acts.16:25) (Rom.15:9) (1Cor.14:15) www.wilsonrdchurchofchrist.org Humble, tx
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Example #7: Acapella Singing at Suitland Road Church of Christ
Hamil Harris, Published on Apr 16, 2013
At the Suitland Road Church of Christ Melvin Shannon Jr leads "I'll be Somewhere," listening at church's 25th anniversary revival
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This concludes Part II of this series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part II of a three part series on African American Church of Christ music traditions.
Part II showcases several YouTube examples of African American Church of Christ a capella singing, song leader, and praise team singing. Selected comments from some of the discussion threads of these videos are also included in that post. This post doesn't include song lyrics.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/african-american-church-of-christ.html for Part I of this series. Part I features an excerpt from Lamont Ali Francies' 2013 University of San Francisco, School of Education's doctoral dissertation entitled "An Exploration of Worship Practices at an African American Church of Christ." This excerpt focuses on church traditions and possibly changing attitudes regarding hand clapping, foot patting, and the display of emotions in African American Church of Christ congregations. This excerpt also addresses attitudes regarding the a cappella singing, praise and worship teams, and song leaders in African American Churches of Christ.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/handclapping-beatboxing-in-church-of.html for Part III of this series. Part III provides an excerpt from a reddit.com discussion of beatboxing and handclapping in Church of Christ congregations. That discussion also referenced two videos which are included in this pancocojams post. Part III also showcases two videos of African American Church of Christ praise singing which includes beatboxing. Selected comments about handclapping and beatboxing from those discussion threads are also included in that post.
Additional examples of Church of Christ singing will be showcased in other pancocojams posts. Click the "Church of Christ" tag below for those posts.
Note: The designations "Church of Christ" ("CoC" or "CofC") isn't the same as the designation "Church of God In Christ" (COGIC).
****
The content of this post is presented for cultural, religious, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composers of these songs and thanks to all those who are featured in the videos that are embedded in this post. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: 77. Harold Robinson - Sing Hallelujah
.
pkteemaxUploaded on Sep 29, 2008
Harold Robinson-leading Sing Hallelujah
@ Harlem CoC [Church of Christ]
-snip-
I think the numbers in front of the song leader's name for most of these featured examples indicates the number that this song is found in the hymnal.
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
DonnellBolton, 2009
"keep on singing brother :-)"
**
joe pit, 2013
"could some one share the words to this song with me please. its a sweet song it set my joy bells ringing"
****
Example #2: Paul Williams -I Am Resolved
pkteemax, Uploaded on Oct 2, 2008
Paul Williams leading COC singing at Northeastern Lectureship in Harlem Wednesday nite.
****
Example #3: 507. Oh I Want to See Him-Central coC and Curtis Williamson
pkteemax, Uploaded on May 10, 2009
Gospel Explosion weekend in Rochester, NY. Song leader is from Indianapolis, Indiana
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
2009
Marcus Carter*
"i have a slight problem with this...while the coc does not believe in instruments (as they interpret the Pauline scripture)...I don't think Paul had in mind that we sound like instruments...one guy sounded like a bass guitar! It's like the 7th Day Adventists who don't eat pork or some who are vegetarians will buy that fake pork or meat product...that 'tastes like' what they believe they should not eat? Harmony is one thing...but replicating instruments is another...just my thoughts...no harm."
-snip-
*Replies to this comment suggest that Marcus Carte also used the name “The Methodist Preacher”
**
Reply
Phillip Simmons*
"To the "Methodist Preacher". That's what you call bass and a nice sound system with good acoustics.......The vocal chord is the original instrument. All instruments that came after are replicating sounds that man's vocal chords can produce.....just without being limited by breath. Do you not agree?"
**
Reply
quietnesswisdom [2011]
"The Methodist Preacher pointed out a valid problem. The man that "sounds like a bass guitar" is not singing. The Bible teaches that we should be "teaching and admonishing in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." Each Christian is to obey that command. The man that "sounds like a bass guitar" is violating that scripture because no one is being taught or admonished by his bass sound. Lets keep looking at scripture and making sure that we are being obedient and not just following traditions."
**
cpink19 [2011]
"+quietnesswisdom @quietnesswisdom He may SOUND like a bass guitar, but I bet he's not trying to! He is using his voice, just in a deep pitch! And just a note for bass singers: most of the time, the man that's singing bass(at the time) is usually SINGING the words, just at a tad different speed, to keep the speed of the song! Point is COC members don't use instruments. It just so happens that the voice God gave us, gives us the creativity to SING and SING like the possible sound of an instrument!"
**
Reply
mrslowens1 [2011]
"@MethodistPreacher The Church of Christ does not having instruments during worship service because you (or anyone else) can not find New Testament scripture that charges the church to use them. the Church of christ follows New Testament scripture only.....Mr Preacher as you know (or should) the Mosaic law was killed when Jesus came to die for our sins. You can't pick and choose what you see fit to follow."
**
Reply
a1xluv [2011]
"I do AGREE with the MethodistPreacher on that...We should sing melody and make music in our hearts to the Lord. Edifying with our words...And sounding like an instrument is not edification. We should sing our hearts out to the Lord! BTW David NEVER came into the temple with his harp...He always played outside in the courts...And if you study you would understand that we were commanded in the New Testament to "sing" not Play musical instruments. Man "added" and brought that in on their own accord"
****
2011
TJ Braggs
"The bible says that we should sing with melody from our hearts. That is why we do not use instruments. We don't need them look how great they sound. God Bless!"
****
2013
LeAndra Dozier
"Can't we put our differences aside and enjoy the song. It's so beautiful. Nothing else should matter."
****
2014
LaurinlaRoux
"Rebecca Jean. In the new testament, which we are to live by says, we are to sing and make melodies in our hearts. They never included having instruments in that scripture. ephesians 5:19.
Hope I helped!"
**
Reply
phil mcmaken
"well they didn't have microphones and amps and overhead lights in the original Jersualem church either but we use them because it sounds and looks better.
coc is just being traditionalistic and afraid of "new things" Would you drive a car
with no A.C. just because Henry Ford didn't originally put it in his cars?"
****
Example #4: 723. I Know I've Been Changed- Earl Washington, song leader
pkteemax, Uploaded on Oct 19, 2009
Third Sunday singing at Harlem church of Christ
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
2010
Luiz henrique Campos
"Wonderful Negro Spiritual Style !!!!"
**
Kenneth Morgan
"this song is not scriptural. i haven't read where the angels sign names. this is The Church Of Christ and we must watch what we say or sing".
**
Reply
roziejo [2011]
"+Kenneth Morgan @kennethamorgan
though the words may not be directly scriptural, they are still good and true and worthy, because they are sung from the spirits and souls of god's people. who are you to judge and dampen their voices, the beautiful voices of your brothers and sisters in christ? let satan not turn us against one another, but let the saved and the saints sing together with love for each other and love for our lord... amen."
**
Reply
PDemi [2012]
"+Kenneth Morgan Good point...we must be very careful! it's like me singing praises to my preacher for getting me to heaven...that's not scriptural at all. I'm not aware of angels adding to or taking away from the book of life! Song or not, this is during worship to God and should be 100% scriptural at all times! From another member of the Church of Christ"
**
Reply
StoneCampbellforLife [2012]
"+Kenneth Morgan This is the spirit that has destroyed the CofC. Thankfully this kind of thinking and hermeneutic is fizzling out. It's called poetic license. C'mon, brother."
**
2011
Shakia Johnson
"i really like Ear Washington singing. I'm a member of Gary COC under the leadership of Robert L. Holt. Good singing from the heart and soul, the angels in heaven are rejoicing"
****
Example #5: Church of Christ regional singing 2010
tony cUploaded on Aug 20, 2010
SERSA regional singing 2010 preview video. Hosted by Sheldon Heights Church of Christ. Order your full DVD at 773-568-2929. The preview shows Sheldon Heights singing the theme song, "Give Me A Song" featuring Kamie Carter and Tony Carter and the Schrader Lane Acappella Chorus featuring Darwin Mason Sr. and Darwin Jr.
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Caramel6Cutie9, 2011
"Sing it sister!! It's such a blessing to see acapella music at its finest...#BellfortCofCHouTx"
**
rachelmm05, 2012
"this is what i call Real singing! acapella singing leaves no wiggle room either you have the note or you dont! :) not hating on anyone who sings with music i do myself but this is jsut another level!"
**
tony c, 2012
"Mark 14:26 (KJV)
"And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives."
I'm so glad many of you have been moved by this song. That's the sole purpose it was written and sung. Like Jesus chose to sing before facing His trial, persecution, and crucifixion, my prayer is that in your trial, you too will find comfort in a song. - Tony Carter"
**
Cheryl Christian, 2013
"Who wrote "Give Me A Song"? It's beautiful!"
**
Reply
tony c, 2013
"+Cheryl Christian Me, Tony Carter from Chicago, Il Thank you Cheryl!"
**
strivingat40, 2015
"where is this commanded in God's word? how are we suppose to be different from denominational churches if this is going on?"
****
Example #6: I'd Rather Have Jesus (Acapella Singing)
Wilsonrdcoc, Published on Jul 8, 2012
A few saints at Wilson Rd singing "Id rather have Jesus"
Church of Christ singing. There is no record of any Church of Christ in the New Testament scriptures that used instrumental music in their worship. In the Old testament God commanded David to ordain the Levites to use the instruments(1Chron15:16) (2Chron.29:30;30:21) (Neh.11:23) (Ezra.7:24-26). In God's word, God did not input Instruments in HIS CHURCH. If he would have wanted them HE WOULD HAVE PUT THEM, but Christ crucified the old law and ordinances to the cross. The Instrument that we use today is the Spirit and the Heart (Eph.5:19) (Col.3:16) (Heb.2:12) (James.5:13) (Matt.26:30) (Acts.16:25) (Rom.15:9) (1Cor.14:15) www.wilsonrdchurchofchrist.org Humble, tx
****
Example #7: Acapella Singing at Suitland Road Church of Christ
Hamil Harris, Published on Apr 16, 2013
At the Suitland Road Church of Christ Melvin Shannon Jr leads "I'll be Somewhere," listening at church's 25th anniversary revival
****
This concludes Part II of this series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
African American Church Of Christ Worship Practices (Excerpt From Lamont Ali Francies' 2013 doctoral dissertation)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a three part series on African American Church of Christ (CoC) music traditions.
Part I features an excerpt from Lamont Ali Francies' 2013 University of San Francisco, School of Education's doctoral dissertation entitled "An Exploration of Worship Practices at an African American Church of Christ." This excerpt focuses on church traditions and possibly changing attitudes regarding hand clapping, foot patting, and the display of emotions in African American Church of Christ congregations. This excerpt also addresses attitudes regarding the a cappella singing, praise and worship teams, and song leaders in African American Churches of Christ.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/seven-examples-of-african-american.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases several YouTube examples of African American Church of Christ a capella singing, song leader, and praise team singing. Selected comments from some of the discussion threads of these videos are also included in that post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/handclapping-beatboxing-in-church-of.html for Part III of this series. Part III provides an excerpt from a reddit.com discussion of beatboxing and handclapping in Church of Christ congregations. That discussion also referenced two videos which are included in this pancocojams post. Part III also showcases two videos of African American Church of Christ praise singing which includes beatboxing. Selected comments about handclapping and beatboxing from those discussion threads are also included in that post.
Additional examples of Church of Christ singing will be showcased in other pancocojams posts. Click the "Church of Christ" tag below for those posts.
****
The content of this post is presented for historical, sociocultural, and religious purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Lamont Ali Francies for his research on this subject. Also, thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
Note: The designations "Church of Christ" ("CoC" or "CofC") isn't the same as the designation "Church of God In Christ" (COGIC).
****
BACKGROUND: INFORMATION ABOUT CHURCH OF CHRIST
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churches_of_Christ
"Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone in order to be the church described in Scripture. They believe that any individual (from the time Christ established the Church on the Day of Pentecost until now) can be added by the Lord to His church when they hear and believe the truth, repent of their sins, confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and are baptized for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:36-47).
Churches of Christ in the United States have their roots in the American Restoration Movement. The movement began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century under the leadership of Thomas and Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott, and Barton W. Stone. Those leaders had declared independence from their Presbyterian roots and the traditional creeds, seeking a fresh start to restore the New Testament church. They did not see themselves as establishing a new church, but rather sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament."[2]:54 The names "Church of Christ," "Christian Church," and "Disciples of Christ" were adopted by the movement because they believed these terms to be biblical, rather than denominational"...
A cappella worship
The Churches of Christ generally combine the lack of any historical evidence that the early church used musical instruments in worship[2]:47[16]:237–238[55]:415 and the belief that there is no scriptural support for using instruments in the church's worship service[6][16]:244–246 to decide that instruments should not be used today in worship. Churches of Christ have historically practiced a cappella music in worship services.[6][14]:240[15]:124
The use of musical instruments in worship was a divisive topic within the Stone-Campbell Movement from its earliest years, when some adherents opposed the practice on scriptural grounds, while others may have relied on a cappella simply because they lacked access to musical instruments. Alexander Campbell opposed the use of instruments in worship. As early as 1855, some Restoration Movement churches were using organs or pianos, ultimately leading the Churches of Christ to separate from the groups that condoned instrumental music.[68]...
There are congregations that permit hand-clapping and a few that use musical instruments in worship.[14]:240[55]:417[69] Some of the latter describe themselves as a "Church of Christ (Instrumental)".[54]"...
Members: 2,034,338 worldwide; 1,367,859 in the United States[1]"...
-snip-
Informal references are made online (including in the dissertation that is the focus of this post] to White American(or Caucasian American) Churches of Christ and to African American Churches of Christ. However, some American Churches of Christ are racially integrated.
Delta Bay Church Of Christ (Antioch, California) is the African American Church of Christ that is the focus of Lamont Ali Francies' doctoral dissertation. As per the videos that I've seen of that church's praise and worship team, it appears that the congregation's worship service includes hand clapping, but doesn't include musical instruments. That said, the praise and worship team utilizes finger snapping and/or beat-boxing.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT PRAISE AND WORSHIP SONGS
From http://christianmusic.about.com/od/praiseandworship/f/faqpw.htmWhat is Praise and Worship Music? by Kim Jones, Updated July 27, 2015.
"Question: What is Praise and Worship Music?
Answer: Praise and Worship could be any type of music that glorifies God regardless of the style. However, "Corporate Praise and Worship Music" is commonly found in contemporary churches of today. Lyrically, it features generally short and easy to sing (and remember) choruses that repeat several times. This is part of what makes the style perfect for corporate worship because even people who aren't familiar with a particular song can sing along with ease after hearing one or two repeats of the chorus."
****
FEATURED EXCERPT: "AN EXPLORATION OF WORSHIP PRACTICES AT AN AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH OF CHRIST"
From http://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=diss
Lamont Ali Francies, Doctoral Dissertations, Paper 76 University of San Francisco
"Page 69
...handclapping is an issue with which some Black congregations still struggle. For a long time it was seen as a violation of the scriptural mandates for worship because it was thought clapping was another form of instrumental music. Clapping is also done in both secular and denominational settings which made it forbidden during the worship. Clapping is seen as done for entertainment purposes and showmanship, and those practices could not be done during the worship. Jen, who has been a member of Churches of Christ for over 60 years, stated that she was taught not to express herself emotionally ing worship.
Page 70
After coming to the Delta Bay Church of Christ, Jean felt liberated to express herself culturally. She was taught early in her upbringing that hand clapping was a sin. She no longer believes that, but her liberation was not without a cost. Many of her peers who have grown up in the Church of Christ over the years do not agree with this stance. She candidly stated
Jean admitted that she felt pressure from other Blacks in Church of Christ to leave the Delta Bay Church of Christ because of its violation of Church of Christ Norms. She was told that the Delta Bay Church of Christ was no really a Church of Christ because its atmosphere of emotionalism mirrored more the Baptist church. Jean knew, however, that the message was the same but the Delta Bay Church of Christ employed a worship methodology that would better engage the community....
Page 71
A new generation of African Americans believers are beginning to reject the Anglo-Saxon cultural norms of the 1940s in huge numbers...
[Dr. Jack] Evans, president of Southwestern University (the only historically Black college in the United States associated with the Church of Christ) cautioned members of this fellowship about excessive emotionalism (2002).
Evans, who since has been described as one of the most influential leaders of the African American Church of Christ, believed that clapping in the worship service is not wrong in itself when it emanates from an individual’s joy, but when orchestrated, with everyone will clap on cue, it becomes ritualistic and superficial….
Page 72
Evans (2002) admitted “When one tries to tell another how to express his joy, he is as guilty as the one who orchestrates the clapping ‘on cue’ of others who have made the clapping a proscribed ritual.” Worship should not be culturally regulated but too often it has been under the guise as scripture.
This practice of cultural regulation began as White brethren shaped their Black counterparts. Clear evidence exists of cultural regulation as Black Churches of Christ regulate each other using Eurocentric standards to measure faithfulness. African American congregations who worship “too Black” or demonstrate too much emotion are castigated in this fellowship as apostates…
Page 74
Praise Teams
A praise team in Churches of Christ consist of men (and sometimes women) who stand before the congregation to lead the congregation in song. The praise teams were not designated to serenade the congregation but to lead its section in its parts. For 3 years, the Delta Bay Church Of Christ has employed praise teams in its worship to enhance singing. The Delta Bay Praise Team consists of men and women (Black and White) singers in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. These individuals lead the congregation in weekly praise. Praise and worship at the Delta Bay congregation has been described by participants as moving and inspirational. Although, the congregation has chosen to remain a capella, the decision has not had a negative effect on members...
After the praise team was implemented, reaction from the congregation was mostly positive, however, reactions from other local African American Churches of Christ were mixed.. Other Black congregations opined that because praise teams are not specifically prescribed in scripture, the practice is sinful. Other congregants believed that praise teams were acceptable as long as they didn’t include women...
Page 75
As praise teams are not mentioned in scripture, neither are song leaders, which are used by the majority of African American Churches of Christ. If Churches of Christ uses the same argument that the silence of the scripture prohibits, then many of the most beloved practices and possessions in that fellowship would be outlawed. These practices include Sunday School, multiple communion cups, hymnals, and even church buildings, all of which aren’t mentioned in scripture."
-snip-
This excerpt is given "as is" with the exception of my inclusion of the title and name for Dr. Jack Evans that I placed in brackets.
****
This concludes Part I of this series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part I of a three part series on African American Church of Christ (CoC) music traditions.
Part I features an excerpt from Lamont Ali Francies' 2013 University of San Francisco, School of Education's doctoral dissertation entitled "An Exploration of Worship Practices at an African American Church of Christ." This excerpt focuses on church traditions and possibly changing attitudes regarding hand clapping, foot patting, and the display of emotions in African American Church of Christ congregations. This excerpt also addresses attitudes regarding the a cappella singing, praise and worship teams, and song leaders in African American Churches of Christ.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/seven-examples-of-african-american.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases several YouTube examples of African American Church of Christ a capella singing, song leader, and praise team singing. Selected comments from some of the discussion threads of these videos are also included in that post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/handclapping-beatboxing-in-church-of.html for Part III of this series. Part III provides an excerpt from a reddit.com discussion of beatboxing and handclapping in Church of Christ congregations. That discussion also referenced two videos which are included in this pancocojams post. Part III also showcases two videos of African American Church of Christ praise singing which includes beatboxing. Selected comments about handclapping and beatboxing from those discussion threads are also included in that post.
Additional examples of Church of Christ singing will be showcased in other pancocojams posts. Click the "Church of Christ" tag below for those posts.
****
The content of this post is presented for historical, sociocultural, and religious purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Lamont Ali Francies for his research on this subject. Also, thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
Note: The designations "Church of Christ" ("CoC" or "CofC") isn't the same as the designation "Church of God In Christ" (COGIC).
****
BACKGROUND: INFORMATION ABOUT CHURCH OF CHRIST
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churches_of_Christ
"Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone in order to be the church described in Scripture. They believe that any individual (from the time Christ established the Church on the Day of Pentecost until now) can be added by the Lord to His church when they hear and believe the truth, repent of their sins, confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and are baptized for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:36-47).
Churches of Christ in the United States have their roots in the American Restoration Movement. The movement began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century under the leadership of Thomas and Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott, and Barton W. Stone. Those leaders had declared independence from their Presbyterian roots and the traditional creeds, seeking a fresh start to restore the New Testament church. They did not see themselves as establishing a new church, but rather sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament."[2]:54 The names "Church of Christ," "Christian Church," and "Disciples of Christ" were adopted by the movement because they believed these terms to be biblical, rather than denominational"...
A cappella worship
The Churches of Christ generally combine the lack of any historical evidence that the early church used musical instruments in worship[2]:47[16]:237–238[55]:415 and the belief that there is no scriptural support for using instruments in the church's worship service[6][16]:244–246 to decide that instruments should not be used today in worship. Churches of Christ have historically practiced a cappella music in worship services.[6][14]:240[15]:124
The use of musical instruments in worship was a divisive topic within the Stone-Campbell Movement from its earliest years, when some adherents opposed the practice on scriptural grounds, while others may have relied on a cappella simply because they lacked access to musical instruments. Alexander Campbell opposed the use of instruments in worship. As early as 1855, some Restoration Movement churches were using organs or pianos, ultimately leading the Churches of Christ to separate from the groups that condoned instrumental music.[68]...
There are congregations that permit hand-clapping and a few that use musical instruments in worship.[14]:240[55]:417[69] Some of the latter describe themselves as a "Church of Christ (Instrumental)".[54]"...
Members: 2,034,338 worldwide; 1,367,859 in the United States[1]"...
-snip-
Informal references are made online (including in the dissertation that is the focus of this post] to White American(or Caucasian American) Churches of Christ and to African American Churches of Christ. However, some American Churches of Christ are racially integrated.
Delta Bay Church Of Christ (Antioch, California) is the African American Church of Christ that is the focus of Lamont Ali Francies' doctoral dissertation. As per the videos that I've seen of that church's praise and worship team, it appears that the congregation's worship service includes hand clapping, but doesn't include musical instruments. That said, the praise and worship team utilizes finger snapping and/or beat-boxing.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT PRAISE AND WORSHIP SONGS
From http://christianmusic.about.com/od/praiseandworship/f/faqpw.htmWhat is Praise and Worship Music? by Kim Jones, Updated July 27, 2015.
"Question: What is Praise and Worship Music?
Answer: Praise and Worship could be any type of music that glorifies God regardless of the style. However, "Corporate Praise and Worship Music" is commonly found in contemporary churches of today. Lyrically, it features generally short and easy to sing (and remember) choruses that repeat several times. This is part of what makes the style perfect for corporate worship because even people who aren't familiar with a particular song can sing along with ease after hearing one or two repeats of the chorus."
****
FEATURED EXCERPT: "AN EXPLORATION OF WORSHIP PRACTICES AT AN AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH OF CHRIST"
From http://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=diss
Lamont Ali Francies, Doctoral Dissertations, Paper 76 University of San Francisco
"Page 69
...handclapping is an issue with which some Black congregations still struggle. For a long time it was seen as a violation of the scriptural mandates for worship because it was thought clapping was another form of instrumental music. Clapping is also done in both secular and denominational settings which made it forbidden during the worship. Clapping is seen as done for entertainment purposes and showmanship, and those practices could not be done during the worship. Jen, who has been a member of Churches of Christ for over 60 years, stated that she was taught not to express herself emotionally ing worship.
Well, I get emotional because every Sunday I look around. I get very emotional at Delta Bay because I’m so happy that God’s presence is there, the spirit of God is with us, and I see it and feel that, okay. And I was taught not to.-that everything about the church is built on faith, and that’s true, too, but there are some feelings, and I express myself tearfully a lot because I feel happy that I am in the church, that I got up in the morning and got myself together and I’m sitting here praising God. Sometimes you may see my hands up. That’s what I’m happy about and I will shed tears about that.
Page 70
After coming to the Delta Bay Church of Christ, Jean felt liberated to express herself culturally. She was taught early in her upbringing that hand clapping was a sin. She no longer believes that, but her liberation was not without a cost. Many of her peers who have grown up in the Church of Christ over the years do not agree with this stance. She candidly stated
And when I share that information and clapping of hands and patting my feet, you know, you don’t pat your feet in the Church of Christ. And when I do that, I had a sister, my older sister, in fact, told me she was going to withdraw from me because I sound like a Baptist. And when I try to bring up- I have learned to enjoy gospel music and denominational churches like the Baptist Church and others would sing them. And I enjoy that. I see how that music has a lot to bring about freedom and help Black people to pull their culture together and I appreciate that. But when I talk to my family, it’s like we’ve gone Baptist. I mean, we’re not supposed to listen to that kind of music. And that’s how I grew up, you know, listening to the little school sounds, that the kids would tease us about when we were going to school, when we were all in school. But I have learned to appreciate African American music and not feel it’s the wrong thing to really do, to sing.
Jean admitted that she felt pressure from other Blacks in Church of Christ to leave the Delta Bay Church of Christ because of its violation of Church of Christ Norms. She was told that the Delta Bay Church of Christ was no really a Church of Christ because its atmosphere of emotionalism mirrored more the Baptist church. Jean knew, however, that the message was the same but the Delta Bay Church of Christ employed a worship methodology that would better engage the community....
Page 71
A new generation of African Americans believers are beginning to reject the Anglo-Saxon cultural norms of the 1940s in huge numbers...
[Dr. Jack] Evans, president of Southwestern University (the only historically Black college in the United States associated with the Church of Christ) cautioned members of this fellowship about excessive emotionalism (2002).
There are things we do in worship with members of our physical body that are not intrinsically such as “patting our feet in time to the tune” but are made .wrong when such emotionally expressions become a superficial rite orchestrated by time-repetitiveness t hat has been proscribed (and pre-planned) by the worship leaders. (p. 6)
Evans, who since has been described as one of the most influential leaders of the African American Church of Christ, believed that clapping in the worship service is not wrong in itself when it emanates from an individual’s joy, but when orchestrated, with everyone will clap on cue, it becomes ritualistic and superficial….
Page 72
Evans (2002) admitted “When one tries to tell another how to express his joy, he is as guilty as the one who orchestrates the clapping ‘on cue’ of others who have made the clapping a proscribed ritual.” Worship should not be culturally regulated but too often it has been under the guise as scripture.
This practice of cultural regulation began as White brethren shaped their Black counterparts. Clear evidence exists of cultural regulation as Black Churches of Christ regulate each other using Eurocentric standards to measure faithfulness. African American congregations who worship “too Black” or demonstrate too much emotion are castigated in this fellowship as apostates…
Page 74
Praise Teams
A praise team in Churches of Christ consist of men (and sometimes women) who stand before the congregation to lead the congregation in song. The praise teams were not designated to serenade the congregation but to lead its section in its parts. For 3 years, the Delta Bay Church Of Christ has employed praise teams in its worship to enhance singing. The Delta Bay Praise Team consists of men and women (Black and White) singers in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. These individuals lead the congregation in weekly praise. Praise and worship at the Delta Bay congregation has been described by participants as moving and inspirational. Although, the congregation has chosen to remain a capella, the decision has not had a negative effect on members...
After the praise team was implemented, reaction from the congregation was mostly positive, however, reactions from other local African American Churches of Christ were mixed.. Other Black congregations opined that because praise teams are not specifically prescribed in scripture, the practice is sinful. Other congregants believed that praise teams were acceptable as long as they didn’t include women...
Page 75
As praise teams are not mentioned in scripture, neither are song leaders, which are used by the majority of African American Churches of Christ. If Churches of Christ uses the same argument that the silence of the scripture prohibits, then many of the most beloved practices and possessions in that fellowship would be outlawed. These practices include Sunday School, multiple communion cups, hymnals, and even church buildings, all of which aren’t mentioned in scripture."
-snip-
This excerpt is given "as is" with the exception of my inclusion of the title and name for Dr. Jack Evans that I placed in brackets.
****
This concludes Part I of this series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams
Visitor comments are welcome.
Seven Examples Of The Praise & Worship Song "Let It Rise" (with lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases seven examples of Holland Davis' Praise and Worship song "Let It Rise".
Information about Praise & Worship songs is also included in this post along with a few selected comments from each examples' discussion thread.
Some pancocojams post such as this one features multiple examples of the same song because I'm also interested in showing the different ways that a particular song can be performed. With regards to examples of "Let It Rise", I'm particularly interested in showing some of the African American renditions of this Praise & Worship song that was composed by an Anglo American.
The lyrics for this song are given in the summary for the video given as Example #3 below.
The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Holland Davis for composing "Let It Rise". Thanks to all those who are featured in this post and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on on YouTube.
****
Additional examples of "Let It Rise" will be featured in an upcoming pancocojams post on "Opposition to B-boxing During Praise & Worship Church Services". A link to that post will be added here.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT PRAISE AND WORSHIP SONGS
From http://christianmusic.about.com/od/praiseandworship/f/faqpw.htmWhat is Praise and Worship Music? by Kim Jones, Updated July 27, 2015.
"Question: What is Praise and Worship Music?
Answer: Praise and Worship could be any type of music that glorifies God regardless of the style. However, "Corporate Praise and Worship Music" is commonly found in contemporary churches of today. Lyrically, it features generally short and easy to sing (and remember) choruses that repeat several times. This is part of what makes the style perfect for corporate worship because even people who aren't familiar with a particular song can sing along with ease after hearing one or two repeats of the chorus."
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES
These examples are given in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest example given first.
Example #1: Let It Rise - Holland Davis
Holland Davis Uploaded on Nov 12, 2007
Live Worship with Holland Davis. Debbie Harringotn, Curtiss Matovich, Phil Sillas, Rick Harchol and Frank Montenegro
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Tom Holloway, 2009
"I think it's so cool that you comment on other people's versions of this song. (Holland that is). We'll be doing it this Sunday am. Acoustic version with Cajon's and acoustic guitars, bass, etc...!"
**
Reply
Holland Davis, 2010
"+Tom Holloway I love hearing all the different ways that folks have used Let It Rise in their churches. It's such a blessing...
Holland Davis"
****
Example #2: Let it Rise
Benny Tassin, Uploaded on Oct 6, 2009
Destiny Christian Center's Praise Team sings Let it Rise by Stephen Hurd, The praise team is lead by Calvin V. Floyd Mayfield on Keys, Brandon Smith on organ, and Rysean Brown on drums. I always give shout outs to the director, lead vocal, and the musicians, but never myself, so here it is you got yours truely (Benny1011) on camera!! LOL
-snip-
brian Osorio, 2013
"i like the chord progression ! nice"
**
Joyce Pearson-boone, 2015
"You all did an absolutely beautiful job with this praise song! I love the energy, the confidence, and the sheer joy of it!! Praise be to God!"
****
Example #3: William Murphy - Let It Rise
.
GospelMusicTV, Uploaded on Oct 15, 2008
Lyrics:
Let the glory of the Lord rise among us
Let the glory of the Lord rise among us
Let the praises of our King rise among us
Let it rise
Oh, let it rise
Let the songs of the Lord rise among us
Let the songs of the Lord rise among us
Let the joy of our King rise among us
Let it rise
Oh, let it rise
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Kimberleigh Manley Savino, 2010
"Now this is the way that we should Praise our King! This is the song that I play a few times to get my day started . . . . . I love it! The next time I am in Atlanta visiting my family, I am going to make sure that I visit his church."
**
David cobb, 2013
"This song has been recorded by several artists over many years. The writer of this song said that of all the recordings he has heard, this one accurately depicts what he had in mind and in his spirit when he penned it!"
**
Emily Ingram, 2013
"You'd think he could have been creative and added more verses. Not pleased with this version although they sound wonderful."
**
Reply
BLAKKISBEAUTII92, 2013
"+Emily Ingram This is a praise song miss....a song doesn't have to be all creative and fancy for the lord, it's just meant to praise him that's all....no need for anymore verses it's beautiful and perfect just the way it is (:"
****
Example #4: Let It Rise Deitrick Haddon at Place for Life
deliverancePT, Uploaded on May 17, 2011
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
"Corliss Sanders-Acosta, 2015
'Woot woot! Shouting right now. Praise the Lord"
**
Chris Benbow, 2015
"sick"
-snip-
"Sick" here probably means "very good".
****
Example #5: 1191. Let it Rise- Chris Turner- song leader
pkteemax Uploaded on Nov 21, 2011
written by Holland Davis- Delaware Valley Song Fest at Middletown church of Christ. 11/12/11
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Holland Davis, 2011
"Thanks for posting your version of Let It Rise!!! Holland Davis (writer of Let It Rise)"
**
pkteemax, 2011
"+Holland Davis @hollanddavismail You are most welcome. Thank you for writing such a wonderful song and thank you for your comment."
-snip-
Another video of Chris Turner leading "Let It Rise" will be featured in an upcoming pancocojams post on "Opposition to B-boxing During Praise & Worship Church Services". Other comments from this video will be included in that post.
**
LuJack Martinez, 2015
"I DECLARE A MORATORIUM ON SITTING DOWN WHEN BROTHER CHRIS TURNER LEADS ANY SONG, EXCEPT FOR COMMUNION SONG!!! BRO, YOU FIRE ME UP!!! Brother Lou Jack Martinez"
**
LuJack Martinez, 2015
"PUMP THAT BASS-LINE, BROTHAS..."
****
Example #6: Let It Rise by Stephen Hurd
InternetChurch1, Uploaded on Dec 14, 2011
-snip-
Selected comments:
Holland Davis, 2011
"Thanks For Posting Your Version of Let It Rise. Follow me on Twitter @HollandDavis (Composer of Let It Rise)"
**
heavenlydove1920, 2013
"This is THE version most people have been doing, years before William Murphy's version. I like this better!"
**
Carol Campbell, 2013
"Love it, starts my day right!!!"
****
Example #7: Let The Glory of The Lord Rise Among Us by City of Refuge Choir Praise Worship Series
PraiseWorship aroundtheworld, Published on Feb 22, 2016
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases seven examples of Holland Davis' Praise and Worship song "Let It Rise".
Information about Praise & Worship songs is also included in this post along with a few selected comments from each examples' discussion thread.
Some pancocojams post such as this one features multiple examples of the same song because I'm also interested in showing the different ways that a particular song can be performed. With regards to examples of "Let It Rise", I'm particularly interested in showing some of the African American renditions of this Praise & Worship song that was composed by an Anglo American.
The lyrics for this song are given in the summary for the video given as Example #3 below.
The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Holland Davis for composing "Let It Rise". Thanks to all those who are featured in this post and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on on YouTube.
****
Additional examples of "Let It Rise" will be featured in an upcoming pancocojams post on "Opposition to B-boxing During Praise & Worship Church Services". A link to that post will be added here.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT PRAISE AND WORSHIP SONGS
From http://christianmusic.about.com/od/praiseandworship/f/faqpw.htmWhat is Praise and Worship Music? by Kim Jones, Updated July 27, 2015.
"Question: What is Praise and Worship Music?
Answer: Praise and Worship could be any type of music that glorifies God regardless of the style. However, "Corporate Praise and Worship Music" is commonly found in contemporary churches of today. Lyrically, it features generally short and easy to sing (and remember) choruses that repeat several times. This is part of what makes the style perfect for corporate worship because even people who aren't familiar with a particular song can sing along with ease after hearing one or two repeats of the chorus."
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES
These examples are given in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest example given first.
Example #1: Let It Rise - Holland Davis
Holland Davis Uploaded on Nov 12, 2007
Live Worship with Holland Davis. Debbie Harringotn, Curtiss Matovich, Phil Sillas, Rick Harchol and Frank Montenegro
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Tom Holloway, 2009
"I think it's so cool that you comment on other people's versions of this song. (Holland that is). We'll be doing it this Sunday am. Acoustic version with Cajon's and acoustic guitars, bass, etc...!"
**
Reply
Holland Davis, 2010
"+Tom Holloway I love hearing all the different ways that folks have used Let It Rise in their churches. It's such a blessing...
Holland Davis"
****
Example #2: Let it Rise
Benny Tassin, Uploaded on Oct 6, 2009
Destiny Christian Center's Praise Team sings Let it Rise by Stephen Hurd, The praise team is lead by Calvin V. Floyd Mayfield on Keys, Brandon Smith on organ, and Rysean Brown on drums. I always give shout outs to the director, lead vocal, and the musicians, but never myself, so here it is you got yours truely (Benny1011) on camera!! LOL
-snip-
brian Osorio, 2013
"i like the chord progression ! nice"
**
Joyce Pearson-boone, 2015
"You all did an absolutely beautiful job with this praise song! I love the energy, the confidence, and the sheer joy of it!! Praise be to God!"
****
Example #3: William Murphy - Let It Rise
.
GospelMusicTV, Uploaded on Oct 15, 2008
Lyrics:
Let the glory of the Lord rise among us
Let the glory of the Lord rise among us
Let the praises of our King rise among us
Let it rise
Oh, let it rise
Let the songs of the Lord rise among us
Let the songs of the Lord rise among us
Let the joy of our King rise among us
Let it rise
Oh, let it rise
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Kimberleigh Manley Savino, 2010
"Now this is the way that we should Praise our King! This is the song that I play a few times to get my day started . . . . . I love it! The next time I am in Atlanta visiting my family, I am going to make sure that I visit his church."
**
David cobb, 2013
"This song has been recorded by several artists over many years. The writer of this song said that of all the recordings he has heard, this one accurately depicts what he had in mind and in his spirit when he penned it!"
**
Emily Ingram, 2013
"You'd think he could have been creative and added more verses. Not pleased with this version although they sound wonderful."
**
Reply
BLAKKISBEAUTII92, 2013
"+Emily Ingram This is a praise song miss....a song doesn't have to be all creative and fancy for the lord, it's just meant to praise him that's all....no need for anymore verses it's beautiful and perfect just the way it is (:"
****
Example #4: Let It Rise Deitrick Haddon at Place for Life
deliverancePT, Uploaded on May 17, 2011
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
"Corliss Sanders-Acosta, 2015
'Woot woot! Shouting right now. Praise the Lord"
**
Chris Benbow, 2015
"sick"
-snip-
"Sick" here probably means "very good".
****
Example #5: 1191. Let it Rise- Chris Turner- song leader
pkteemax Uploaded on Nov 21, 2011
written by Holland Davis- Delaware Valley Song Fest at Middletown church of Christ. 11/12/11
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
Holland Davis, 2011
"Thanks for posting your version of Let It Rise!!! Holland Davis (writer of Let It Rise)"
**
pkteemax, 2011
"+Holland Davis @hollanddavismail You are most welcome. Thank you for writing such a wonderful song and thank you for your comment."
-snip-
Another video of Chris Turner leading "Let It Rise" will be featured in an upcoming pancocojams post on "Opposition to B-boxing During Praise & Worship Church Services". Other comments from this video will be included in that post.
**
LuJack Martinez, 2015
"I DECLARE A MORATORIUM ON SITTING DOWN WHEN BROTHER CHRIS TURNER LEADS ANY SONG, EXCEPT FOR COMMUNION SONG!!! BRO, YOU FIRE ME UP!!! Brother Lou Jack Martinez"
**
LuJack Martinez, 2015
"PUMP THAT BASS-LINE, BROTHAS..."
****
Example #6: Let It Rise by Stephen Hurd
InternetChurch1, Uploaded on Dec 14, 2011
-snip-
Selected comments:
Holland Davis, 2011
"Thanks For Posting Your Version of Let It Rise. Follow me on Twitter @HollandDavis (Composer of Let It Rise)"
**
heavenlydove1920, 2013
"This is THE version most people have been doing, years before William Murphy's version. I like this better!"
**
Carol Campbell, 2013
"Love it, starts my day right!!!"
****
Example #7: Let The Glory of The Lord Rise Among Us by City of Refuge Choir Praise Worship Series
PraiseWorship aroundtheworld, Published on Feb 22, 2016
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Vibrations - Ain't No Greens In Harlem (lyrics & video)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on the soul food dish "greens".
Part II showcases a sound file and my transcription of lyrics for the 1972 comic Rhythm & Blues/early Hip Hop song "Ain't No Greens In Harlem".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/1925-african-american-dance-song-greasy.html for Part I of this series. Part I provides information about "collard greens". Collard greens and kale are the vegetables that African Americans usually mean when we refer to "greens".
Part I also showcases the lyrics to the African American dance song "Greasy Greens" that is included in the 1925 book The Negro And His Songs A Study Of Typical Negro Songs In The South by Howard W. Odum & Guy B. Johnson.
In addition, Part I features an instructional video on how to cook collard greens, Southern soul food style - but with smoked turkey legs instead of pork.
****
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the Vibrations for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this psot, and thanks to the instructor and publisher of the featured video.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT COLLARD GREENS
Collard greens and kale are the vegetables that African Americans usually mean when we refer to "greens".
Here's an excerpt of the Wikipedia article on "Collard Greens".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collard_greens
..."Collard greens are a staple vegetable of Southern U.S. cuisine. They are often prepared with other similar green leaf vegetables, such as kale, turnip greens, spinach, and mustard greens in "mixed greens".[5] They are generally eaten year-round in the South. Typical seasonings when cooking collards consist of smoked and salted meats (ham hocks, smoked turkey drumsticks, pork neckbones, fatback or other fatty meat), diced onions, vinegar, salt, and black, white, or crushed red, pepper, and some cooks add a small amount of sugar. Traditionally, collards are eaten on New Year's Day,[6] along with black-eyed peas or field peas and cornbread, to ensure wealth in the coming year,[7][8] as the leaves resemble folding money.[9][10] Cornbread is used to soak up the "pot liquor", a nutrient-rich collard broth."...
****
LYRICS*- AIN'T NO GREENS IN HARLEM
(as sung by The Vibrations)
Group- Ain’t no greens in Harlem
Vegetable man on strike*
Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all
Lead singer rapping:
Had a taste inside me
For some good old fashioned greens.
Group - Yeah!
Didn’t want no yams.
Didn’t want no ham.
Didn’t want no butterbeans.
Group - What!
I shot down to the market.
And there I saw a sign.
Group - Yeah!
I must be goin crazy
Or else I’m goin blind.
Because the sign said:
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead - I didn’t read that.
Group - Vegetable man on strike".
Lead - I think something’s wrong with my ears.
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead - Something’s wrong.
Group - Vegetable man on strike.
Lead - He’s what?!
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all.
Vegetable man on strike
He been gone
So long.
He ain’t comin back.
Lead -Y’all no where he went?
Group - Ain’t comin back.
Lead singer rapping:
I caught myself a subway.
I got off way ‘cross town.
Group - Yeah!
I’m gonna get myself some greens today
Or tear the damn door down.
Group - Oh yeah!
I finally found the window
And eased myself inside.
Group - Yeah!
But the rats got there before I did
So I left unsatisfied.
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all.
Lead - What you say?
Vegetable man on strike
Lead - Can you believe this?!
Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead - Oh, my goodness.
Vegetable man on strike.
Lead - I don’t know what I’mma do now.
Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all.
Lead - Anybody know where he went?
Vegetable man on strike
He been gone
So long.
Ain’t comin back.
Lead - You mean NEVER?!
Group - Ain’t comin back.
Lead- Oh, my goodness.
[music]
Lead - I finally got myself together.
And ran the whole game down.
Group - Yeah!
There’s only one thing left to do
When there ain’t no greens around.
Group - Oh, yes.
I’ll have some greens another time
I’ll settle for some bird.
Group - Yeah!
But when I turned my radio on.
THIS is what I heard:
Recorded voice: Ah, there’s sad news tonight, ladies and gentlemen.
The poultry workers of America just went on strike.
There is NO chicken in Harlem or elsewhere.
Lead: WHAT?!
No chicken in Harlem?!
[Crying] Aah Ha Haa Haaa!
Group - Ain’t no chicken in Harlem.
Poultry mans on strike.
Lead - [Crying] Aah Ha Haa Haaa!
Group - Ain’t no chicken in Harlem, y’all.
Lead - [Crying] Aah Ha Haa Haaa!
Poultry man on strike.
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all.
Lead - Ah, no!
Vegetable man on strike.
Lead - Ah, no. Don’t tell me that.
Group- Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead - Ah, Lawd, there ain’t no greens.
Group -Vegetable man on strike.
Lead- [Cryin] Ahh haa haa.
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead - Give me some chicken, I don’t want a lot.
Group- Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all.
Lead- [crying] Ahh haa!
I didn’t want no yams.
I didn’t want no yams.
Group-Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead- I didn’t want no butterbeans.
All I wanted was a little bit of greens.
or just a little bird.
Group Ain’t no greens in Harlem
[song fades out]
-snip-
This is my transcription from the sound file found below. Italics means that I'm unsure about my transcription of those words.
Additions and corrections are welcome.
-snip-
UPDATE: December 26, 2019: Thanks to Anonymous December 26, 2019 for correcting my transcription of that recurring line from one that I thought was probably wrong to one that certainly makes much more sense given the title and gist of the song. Also, thanks Anonymous. Your comment also resulted in me catching my mistake in the title of this post.
Explanation of several terms:
"greens" = probably refers to collard greens or kale or spinach etc.
"yams, ham, and butterbeans" = additional examples of "soul food" [Consider, for example the Old Time Music song "Cornbread & Butterbeans" by Carolina Chocolate Drops and other groups.]
"bird" = in the context of this song = fried chicken
"I shot down to the market." = I hurried down to the market.
"I finally got myself together." - I finally pulled myself together (in the context of this song, "made peace with the fact that I wouldn't get any greens.")
"And ran the whole game down." = And figured out what to do given the situation
****
FEATURED VIDEO: The Vibrations - Ain't No Greens In Harlem
Marty Spitfly, Uploaded on Aug 15, 2010
-snip-
Click http://www.uncamarvy.com/Jayhawks/jayhawks.html for information about the Vibrations vocal group.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on the soul food dish "greens".
Part II showcases a sound file and my transcription of lyrics for the 1972 comic Rhythm & Blues/early Hip Hop song "Ain't No Greens In Harlem".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/1925-african-american-dance-song-greasy.html for Part I of this series. Part I provides information about "collard greens". Collard greens and kale are the vegetables that African Americans usually mean when we refer to "greens".
Part I also showcases the lyrics to the African American dance song "Greasy Greens" that is included in the 1925 book The Negro And His Songs A Study Of Typical Negro Songs In The South by Howard W. Odum & Guy B. Johnson.
In addition, Part I features an instructional video on how to cook collard greens, Southern soul food style - but with smoked turkey legs instead of pork.
****
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the Vibrations for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this psot, and thanks to the instructor and publisher of the featured video.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT COLLARD GREENS
Collard greens and kale are the vegetables that African Americans usually mean when we refer to "greens".
Here's an excerpt of the Wikipedia article on "Collard Greens".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collard_greens
..."Collard greens are a staple vegetable of Southern U.S. cuisine. They are often prepared with other similar green leaf vegetables, such as kale, turnip greens, spinach, and mustard greens in "mixed greens".[5] They are generally eaten year-round in the South. Typical seasonings when cooking collards consist of smoked and salted meats (ham hocks, smoked turkey drumsticks, pork neckbones, fatback or other fatty meat), diced onions, vinegar, salt, and black, white, or crushed red, pepper, and some cooks add a small amount of sugar. Traditionally, collards are eaten on New Year's Day,[6] along with black-eyed peas or field peas and cornbread, to ensure wealth in the coming year,[7][8] as the leaves resemble folding money.[9][10] Cornbread is used to soak up the "pot liquor", a nutrient-rich collard broth."...
****
LYRICS*- AIN'T NO GREENS IN HARLEM
(as sung by The Vibrations)
Group- Ain’t no greens in Harlem
Vegetable man on strike*
Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all
Lead singer rapping:
Had a taste inside me
For some good old fashioned greens.
Group - Yeah!
Didn’t want no yams.
Didn’t want no ham.
Didn’t want no butterbeans.
Group - What!
I shot down to the market.
And there I saw a sign.
Group - Yeah!
I must be goin crazy
Or else I’m goin blind.
Because the sign said:
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead - I didn’t read that.
Group - Vegetable man on strike".
Lead - I think something’s wrong with my ears.
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead - Something’s wrong.
Group - Vegetable man on strike.
Lead - He’s what?!
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all.
Vegetable man on strike
He been gone
So long.
He ain’t comin back.
Lead -Y’all no where he went?
Group - Ain’t comin back.
Lead singer rapping:
I caught myself a subway.
I got off way ‘cross town.
Group - Yeah!
I’m gonna get myself some greens today
Or tear the damn door down.
Group - Oh yeah!
I finally found the window
And eased myself inside.
Group - Yeah!
But the rats got there before I did
So I left unsatisfied.
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all.
Lead - What you say?
Vegetable man on strike
Lead - Can you believe this?!
Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead - Oh, my goodness.
Vegetable man on strike.
Lead - I don’t know what I’mma do now.
Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all.
Lead - Anybody know where he went?
Vegetable man on strike
He been gone
So long.
Ain’t comin back.
Lead - You mean NEVER?!
Group - Ain’t comin back.
Lead- Oh, my goodness.
[music]
Lead - I finally got myself together.
And ran the whole game down.
Group - Yeah!
There’s only one thing left to do
When there ain’t no greens around.
Group - Oh, yes.
I’ll have some greens another time
I’ll settle for some bird.
Group - Yeah!
But when I turned my radio on.
THIS is what I heard:
Recorded voice: Ah, there’s sad news tonight, ladies and gentlemen.
The poultry workers of America just went on strike.
There is NO chicken in Harlem or elsewhere.
Lead: WHAT?!
No chicken in Harlem?!
[Crying] Aah Ha Haa Haaa!
Group - Ain’t no chicken in Harlem.
Poultry mans on strike.
Lead - [Crying] Aah Ha Haa Haaa!
Group - Ain’t no chicken in Harlem, y’all.
Lead - [Crying] Aah Ha Haa Haaa!
Poultry man on strike.
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all.
Lead - Ah, no!
Vegetable man on strike.
Lead - Ah, no. Don’t tell me that.
Group- Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead - Ah, Lawd, there ain’t no greens.
Group -Vegetable man on strike.
Lead- [Cryin] Ahh haa haa.
Group - Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead - Give me some chicken, I don’t want a lot.
Group- Ain’t no greens in Harlem, y’all.
Lead- [crying] Ahh haa!
I didn’t want no yams.
I didn’t want no yams.
Group-Ain’t no greens in Harlem.
Lead- I didn’t want no butterbeans.
All I wanted was a little bit of greens.
or just a little bird.
Group Ain’t no greens in Harlem
[song fades out]
-snip-
This is my transcription from the sound file found below. Italics means that I'm unsure about my transcription of those words.
Additions and corrections are welcome.
-snip-
UPDATE: December 26, 2019: Thanks to Anonymous December 26, 2019 for correcting my transcription of that recurring line from one that I thought was probably wrong to one that certainly makes much more sense given the title and gist of the song. Also, thanks Anonymous. Your comment also resulted in me catching my mistake in the title of this post.
Explanation of several terms:
"greens" = probably refers to collard greens or kale or spinach etc.
"yams, ham, and butterbeans" = additional examples of "soul food" [Consider, for example the Old Time Music song "Cornbread & Butterbeans" by Carolina Chocolate Drops and other groups.]
"bird" = in the context of this song = fried chicken
"I shot down to the market." = I hurried down to the market.
"I finally got myself together." - I finally pulled myself together (in the context of this song, "made peace with the fact that I wouldn't get any greens.")
"And ran the whole game down." = And figured out what to do given the situation
****
FEATURED VIDEO: The Vibrations - Ain't No Greens In Harlem
Marty Spitfly, Uploaded on Aug 15, 2010
-snip-
Click http://www.uncamarvy.com/Jayhawks/jayhawks.html for information about the Vibrations vocal group.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Friday, February 26, 2016
1925 African American Dance Song "Greasy Greens" & Instructional Video About Cooking Collard Greens
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a two part series on the soul food dish "greens".
Part I provides information about "collard greens".
Part I also showcases the lyrics to the African American dance song "Greasy Greens" that is included in the 1925 book The Negro And His Songs A Study Of Typical Negro Songs In The South by Howard W. Odum & Guy B. Johnson.
In addition, Part I features an instructional video on how to cook collard greens, Southern soul food style - but with smoked turkey legs instead of pork.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/vibrations-aint-not-greens-in-harlem.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases a sound file and lyrics of the 1972 Rhythm & Blues/early Hip Hop song "Ain't No Greens In Harlem".
****
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown composer of the early 20th century song "Greasy Greens". Thanks to all those who are quoted in this psot, and thanks to the cooking instructor/publisher of the featured video.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT COLLARD GREENS
Collard greens and kale are the vegetables that African Americans usually mean when we refer to "greens".
Here's an excerpt of the Wikipedia article on "Collard Greens".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collard_greens
"Collard greens (collards) are various loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea, the species which also contains vegetables including cabbage (Capitata Group) and broccoli (Botrytis Group). Collard greens are part of the Acephala Group of the species, which includes kale and spring greens.
The plants are grown for their large, dark-colored, edible leaves and as a garden ornamental, mainly in Brazil, Portugal, the southern United States, many parts of Africa, the Balkans, northern Spain and in northern India. They are classified in the same cultivar group as kale and spring greens, to which they are genetically similar. The name "collard" is a corrupted form of the word "colewort" (the wild cabbage plant)....
Southern United States
Collard greens are a staple vegetable of Southern U.S. cuisine. They are often prepared with other similar green leaf vegetables, such as kale, turnip greens, spinach, and mustard greens in "mixed greens".[5] They are generally eaten year-round in the South. Typical seasonings when cooking collards consist of smoked and salted meats (ham hocks, smoked turkey drumsticks, pork neckbones, fatback or other fatty meat), diced onions, vinegar, salt, and black, white, or crushed red, pepper, and some cooks add a small amount of sugar. Traditionally, collards are eaten on New Year's Day,[6] along with black-eyed peas or field peas and cornbread, to ensure wealth in the coming year,[7][8] as the leaves resemble folding money.[9][10] Cornbread is used to soak up the "pot liquor", a nutrient-rich collard broth. Collard greens may also be thinly sliced and fermented to make collard kraut, which is often cooked with flat dumplings.
Tanzania and Kenya (East Africa)
Collard greens are known as "sukuma wiki" in Tanzania and Kenya.
In Congo, Tanzania and Kenya (East Africa), thinly sliced collard greens are the main accompaniments of a popular dish known as "sima" or "ugali" (a maize flour cake).
Sukuma wiki is mainly lightly sauteed in oil until tender, flavoured in onions and seasoned with salt and is served either as the main accompaniment or as a side dish with preferred meat (fish, chicken, beef, pork)."...
****
EXCERPT FROM TEXT FROM "THE NEGRO AND HIS SONGS" - CHAPTER V: SOCIAL SONGS/"GREASY GREENS"
From https://archive.org/stream/negrohissongsstu00odum/negrohissongsstu00odum_djvu.txt
The Negro And His Songs A Study Of Typical Negro Songs In The South by Howard W. Odum & Guy B. Johnson (University Of North Carolina Press, 1925)
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries
"Chapter V Social Songs
THE SOCIAL SONGS OF THE NEGRO
page 148
Increasing Popularity of the Social Songs. In the last twenty years there has been a marked increase in the popularity of the Negro's social songs. 1 Whereas during slavery and for a long time thereafter religious themes predominated in the songs of the Negro, there has now grown up a group of secular songs magnificent
in its proportions and rich in variation. These songs vary from the filthiest thoughts of the "rounder" to the loftiest sentiments of the lover, and every Negro child in the South falls heir to some part of this apparently unlimited body of song. Perhaps the diminishing importance of the older religious themes means
that the Negro has finally outgrown that former disposition to sing himself away from a world of sorrow and trouble and is coming more and more to sing himself and his troubles through that world.
Not Pure Folk Songs. The songs in this collection are Negro songs in that they have had their origin and growth among the Negroes, or have been adapted so completely that they have become the common property of the Negroes. As Dr. John Meir has said, they
are "folk-poetry which, from whatever source and for whatever reason, has passed into the possession of the folk, the common people, so completely that each
The Social Songs of the Negro 149
singer or reciter feels the piece to be his own." 1 Each
singer alters the song according to his own thoughts and feelings. Clearly many of the songs are adapted forms of well-known ballads; others, which in all probability had their origin among the Negroes, resemble very strongly the folk songs of other people; while still others combine in a striking way original features
with the borrowed. In any case, the song, when it has become the common distinctive property of the Negroes, must be classed with Negro folk songs.
x In one sense all songs are social, but the term is used herein to denote the ordinary songs of the Negro's everyday life as distinguished from his purely religious songs....
CHAPTER VII
EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL SONGS
page 226
...In this remarkable song the Negroes dance with merriment, each final line being suitable to the "s-w-i-n-g c-o-r-n-e-r" of the dance. The picture, while not exactly elegant, is at least a strong one.
Mamma goin' to cook some,
Mamma goin' to cook some,
Mamma goin' to cook some —
Greasy greens!
How I love them,
How I love them,
How I love them —
Greasy greens!
Mamma goin' ter boil them —
Greasy greens!
Sister goin' pick them —
Greasy greens!
I goin' eat them —
Greasy greens! "
****
FEATURED VIDEO: Collard Greens Recipe: How to Cook Southern, Soul Food Collard Greens
Divas Can Cook, Uploaded on Oct 13, 2009
...Learn step by step how to make a pot of southern, soulful collard greens from start to finish. This recipe uses smoked turkey legs, onions, garlic, chicken broth and red pepper flakes to flavor the greens.
If you've never made collard greens before then you may be surprised at just how easy to make and addictive they are! Not to mention full of nutrition!! Pairs well with any southern meal.
In this video I show you how to remove the collards from the stem, wash them, chop them up and cook them to a savory perfection
GET RECIPE
http://divascancook.com/southern-collard-greens-recipe-w-smoked-turkey-legs-soulfood-style/
-snip-
Traditionally, African Americans use pork (ham hocks, neck bones, etc) to cook greens. But because there are a number of people (like me) who don't eat pork, I decided to feature a video that shows collard greens being cooked with smoked turkey legs.
There are LOTS of instructional YouTube videos on cooking collard greens. Feel free to recommend the one that you prefer in the comment section below.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part I of a two part series on the soul food dish "greens".
Part I provides information about "collard greens".
Part I also showcases the lyrics to the African American dance song "Greasy Greens" that is included in the 1925 book The Negro And His Songs A Study Of Typical Negro Songs In The South by Howard W. Odum & Guy B. Johnson.
In addition, Part I features an instructional video on how to cook collard greens, Southern soul food style - but with smoked turkey legs instead of pork.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/vibrations-aint-not-greens-in-harlem.html for Part II of this series. Part II showcases a sound file and lyrics of the 1972 Rhythm & Blues/early Hip Hop song "Ain't No Greens In Harlem".
****
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown composer of the early 20th century song "Greasy Greens". Thanks to all those who are quoted in this psot, and thanks to the cooking instructor/publisher of the featured video.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT COLLARD GREENS
Collard greens and kale are the vegetables that African Americans usually mean when we refer to "greens".
Here's an excerpt of the Wikipedia article on "Collard Greens".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collard_greens
"Collard greens (collards) are various loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea, the species which also contains vegetables including cabbage (Capitata Group) and broccoli (Botrytis Group). Collard greens are part of the Acephala Group of the species, which includes kale and spring greens.
The plants are grown for their large, dark-colored, edible leaves and as a garden ornamental, mainly in Brazil, Portugal, the southern United States, many parts of Africa, the Balkans, northern Spain and in northern India. They are classified in the same cultivar group as kale and spring greens, to which they are genetically similar. The name "collard" is a corrupted form of the word "colewort" (the wild cabbage plant)....
Southern United States
Collard greens are a staple vegetable of Southern U.S. cuisine. They are often prepared with other similar green leaf vegetables, such as kale, turnip greens, spinach, and mustard greens in "mixed greens".[5] They are generally eaten year-round in the South. Typical seasonings when cooking collards consist of smoked and salted meats (ham hocks, smoked turkey drumsticks, pork neckbones, fatback or other fatty meat), diced onions, vinegar, salt, and black, white, or crushed red, pepper, and some cooks add a small amount of sugar. Traditionally, collards are eaten on New Year's Day,[6] along with black-eyed peas or field peas and cornbread, to ensure wealth in the coming year,[7][8] as the leaves resemble folding money.[9][10] Cornbread is used to soak up the "pot liquor", a nutrient-rich collard broth. Collard greens may also be thinly sliced and fermented to make collard kraut, which is often cooked with flat dumplings.
Tanzania and Kenya (East Africa)
Collard greens are known as "sukuma wiki" in Tanzania and Kenya.
In Congo, Tanzania and Kenya (East Africa), thinly sliced collard greens are the main accompaniments of a popular dish known as "sima" or "ugali" (a maize flour cake).
Sukuma wiki is mainly lightly sauteed in oil until tender, flavoured in onions and seasoned with salt and is served either as the main accompaniment or as a side dish with preferred meat (fish, chicken, beef, pork)."...
****
EXCERPT FROM TEXT FROM "THE NEGRO AND HIS SONGS" - CHAPTER V: SOCIAL SONGS/"GREASY GREENS"
From https://archive.org/stream/negrohissongsstu00odum/negrohissongsstu00odum_djvu.txt
The Negro And His Songs A Study Of Typical Negro Songs In The South by Howard W. Odum & Guy B. Johnson (University Of North Carolina Press, 1925)
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries
"Chapter V Social Songs
THE SOCIAL SONGS OF THE NEGRO
page 148
Increasing Popularity of the Social Songs. In the last twenty years there has been a marked increase in the popularity of the Negro's social songs. 1 Whereas during slavery and for a long time thereafter religious themes predominated in the songs of the Negro, there has now grown up a group of secular songs magnificent
in its proportions and rich in variation. These songs vary from the filthiest thoughts of the "rounder" to the loftiest sentiments of the lover, and every Negro child in the South falls heir to some part of this apparently unlimited body of song. Perhaps the diminishing importance of the older religious themes means
that the Negro has finally outgrown that former disposition to sing himself away from a world of sorrow and trouble and is coming more and more to sing himself and his troubles through that world.
Not Pure Folk Songs. The songs in this collection are Negro songs in that they have had their origin and growth among the Negroes, or have been adapted so completely that they have become the common property of the Negroes. As Dr. John Meir has said, they
are "folk-poetry which, from whatever source and for whatever reason, has passed into the possession of the folk, the common people, so completely that each
The Social Songs of the Negro 149
singer or reciter feels the piece to be his own." 1 Each
singer alters the song according to his own thoughts and feelings. Clearly many of the songs are adapted forms of well-known ballads; others, which in all probability had their origin among the Negroes, resemble very strongly the folk songs of other people; while still others combine in a striking way original features
with the borrowed. In any case, the song, when it has become the common distinctive property of the Negroes, must be classed with Negro folk songs.
x In one sense all songs are social, but the term is used herein to denote the ordinary songs of the Negro's everyday life as distinguished from his purely religious songs....
CHAPTER VII
EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL SONGS
page 226
...In this remarkable song the Negroes dance with merriment, each final line being suitable to the "s-w-i-n-g c-o-r-n-e-r" of the dance. The picture, while not exactly elegant, is at least a strong one.
Mamma goin' to cook some,
Mamma goin' to cook some,
Mamma goin' to cook some —
Greasy greens!
How I love them,
How I love them,
How I love them —
Greasy greens!
Mamma goin' ter boil them —
Greasy greens!
Sister goin' pick them —
Greasy greens!
I goin' eat them —
Greasy greens! "
****
FEATURED VIDEO: Collard Greens Recipe: How to Cook Southern, Soul Food Collard Greens
Divas Can Cook, Uploaded on Oct 13, 2009
...Learn step by step how to make a pot of southern, soulful collard greens from start to finish. This recipe uses smoked turkey legs, onions, garlic, chicken broth and red pepper flakes to flavor the greens.
If you've never made collard greens before then you may be surprised at just how easy to make and addictive they are! Not to mention full of nutrition!! Pairs well with any southern meal.
In this video I show you how to remove the collards from the stem, wash them, chop them up and cook them to a savory perfection
GET RECIPE
http://divascancook.com/southern-collard-greens-recipe-w-smoked-turkey-legs-soulfood-style/
-snip-
Traditionally, African Americans use pork (ham hocks, neck bones, etc) to cook greens. But because there are a number of people (like me) who don't eat pork, I decided to feature a video that shows collard greens being cooked with smoked turkey legs.
There are LOTS of instructional YouTube videos on cooking collard greens. Feel free to recommend the one that you prefer in the comment section below.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Slavery In New England & In The United States South: Names & Titles As Strategies Of Subordination, Degradation, And Resistance
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series that excerpts online articles and books about naming practices during slavery in the United States, the Caribbean, and South America.
This post showcases an excerpt from Robert K. Fitts' 1998 book Inventing New England's Slave Paradise: Master/Slave Relations in Eighteenth-century Narragansett, Rhode Island
This excerpt focuses on eighteenth century Rhode Island (New England) slave masters' use of names and titles that preface those names strategies of subordination and degradation and enslaved Black people's resistance to those strategies.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and linguistic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Robert K. Fitts for his research and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the enslaved and free Africans who lived in the Northern and Southern regions of the United States. Your legacy lives on.
****
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-survival-of-several-akan-day-names.html for a related pancocojams post on Black names in South Carolina 18th and 19th centuries.
****
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT SLAVERY IN RHODE ISLAND
From http://slavenorth.com/rhodeisland.htm
"Black slaves were in Rhode Island by 1652, and by the end of that century Rhode Island had become the only New England colony to use slaves for both labor and trade. After overtaking Boston by 1750, Newport and Bristol were the major slave markets in the American colonies. Slave-based economies existed in the Narragansett plantation family, the Middletown crop workers, and the indentured and slave craftsmen of Newport....
In Narragansett County, conditions favored large-scale farming, and here more than anywhere else in the North a system began to emerge that looked like the Southern plantation colonies. In parts of "South Country" (as Narragansett also was called), one-third of the population was black work force by the mid-18th century. That's comparable to the proportion of slaves in the Old South states in 1820. Narragansett planters used their slaves both as laborers and domestic servants. William Robinson owned an estate that was more than four miles long and two miles wide, and he kept about 40 slaves there. Robert Hazard of South Kingstown owned 12,000 acres and had 24 slave women just to work in his dairy. The Stantons of Narragansett, who were among the province's leading landowners, had at least 40 slaves.
In keeping with the usual pattern, a higher percentage of blacks meant a more strict control mechanism. South Kingstown had perhaps the harshest local slave control laws in New England. After 1718, for instance, if any black slave was caught in the cottage of a free black person, both were whipped. After 1750, anyone who sold so much as a cup of hard cider to a black slave faced a crushing fine of 30.
Rhode Island, of course, was among the most active Northern colonies in importing slaves.
EMANCIPATION
During the Revolution, Quaker abolitionists and the powerful Newport shipping interest clashed over slavery. In February 1784 the Legislature passed a compromise measure for gradual emancipation. All children of slaves born after March 1 were to be "apprentices," the girls to become free at 18, the boys at 21. As with other Northern instances of gradual emancipation, this gave slaveowners many years of service to recoup the cost of raising the children.
No slaves were emancipated outright. The 1800 census listed 384 slaves, and the number fell gradually to 5 in 1840, after which slaves were no longer counted in the censuses for the state. And, in an essential element of the 1784 compromise, the right of Rhode Island ship-owners to participate in the foreign slave trade was undisturbed....
As was the case throughout the North, Rhode Island, having ended slavery, also sought to make it difficult for blacks to remain in the state or move there. In the early 19th century, Rhode Island towns especially turned to the old New England custom of "warning out" strangers to purify themselves racially. The custom continued to have as a stated goal the removal of poor and undesirable strangers from a community. But blacks were increasingly its targets, out of proportion to their numbers and without regard to whether they were long-term residents or not."...
****
BOOK REVIEW
From https://books.google.com/books?id=4KSN2QDsLBMC&dq=uncle+and+aunt+titles+before+black+names+in+19th+century&source=gbs_navlinks_s "Inventing New England's Slave Paradise: Master/Slave Relations in Eighteenth-century Narragansett, Rhode Island" by Robert K. Fitts
Taylor & Francis, 1998 - History - 274 pages
"Many 19th and 20th century historians have argued that Northern slavery was mild and that master/slave relations were relatively harmonious. Yet, Northern slavery, like Southern, was characterized by the conflict between the masters' desire to control their slaves and the slaves' resistance to this domination. For a variety of political, social, and intellectual reasons, 19th and 20th century historians ignored this inherent conflict in discussions of Northern slavery. Fitts' research focuses on how and why historians sanitized the history of slavery in Narragansett, Rhode Island, and then shows the inadequacy of these interpretations by examining several of the planters' and slaves' conflicting strategies of control and resistance. Topics include how planters used physical punishment, legislation, and the threat of sale in an attempt to control their slaves, and how slaves resisted through violence, running away, and non-violent crime. Fitts also examines the plantation landscape as a site of symbolic contestation and includes a chapter on slave names. (Ph.D. dissertation, Brown University, 1995; revised with new preface)"
****
FEATURED EXCERPT - "INVENTING NEW ENGLAND'S SLAVE PARADISE: MASTER/SLAVE RELATIONS IN EIGHTEETH -CENTURY NARRAGANSETT, RHODE ISLAND
From [Google Books]
page 190
...."masters used diminutive names to teach slaves their place in white society and to undermine their self-esteem so as to create docile slaves who accepted their position. There is little doubt that diminutives were degrading to the slaves. Genovese (1972:448) notes that when naming their own children, slaves rarely used diminutives and almost never shortened their proper names to diminutives among themselves. Furthermore, slave culture was built on beliefs and traditions from West Africa, where names were important symbols of personal identity.(Inscoe 1983; Paustian 1978). To use a name improperly showed great disrespect. (Price & Price 1972 352-354). By using diminutives, both white adults and children treated slaves as children. This was reinforced by the use of “boy” or “girl” to refer to slaves of any age.
page 191
Similarly, because of the special respect given to the aged, the misuse of titles for older people could be especially insulting . Maters purposely denied slaves the dignity of respectful titles. All slaves were known by their first names only. Some Southern masters rigidly reinforced this point. “The former Eastern Shore, Maryland free Black Levi Coppin, who was born in 1848, said merely that “White people didn’t permit us to say “Mr.” and “Mrs” to each other, so the children, for manners sake, were taught to call the older people “aunt” and “uncle”. (Gutman 1976:217). Whites did not start referring to older blacks by those titles until the nineteenth century. (Gutman 1976:217-218).* This form of disrespect clearly signaled the slaves’ position within society, but may have also undercut the slaves’ own self-esteem. Masters hoped that this degradation would keep slaves humble and thus easier to control....
The data suggests that degrading slaves with classical names and place names were common throughout colonial America. Likewise, degradation through diminutive names was also a common strategy....
page 193
THE INFLUENCE OF NAMES
Alien, degrading, and diminutive slave names were important symbols in upholding the Narragansett planters’ ideology of alienation and paternalism. There is no doubt that planters believed in these ideologies. Yet, it is unclear if these names caused slaves to internalize these ideologies. There are no surviving slave narratives from Narragansett; thus, one can never be sure how slaves viewed the names that planters imposed upon them....
page 194
These studies suggest that degrading names could have helped slaves develop poor self-images, which might have made them easier to control.
The historical evidence shows, however, that degrading names did not instill many slaves with inferiority complexes. Instead, slaves resisted their masters’ control over their names. Two primary sources suggest that slaves greatly resented their masters’ control and fought to retain their original names. “William Wells Brown recalled that he had “lost” his name ‘William’, when his master’s nephew of that same name arrived to live with them. Ordered to change his name in deference to the white boy, he balked. ‘This at the time, I thought to be one of the most cruel acts that could be committed against my rights; and I received severe whippings for telling people that my name was William after receiving orders were given to change it.” (Genovese 1972:445) Likewise, Gustavas Vassa only adopted his name after numerous beatings.(Edwards 1967:35-36)
Studies of African American names before and after emancipation suggest that blacks resented their slave names and quickly adopted new ones when the opportunity presented itself. (e.g. Berlin 1974; Nash 1988). Ira Berlin (1974:52) writes “Free Negroes commonly celebrated emancipation by taking a new name. A new name was both a symbol of personal liberation and an act of political defiance; it reversed the enslavement process and confirmed the free Negro’s newly won liberty, just as the loss of an African name had earlier symbolized enslavement.” This evidence suggests that most slaves did not internalize the degradation symbolized by their names. Instead, slaves in Narragansett and the American South used names to fight their masters’ control through symbolic ties to their African past.
THE AFRICAN AMERICAN RESPONSE
Despite their masters’ attempt to use names to control them, Narragansett’s slaves gave these names different meanings to undermine the planters’ domination. Sometimes this was done openly, but often this form of cultural resistance was only used among the slaves....
page 195
...this chapter examines four ways Narragansett slaves may have used their names as a form of resistance against their masters’ symbolic control.
Symbolic Appropriation
....Cheryl Cody’s studies of the Ball (1987) and Gaillard (1982) plantations shows that once slaves began naming their own children, they used names of kin. In this way names forced upon slaves, including degrading names, became family names with positive rather than degrading connotations....
Private Names
A number of slaves undermined the planters’ strategies by having two first names. One name was given and used by whites, but the other was bestowed on the slave by the African American community and used among them in private. Slaves probably saw the latter as their real name; thus, planter imposed degrading names would not have undermined their self-esteem. These private names could either be of African or Anglo origin, or nicknames used among the slaves....
page 196
Similarly, many slaves had family names that were used only among themselves. Even though slaves supposedly took their masters’ last name, in both the North and the South, many slaves rejected these in favor of names of their own choosing.(Gutman 1976: 230-232). Often they took the name of their first master, or an ancestor’s master, or chose an African inspired name. These names were often kept secret from whites, who at least in the nineteenth- century American South, sometimes whipped slaves for using them.(Gutman 1976:236)....
Page 197
Private last names were also an important means of resistance, because they fostered a sense of history by keeping ties alive to past family members and rejected their masters’ ideology of paternalism by symbolically stating that they did not consider themselves to be their masters; children.
African Names
Many scholars have noted the high retention of African names among North American slaves….African names were important symbols in the slaves’ cultural resistance against the masters’ ideologies of alienation and degradation (Genovese 1972; Inscoe 1983; Wood 1974)
Although the Narragansett probably named most of their slaves, ten percentage of slaves still held on to African names. The most common names were Cuff (11 people), Mongo (8), Bina (5), and Cudjo (4). Among the most unusual were Satria and Treedee. The prevalence of African names shows that some masters were not concerned about these retentions…..
Page 200
Table 6.8 Similar English and African names in Narragansett
English -African- Number of Slaves Bearing Name in Narragansett
Abby- Abba-0
Becky-Beke-1
Cato-Keta-3
Easter- Easter (time name) -2
Hercules-Hekles-2
Jack-Quaco-16
Joe-Cudjo-8
Phebe-Pheba/Phibbi-4
Phillis-Fili-19
Total- 55
Ten percent of Narragansett slaves were named one of the ten names shown in Table 6.8. This is consistent with other studies which also find these names to be common…
If slaves interpreted these names as African, then they were symbols of an African past and part of the slaves subordinate culture. Therefore, the number of slaves with these names should be combined with slaves with pure African names to get a true reflection of the extent of African symbolism. In Narragansett, 101 slaves out of the total 532 surveyed, or 19 percent bore names of these types. Once again, these results are similar to John Inscoe’s data from the Carolinas. Inscoe (1983: 535) found that 23 percent of all surveyed slaves bore names of possible African origin. This further supports the possibility
page 201
that Narragansett’s slaves held on to symbols of their African past to resist their masters’ racist ideologies.”....
-snip-
*Italics were added to highlight these sentences about enslaved and free Black people being prohibited from using the titles of respect(honorifics) "Sir", "Ma'am", "Mr", "Mrs." ("Missus", "Miss"). Those titles were reserved for White people only. As a means of showing respect to older people, Black people began using the titles "Aunt" and "Uncle", and White people also eventually began using those titles for older Black people. Some examples of "Uncle" and "Aunt" used as titles for Black people in popular culture in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries are "Uncle Tom" (as in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel and play Uncle Tom's Cabin), "Uncle Remus", "Uncle Ben", Uncle John Scruggs (African American Old Time music banjo player), and Aunt Jemima.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series that excerpts online articles and books about naming practices during slavery in the United States, the Caribbean, and South America.
This post showcases an excerpt from Robert K. Fitts' 1998 book Inventing New England's Slave Paradise: Master/Slave Relations in Eighteenth-century Narragansett, Rhode Island
This excerpt focuses on eighteenth century Rhode Island (New England) slave masters' use of names and titles that preface those names strategies of subordination and degradation and enslaved Black people's resistance to those strategies.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and linguistic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Robert K. Fitts for his research and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the enslaved and free Africans who lived in the Northern and Southern regions of the United States. Your legacy lives on.
****
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-survival-of-several-akan-day-names.html for a related pancocojams post on Black names in South Carolina 18th and 19th centuries.
****
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT SLAVERY IN RHODE ISLAND
From http://slavenorth.com/rhodeisland.htm
"Black slaves were in Rhode Island by 1652, and by the end of that century Rhode Island had become the only New England colony to use slaves for both labor and trade. After overtaking Boston by 1750, Newport and Bristol were the major slave markets in the American colonies. Slave-based economies existed in the Narragansett plantation family, the Middletown crop workers, and the indentured and slave craftsmen of Newport....
In Narragansett County, conditions favored large-scale farming, and here more than anywhere else in the North a system began to emerge that looked like the Southern plantation colonies. In parts of "South Country" (as Narragansett also was called), one-third of the population was black work force by the mid-18th century. That's comparable to the proportion of slaves in the Old South states in 1820. Narragansett planters used their slaves both as laborers and domestic servants. William Robinson owned an estate that was more than four miles long and two miles wide, and he kept about 40 slaves there. Robert Hazard of South Kingstown owned 12,000 acres and had 24 slave women just to work in his dairy. The Stantons of Narragansett, who were among the province's leading landowners, had at least 40 slaves.
In keeping with the usual pattern, a higher percentage of blacks meant a more strict control mechanism. South Kingstown had perhaps the harshest local slave control laws in New England. After 1718, for instance, if any black slave was caught in the cottage of a free black person, both were whipped. After 1750, anyone who sold so much as a cup of hard cider to a black slave faced a crushing fine of 30.
Rhode Island, of course, was among the most active Northern colonies in importing slaves.
EMANCIPATION
During the Revolution, Quaker abolitionists and the powerful Newport shipping interest clashed over slavery. In February 1784 the Legislature passed a compromise measure for gradual emancipation. All children of slaves born after March 1 were to be "apprentices," the girls to become free at 18, the boys at 21. As with other Northern instances of gradual emancipation, this gave slaveowners many years of service to recoup the cost of raising the children.
No slaves were emancipated outright. The 1800 census listed 384 slaves, and the number fell gradually to 5 in 1840, after which slaves were no longer counted in the censuses for the state. And, in an essential element of the 1784 compromise, the right of Rhode Island ship-owners to participate in the foreign slave trade was undisturbed....
As was the case throughout the North, Rhode Island, having ended slavery, also sought to make it difficult for blacks to remain in the state or move there. In the early 19th century, Rhode Island towns especially turned to the old New England custom of "warning out" strangers to purify themselves racially. The custom continued to have as a stated goal the removal of poor and undesirable strangers from a community. But blacks were increasingly its targets, out of proportion to their numbers and without regard to whether they were long-term residents or not."...
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BOOK REVIEW
From https://books.google.com/books?id=4KSN2QDsLBMC&dq=uncle+and+aunt+titles+before+black+names+in+19th+century&source=gbs_navlinks_s "Inventing New England's Slave Paradise: Master/Slave Relations in Eighteenth-century Narragansett, Rhode Island" by Robert K. Fitts
Taylor & Francis, 1998 - History - 274 pages
"Many 19th and 20th century historians have argued that Northern slavery was mild and that master/slave relations were relatively harmonious. Yet, Northern slavery, like Southern, was characterized by the conflict between the masters' desire to control their slaves and the slaves' resistance to this domination. For a variety of political, social, and intellectual reasons, 19th and 20th century historians ignored this inherent conflict in discussions of Northern slavery. Fitts' research focuses on how and why historians sanitized the history of slavery in Narragansett, Rhode Island, and then shows the inadequacy of these interpretations by examining several of the planters' and slaves' conflicting strategies of control and resistance. Topics include how planters used physical punishment, legislation, and the threat of sale in an attempt to control their slaves, and how slaves resisted through violence, running away, and non-violent crime. Fitts also examines the plantation landscape as a site of symbolic contestation and includes a chapter on slave names. (Ph.D. dissertation, Brown University, 1995; revised with new preface)"
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FEATURED EXCERPT - "INVENTING NEW ENGLAND'S SLAVE PARADISE: MASTER/SLAVE RELATIONS IN EIGHTEETH -CENTURY NARRAGANSETT, RHODE ISLAND
From [Google Books]
page 190
...."masters used diminutive names to teach slaves their place in white society and to undermine their self-esteem so as to create docile slaves who accepted their position. There is little doubt that diminutives were degrading to the slaves. Genovese (1972:448) notes that when naming their own children, slaves rarely used diminutives and almost never shortened their proper names to diminutives among themselves. Furthermore, slave culture was built on beliefs and traditions from West Africa, where names were important symbols of personal identity.(Inscoe 1983; Paustian 1978). To use a name improperly showed great disrespect. (Price & Price 1972 352-354). By using diminutives, both white adults and children treated slaves as children. This was reinforced by the use of “boy” or “girl” to refer to slaves of any age.
page 191
Similarly, because of the special respect given to the aged, the misuse of titles for older people could be especially insulting . Maters purposely denied slaves the dignity of respectful titles. All slaves were known by their first names only. Some Southern masters rigidly reinforced this point. “The former Eastern Shore, Maryland free Black Levi Coppin, who was born in 1848, said merely that “White people didn’t permit us to say “Mr.” and “Mrs” to each other, so the children, for manners sake, were taught to call the older people “aunt” and “uncle”. (Gutman 1976:217). Whites did not start referring to older blacks by those titles until the nineteenth century. (Gutman 1976:217-218).* This form of disrespect clearly signaled the slaves’ position within society, but may have also undercut the slaves’ own self-esteem. Masters hoped that this degradation would keep slaves humble and thus easier to control....
The data suggests that degrading slaves with classical names and place names were common throughout colonial America. Likewise, degradation through diminutive names was also a common strategy....
page 193
THE INFLUENCE OF NAMES
Alien, degrading, and diminutive slave names were important symbols in upholding the Narragansett planters’ ideology of alienation and paternalism. There is no doubt that planters believed in these ideologies. Yet, it is unclear if these names caused slaves to internalize these ideologies. There are no surviving slave narratives from Narragansett; thus, one can never be sure how slaves viewed the names that planters imposed upon them....
page 194
These studies suggest that degrading names could have helped slaves develop poor self-images, which might have made them easier to control.
The historical evidence shows, however, that degrading names did not instill many slaves with inferiority complexes. Instead, slaves resisted their masters’ control over their names. Two primary sources suggest that slaves greatly resented their masters’ control and fought to retain their original names. “William Wells Brown recalled that he had “lost” his name ‘William’, when his master’s nephew of that same name arrived to live with them. Ordered to change his name in deference to the white boy, he balked. ‘This at the time, I thought to be one of the most cruel acts that could be committed against my rights; and I received severe whippings for telling people that my name was William after receiving orders were given to change it.” (Genovese 1972:445) Likewise, Gustavas Vassa only adopted his name after numerous beatings.(Edwards 1967:35-36)
Studies of African American names before and after emancipation suggest that blacks resented their slave names and quickly adopted new ones when the opportunity presented itself. (e.g. Berlin 1974; Nash 1988). Ira Berlin (1974:52) writes “Free Negroes commonly celebrated emancipation by taking a new name. A new name was both a symbol of personal liberation and an act of political defiance; it reversed the enslavement process and confirmed the free Negro’s newly won liberty, just as the loss of an African name had earlier symbolized enslavement.” This evidence suggests that most slaves did not internalize the degradation symbolized by their names. Instead, slaves in Narragansett and the American South used names to fight their masters’ control through symbolic ties to their African past.
THE AFRICAN AMERICAN RESPONSE
Despite their masters’ attempt to use names to control them, Narragansett’s slaves gave these names different meanings to undermine the planters’ domination. Sometimes this was done openly, but often this form of cultural resistance was only used among the slaves....
page 195
...this chapter examines four ways Narragansett slaves may have used their names as a form of resistance against their masters’ symbolic control.
Symbolic Appropriation
....Cheryl Cody’s studies of the Ball (1987) and Gaillard (1982) plantations shows that once slaves began naming their own children, they used names of kin. In this way names forced upon slaves, including degrading names, became family names with positive rather than degrading connotations....
Private Names
A number of slaves undermined the planters’ strategies by having two first names. One name was given and used by whites, but the other was bestowed on the slave by the African American community and used among them in private. Slaves probably saw the latter as their real name; thus, planter imposed degrading names would not have undermined their self-esteem. These private names could either be of African or Anglo origin, or nicknames used among the slaves....
page 196
Similarly, many slaves had family names that were used only among themselves. Even though slaves supposedly took their masters’ last name, in both the North and the South, many slaves rejected these in favor of names of their own choosing.(Gutman 1976: 230-232). Often they took the name of their first master, or an ancestor’s master, or chose an African inspired name. These names were often kept secret from whites, who at least in the nineteenth- century American South, sometimes whipped slaves for using them.(Gutman 1976:236)....
Page 197
Private last names were also an important means of resistance, because they fostered a sense of history by keeping ties alive to past family members and rejected their masters’ ideology of paternalism by symbolically stating that they did not consider themselves to be their masters; children.
African Names
Many scholars have noted the high retention of African names among North American slaves….African names were important symbols in the slaves’ cultural resistance against the masters’ ideologies of alienation and degradation (Genovese 1972; Inscoe 1983; Wood 1974)
Although the Narragansett probably named most of their slaves, ten percentage of slaves still held on to African names. The most common names were Cuff (11 people), Mongo (8), Bina (5), and Cudjo (4). Among the most unusual were Satria and Treedee. The prevalence of African names shows that some masters were not concerned about these retentions…..
Page 200
Table 6.8 Similar English and African names in Narragansett
English -African- Number of Slaves Bearing Name in Narragansett
Abby- Abba-0
Becky-Beke-1
Cato-Keta-3
Easter- Easter (time name) -2
Hercules-Hekles-2
Jack-Quaco-16
Joe-Cudjo-8
Phebe-Pheba/Phibbi-4
Phillis-Fili-19
Total- 55
Ten percent of Narragansett slaves were named one of the ten names shown in Table 6.8. This is consistent with other studies which also find these names to be common…
If slaves interpreted these names as African, then they were symbols of an African past and part of the slaves subordinate culture. Therefore, the number of slaves with these names should be combined with slaves with pure African names to get a true reflection of the extent of African symbolism. In Narragansett, 101 slaves out of the total 532 surveyed, or 19 percent bore names of these types. Once again, these results are similar to John Inscoe’s data from the Carolinas. Inscoe (1983: 535) found that 23 percent of all surveyed slaves bore names of possible African origin. This further supports the possibility
page 201
that Narragansett’s slaves held on to symbols of their African past to resist their masters’ racist ideologies.”....
-snip-
*Italics were added to highlight these sentences about enslaved and free Black people being prohibited from using the titles of respect(honorifics) "Sir", "Ma'am", "Mr", "Mrs." ("Missus", "Miss"). Those titles were reserved for White people only. As a means of showing respect to older people, Black people began using the titles "Aunt" and "Uncle", and White people also eventually began using those titles for older Black people. Some examples of "Uncle" and "Aunt" used as titles for Black people in popular culture in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries are "Uncle Tom" (as in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel and play Uncle Tom's Cabin), "Uncle Remus", "Uncle Ben", Uncle John Scruggs (African American Old Time music banjo player), and Aunt Jemima.
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Visitor comments are welcome.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Excerpt From Kwasi Konodu's Book "The Akan Diaspora In The Americas" (with a focus on Akan day names in Suriname, South America)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series that excerpts online articles and books about the influence of African cultures on enslaved Black people in the United States, the Caribbean, and South America.
This post showcases an excerpt from Kwasi Konadu's 2010 book The Akan Diaspora in the Americas. This excerpt focuses on the influence of Akan culture on enslaved Black people in Suriname, South America. This excerpt also provides some information about the Mina [Akan people] who were enslaved in 18th century Danish and Dutch West Indies.
Hyperlinked explanatory background information and definitions are provided before the featured book excerpt.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and linguistic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.. Thanks also to the enslaved and free Africans who lived in Suriname, the Caribbean, and elsewhere. Your legacy lives on.
****
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-survival-of-several-akan-day-names.html for a related pancocojams post on Black names in South Carolina 18th and 19th centuries.
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INFORMATION ABOUT SURINAME
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suriname
"Suriname... also spelled Surinam)... is a sovereign state on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west and Brazil to the south. At just under 165,000 km2 (64,000 sq mi), it is the smallest country in South America.[note 1] Suriname has a population of approximately 566,000,[3] most of whom live on the country's north coast, in and around the capital and largest city, Paramaribo.
Originally inhabited by a number of indigenous tribes, Suriname was explored and contested by European powers before coming under Dutch rule in the late 17th century. In 1948 the country gained autonomy and in 1954 it became one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 25 November 1975, the country of Suriname left the Kingdom of the Netherlands to become an independent state, nonetheless maintaining close economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties to its former colonizer.
Suriname is considered to be a culturally Caribbean country, and is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It is an officially Dutch-speaking country, at the same time, Sranan, an English-based creole language, is the most widely used lingua franca."...
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INFORMATION ABOUT SEVERAL TERMS FOUND IN THIS BOOK EXCERPT
Akan people, Akan language, Gold Coast
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_people
"The Akan... are a meta-ethnicity and Potou–Tano Kwa ethno-linguistic group residing on the Gulf of Guinea in the southern regions of the former Gold Coast region in what are today the republics of Ghana and the Ivory Coast in West Africa.
Akans are the largest meta-ethnicity and ethno-linguistic group in both countries and have a population of roughly 20 million people. The Akan language (also known as Twi–Fante) is a group of dialects within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano Kwa language family"...
Subgroups of the Akan proper include: Asante, Akuapem and Akyem (the Asante, Akuapem and Akyem dialects are together known as Twi), Agona, Kwahu, Wassa, Fante (Fanti or Mfantse: Anomabo, Abura, Gomua) and Bono...
The Akans basically consider themselves as one nation. Akan means the Enlightened or Civilised. They basically trace their descent philosophically as from one woman. Within this nation are the three branches based on dialect - Guans, Fantes and Twis…
Akan refers to the language of the Akan ethno-linguistic group and the Akan language in which was and is the most widely spoken and used indigenous language in south of Ghana….
The Akan language spoken as the predominant language in the Western, Central, Ashanti, Eastern, Brong Ahafo regions of south Ghana.[24][25] A form of Akan Ndyuka is also spoken in South America, notably Suriname, French Guiana, Guyana, with the Akan language coming to these South American and Caribbean places through the trans-Atlantic trade and Akan names and folktales are still used in these South American and Caribbean countries(main example of Jamaica and its great influence with Akan culture, Adinkra symbols and Twi loanwords).[24]...
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Akan day names
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_names
"The Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. These "day names" have further meanings concerning the soul and character of the person...
This tradition is shared throughout West Africa due to Akan Influence, from Benin/Dahomey (Fon) and Togo (Ewe), to the Ga, to other West Africans and throughout the African diaspora. For example, in Jamaica the following day names have been recorded: Monday, Cudjoe; Tuesday, Quabenah; Wednesday, Quaco; Thursday, Quao; Friday, Cuffee; Saturday, Quamin; Sunday, Quashee. English translations of these names were used in the United States during the nineteenth century; Robinson Crusoe's Friday may be conceptually related....
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Kromantse, Coromantee
From that the same Wikipedia page whose link is given above:
"A large number of Akans were taken as captives to the Americas, and many people of African descent in the Americas have partial Akan ancestry. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Akan slaves were all referred to as Coromantees. Due to their organization, common language, and fierce nature, Coromantees were responsible for the majority of slave revolts in the Caribbean and North America....
-snip-
Here's additional information about "Coromantees":
From http://www.web.pdx.edu/~rosine/black/faculty/African_Archaeology.pdf The African Archeological Review 11 (1993); 1993 Cambridge University Press “Archeology And Resistance History In The Caribbean” by E. Kofi Agorsah [Pages 179-180]
"Kromantse, a small settlement of Fante-speaking people of the then Gold Coast, became the first location from which the English first commenced their operations. It was from Kromantse that the English began to ship out slaves in 1631. Consequently, all slaves from that embarkation were referred to as ‘Kromantine’ slaves...
Historians and archeologist are now agreed that the slaves often referred to as ‘Kromantee people’ did not all come from Kromantse. Therefore, although the last memories of life before leaving the West African coast would have been that of Kromantse, other cultural backgrounds were also represented. It is important to take this into account in attempting a reconstruction of West African cultural traditions in the Caribbean. Much interpretation of the history of the diaspora depends on knowing the cultural patterns and the areas where the slaves were brought. Unfortunately, owing to the limited knowledge about the variety of cultural traditions in Africa, the tendency is to limit descriptions and interpretations to only a few ethnic groups such as Asante, Yoruba, and Ibo.”...
-snip-
Note that "Koromanti" is an English forms of the Twi word "Kromantse". Also, "Kromantine" and "Coromantee"/"Kromantee" refer to the same people, although all of these people weren't Akan.
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Maroons
From http://www.folklife.si.edu/resources/maroon/educational_guide/23.htm
Maroons: Rebel Slaves in the Americas by Richard Price
"The English word "maroon".... is used to refer to individuals who escaped from slavery... [Maroons] derives from Spanish cimarrón--itself based on an Arawakan (Taino) Indian root. Cimarrón originally referred to domestic cattle that had taken to the hills in Hispaniola, and soon after it was applied to American Indian slaves who had escaped from the Spaniards as well. By the end of the 1530s, the word had taken on strong connotations of being "fierce," "wild" and "unbroken," and was used primarily to refer to African-American runaways.
For more than four centuries, the communities formed by such escaped slaves dotted the fringes of plantation America, from Brazil to the southeastern United States, from Peru to the American Southwest. Known variously as palenques, quilombos, mocambos, cumbes, mambises or ladeiras, these new societies ranged from tiny bands that survived less than a year to powerful states encompassing thousands of members that survived for generations and even centuries. Today their descendants still form semi-independent enclaves in several parts of the hemisphere -for example, in Suriname, French Guiana, Jamaica, Colombia and Belize--fiercely proud of their maroon origins and, in some cases at least, faithful to unique cultural traditions that were forged during the earliest days of African-American history."...
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Djuka (This referent is now considered to be pejorative.)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndyuka_people
"The Ndyuka people (pejoratively spelled 'Djuka') or Aukan people or Okanisi sama, are one of six Maroon peoples (formerly called "Bush Negroes", which also has pejorative tinges) in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana....
The Ndyuka and related people are of African descent, having been shipped as slaves to Suriname in the 17-18th century to work on Dutch-owned colonial plantations. Those who escaped fled deep into the rainforests where they established Maroon communities along rivers in mostly southeastern Suriname and parts of neighboring French Guiana and where their culture adopted elements of Native American cultures"...
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Saramaka
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saramaka
"The Saramaka or Saramacca are one of six Maroon peoples (formerly called "Bush Negroes") in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana. (Note that beginning in mid-2010, the people formerly known as “Saramaka” began identifying themselves, in their official documents in English, as "Saamaka," to conform to their own pronunciation.) In 2007, the Saramaka won a ruling by the Inter-American Court for Human Rights supporting their land rights in Suriname for lands they have historically occupied, over national government claims. It was a landmark decision for indigenous peoples in the world. They have received compensation for damages and control this fund for their own development goals."...
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SUMMARY OF KWASI KONODU'S BOOK "THE AKAN DIASPORA IN THE AMERICAS"
From http://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780195390643.html
The Akan Diaspora in the Americas BY Kwasi Konadu (City University of New York, Oxford University Press, USA, Apr 14, 2010 - History - 324 pages
"Research on the African diaspora in the Americas has an uninterrupted focus on West Africa, and an equally incessant neglect of the Akan in comparison to the Yorùbá, Igbo, or Kôngo-Angola diasporas. In his groundbreaking study of the Akan diaspora, Konadu demonstrates how this cultural group originating in Central West Africa both participated in and went beyond the familiar diasporic themes of maroonage, resistance, and freedom.
Between the sixteenth and nineteenth century, the Akan never constituted a majority among other Africans in the Americas. But their leadership skills in war and political organization, efficacy in medicinal plant use and spiritual practice, and composite culture archived in the musical traditions, language, and patterns of African diasporic life far outweighed their sheer numbers. Konadu argues that a composite Akan culture calibrated between the Gold Coast littoral and forest fringe made the contributions of the Akan diaspora possible.
He first calls attention to the historic formation of Akan culture in West Africa and its reach into the Americas. Then, the author examines the Akan experience in Guyana, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbados, former Danish and Dutch colonies, and North America, and how those early experiences foreground the contemporary engagement and movement of diasporic Africans and Akan people between Ghana and North America. Locating the Akan variable in the African diasporic equation allows scholars and students of the Americas to better understand how the diasporic quilt came to be and is still evolving."
-snip-
I reformatted this book summary to enhance its reading clarity.
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FEATURED EXCERPT
From Google books, pages 111-112
..."Almost half of all vessel- based uprisings occurred between 1751 and 1755, and undoubtedly the Akan played a significant role, for the Gold Coast recorded some of its highest annual imports during those years. Of the close to seventeen hundred who disembarked in Suriname in the aftermath of those voyages, some of them likely joined existing or new Maroon communities. In 1760, when 75 to 80% of the enslaved population was Africa born and the nation was pregnant with new Maroon groups, the Djuka launched another attack on the plantation of Onoribo, and peace was soon sought between the leader of the Djuka and his six chiefs (Mafunage, Titus, Kwauw [Kwao], Kofi Semprende, and Boston), and Governor Wigbold Crommelin...
The Djuka forces were led by a “captain” named Kormantin Cojo (or Cormantyn Codjo) and another named Kofi, who was perhaps Kofi Semprende”....
[Pancocojams' editor’s note: The Djuka and the colony signed a treaty in 1760 giving ‘freedom’ to the Djukas.]
“The Saramaka signed their peace treaty in 1762. Once the Djuka and Saramaka had received their “freedom” and were reduced to “watchdogs” for the colony via their respective treaties, other independent Maroon groups in Suriname joined forces. Some even raided the smallholdings of “free men” such as “Quassi’(Kwasi). Others shot a Curacao bomba (slave driver) named Cadjo (Kwadwo) in revolt, while groups of Negroes of Coromantin, the most formidable of all these Africans, shot and killed their masters. Another Maroon group with no ties to others was led by a “chief” named Kwami (Kwame) in the late eighteenth century, while the Kwinti Maroons situated west and southwest of Parimaribo and in the Para region fell under the leadership of gaanman (paramount chief) Kof-maka between1770-1827. A ‘chief’ named Jermes, a Negro of Coromantin, who led an earlier Maroon group in Para during the period when Suriname was under British rule, preceded Kofi-maka. Unlike other Maroon groups that originated in the Dutch colony of Suriname, such as the Saramaka and the Djuka (also known as Okanisi cf okanni, an Akan person), the Aluku or Boni Maroons who came to settle in French Guiana near the Maroni and Lava rivers, did not create a lasting treaty with either the Dutch or the French colonist....
[page 123]
"The brief importance of Koromantin was eclipsed by the key British coastal holdings and embarkation ports of Anomabu and Cape Coast during the eighteenth century as the focus of the enslavement enterprise on the Gold Coast shifted westward away from Accra and the area divided by the Yellow River. It was also during this time that the “Mina” who spoke Akan rather than the Ga Adangme language were brought to the Americas in numbers large enough to form a distinct group there. However, those Africans from the Gold Coast who were transplanted to the Americas through largly British-controlled ports and on British vessels still carried the designation of “Coromantee”, and it is highly doubtful whether a nation under the “Coromantee” rubic ever existed at all.
The general characteristics of the Mina in the Danish and Dutch Caribbean mirrored that of the Coromantee in the British Caribbean: They were prominent in Maroon communities, conspiracies, and revolts against slavery in pursuit of sovereignty, and they formed spiritual-healing practices (based on indigenous medical knowledge, kinship networks, and mutual aid societies as a way to reconstitute family and community in foreign lands. The Dutch capture of Kormantin from the British in the mid- 1600s was a part of a series of events in which the Dutch and British vied for trading supremacy on the Gold Coast, and though they were both on peaceful terms, they nonetheless interfaced with one another’s operations, captured one another’s ships, and competed for favors of coastal leaders and merchants through gifts and bribes"...
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series that excerpts online articles and books about the influence of African cultures on enslaved Black people in the United States, the Caribbean, and South America.
This post showcases an excerpt from Kwasi Konadu's 2010 book The Akan Diaspora in the Americas. This excerpt focuses on the influence of Akan culture on enslaved Black people in Suriname, South America. This excerpt also provides some information about the Mina [Akan people] who were enslaved in 18th century Danish and Dutch West Indies.
Hyperlinked explanatory background information and definitions are provided before the featured book excerpt.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and linguistic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.. Thanks also to the enslaved and free Africans who lived in Suriname, the Caribbean, and elsewhere. Your legacy lives on.
****
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-survival-of-several-akan-day-names.html for a related pancocojams post on Black names in South Carolina 18th and 19th centuries.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT SURINAME
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suriname
"Suriname... also spelled Surinam)... is a sovereign state on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west and Brazil to the south. At just under 165,000 km2 (64,000 sq mi), it is the smallest country in South America.[note 1] Suriname has a population of approximately 566,000,[3] most of whom live on the country's north coast, in and around the capital and largest city, Paramaribo.
Originally inhabited by a number of indigenous tribes, Suriname was explored and contested by European powers before coming under Dutch rule in the late 17th century. In 1948 the country gained autonomy and in 1954 it became one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 25 November 1975, the country of Suriname left the Kingdom of the Netherlands to become an independent state, nonetheless maintaining close economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties to its former colonizer.
Suriname is considered to be a culturally Caribbean country, and is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It is an officially Dutch-speaking country, at the same time, Sranan, an English-based creole language, is the most widely used lingua franca."...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT SEVERAL TERMS FOUND IN THIS BOOK EXCERPT
Akan people, Akan language, Gold Coast
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_people
"The Akan... are a meta-ethnicity and Potou–Tano Kwa ethno-linguistic group residing on the Gulf of Guinea in the southern regions of the former Gold Coast region in what are today the republics of Ghana and the Ivory Coast in West Africa.
Akans are the largest meta-ethnicity and ethno-linguistic group in both countries and have a population of roughly 20 million people. The Akan language (also known as Twi–Fante) is a group of dialects within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano Kwa language family"...
Subgroups of the Akan proper include: Asante, Akuapem and Akyem (the Asante, Akuapem and Akyem dialects are together known as Twi), Agona, Kwahu, Wassa, Fante (Fanti or Mfantse: Anomabo, Abura, Gomua) and Bono...
The Akans basically consider themselves as one nation. Akan means the Enlightened or Civilised. They basically trace their descent philosophically as from one woman. Within this nation are the three branches based on dialect - Guans, Fantes and Twis…
Akan refers to the language of the Akan ethno-linguistic group and the Akan language in which was and is the most widely spoken and used indigenous language in south of Ghana….
The Akan language spoken as the predominant language in the Western, Central, Ashanti, Eastern, Brong Ahafo regions of south Ghana.[24][25] A form of Akan Ndyuka is also spoken in South America, notably Suriname, French Guiana, Guyana, with the Akan language coming to these South American and Caribbean places through the trans-Atlantic trade and Akan names and folktales are still used in these South American and Caribbean countries(main example of Jamaica and its great influence with Akan culture, Adinkra symbols and Twi loanwords).[24]...
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Akan day names
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_names
"The Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. These "day names" have further meanings concerning the soul and character of the person...
This tradition is shared throughout West Africa due to Akan Influence, from Benin/Dahomey (Fon) and Togo (Ewe), to the Ga, to other West Africans and throughout the African diaspora. For example, in Jamaica the following day names have been recorded: Monday, Cudjoe; Tuesday, Quabenah; Wednesday, Quaco; Thursday, Quao; Friday, Cuffee; Saturday, Quamin; Sunday, Quashee. English translations of these names were used in the United States during the nineteenth century; Robinson Crusoe's Friday may be conceptually related....
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Kromantse, Coromantee
From that the same Wikipedia page whose link is given above:
"A large number of Akans were taken as captives to the Americas, and many people of African descent in the Americas have partial Akan ancestry. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Akan slaves were all referred to as Coromantees. Due to their organization, common language, and fierce nature, Coromantees were responsible for the majority of slave revolts in the Caribbean and North America....
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Here's additional information about "Coromantees":
From http://www.web.pdx.edu/~rosine/black/faculty/African_Archaeology.pdf The African Archeological Review 11 (1993); 1993 Cambridge University Press “Archeology And Resistance History In The Caribbean” by E. Kofi Agorsah [Pages 179-180]
"Kromantse, a small settlement of Fante-speaking people of the then Gold Coast, became the first location from which the English first commenced their operations. It was from Kromantse that the English began to ship out slaves in 1631. Consequently, all slaves from that embarkation were referred to as ‘Kromantine’ slaves...
Historians and archeologist are now agreed that the slaves often referred to as ‘Kromantee people’ did not all come from Kromantse. Therefore, although the last memories of life before leaving the West African coast would have been that of Kromantse, other cultural backgrounds were also represented. It is important to take this into account in attempting a reconstruction of West African cultural traditions in the Caribbean. Much interpretation of the history of the diaspora depends on knowing the cultural patterns and the areas where the slaves were brought. Unfortunately, owing to the limited knowledge about the variety of cultural traditions in Africa, the tendency is to limit descriptions and interpretations to only a few ethnic groups such as Asante, Yoruba, and Ibo.”...
-snip-
Note that "Koromanti" is an English forms of the Twi word "Kromantse". Also, "Kromantine" and "Coromantee"/"Kromantee" refer to the same people, although all of these people weren't Akan.
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Maroons
From http://www.folklife.si.edu/resources/maroon/educational_guide/23.htm
Maroons: Rebel Slaves in the Americas by Richard Price
"The English word "maroon".... is used to refer to individuals who escaped from slavery... [Maroons] derives from Spanish cimarrón--itself based on an Arawakan (Taino) Indian root. Cimarrón originally referred to domestic cattle that had taken to the hills in Hispaniola, and soon after it was applied to American Indian slaves who had escaped from the Spaniards as well. By the end of the 1530s, the word had taken on strong connotations of being "fierce," "wild" and "unbroken," and was used primarily to refer to African-American runaways.
For more than four centuries, the communities formed by such escaped slaves dotted the fringes of plantation America, from Brazil to the southeastern United States, from Peru to the American Southwest. Known variously as palenques, quilombos, mocambos, cumbes, mambises or ladeiras, these new societies ranged from tiny bands that survived less than a year to powerful states encompassing thousands of members that survived for generations and even centuries. Today their descendants still form semi-independent enclaves in several parts of the hemisphere -for example, in Suriname, French Guiana, Jamaica, Colombia and Belize--fiercely proud of their maroon origins and, in some cases at least, faithful to unique cultural traditions that were forged during the earliest days of African-American history."...
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Djuka (This referent is now considered to be pejorative.)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndyuka_people
"The Ndyuka people (pejoratively spelled 'Djuka') or Aukan people or Okanisi sama, are one of six Maroon peoples (formerly called "Bush Negroes", which also has pejorative tinges) in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana....
The Ndyuka and related people are of African descent, having been shipped as slaves to Suriname in the 17-18th century to work on Dutch-owned colonial plantations. Those who escaped fled deep into the rainforests where they established Maroon communities along rivers in mostly southeastern Suriname and parts of neighboring French Guiana and where their culture adopted elements of Native American cultures"...
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Saramaka
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saramaka
"The Saramaka or Saramacca are one of six Maroon peoples (formerly called "Bush Negroes") in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana. (Note that beginning in mid-2010, the people formerly known as “Saramaka” began identifying themselves, in their official documents in English, as "Saamaka," to conform to their own pronunciation.) In 2007, the Saramaka won a ruling by the Inter-American Court for Human Rights supporting their land rights in Suriname for lands they have historically occupied, over national government claims. It was a landmark decision for indigenous peoples in the world. They have received compensation for damages and control this fund for their own development goals."...
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SUMMARY OF KWASI KONODU'S BOOK "THE AKAN DIASPORA IN THE AMERICAS"
From http://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780195390643.html
The Akan Diaspora in the Americas BY Kwasi Konadu (City University of New York, Oxford University Press, USA, Apr 14, 2010 - History - 324 pages
"Research on the African diaspora in the Americas has an uninterrupted focus on West Africa, and an equally incessant neglect of the Akan in comparison to the Yorùbá, Igbo, or Kôngo-Angola diasporas. In his groundbreaking study of the Akan diaspora, Konadu demonstrates how this cultural group originating in Central West Africa both participated in and went beyond the familiar diasporic themes of maroonage, resistance, and freedom.
Between the sixteenth and nineteenth century, the Akan never constituted a majority among other Africans in the Americas. But their leadership skills in war and political organization, efficacy in medicinal plant use and spiritual practice, and composite culture archived in the musical traditions, language, and patterns of African diasporic life far outweighed their sheer numbers. Konadu argues that a composite Akan culture calibrated between the Gold Coast littoral and forest fringe made the contributions of the Akan diaspora possible.
He first calls attention to the historic formation of Akan culture in West Africa and its reach into the Americas. Then, the author examines the Akan experience in Guyana, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbados, former Danish and Dutch colonies, and North America, and how those early experiences foreground the contemporary engagement and movement of diasporic Africans and Akan people between Ghana and North America. Locating the Akan variable in the African diasporic equation allows scholars and students of the Americas to better understand how the diasporic quilt came to be and is still evolving."
-snip-
I reformatted this book summary to enhance its reading clarity.
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FEATURED EXCERPT
From Google books, pages 111-112
..."Almost half of all vessel- based uprisings occurred between 1751 and 1755, and undoubtedly the Akan played a significant role, for the Gold Coast recorded some of its highest annual imports during those years. Of the close to seventeen hundred who disembarked in Suriname in the aftermath of those voyages, some of them likely joined existing or new Maroon communities. In 1760, when 75 to 80% of the enslaved population was Africa born and the nation was pregnant with new Maroon groups, the Djuka launched another attack on the plantation of Onoribo, and peace was soon sought between the leader of the Djuka and his six chiefs (Mafunage, Titus, Kwauw [Kwao], Kofi Semprende, and Boston), and Governor Wigbold Crommelin...
The Djuka forces were led by a “captain” named Kormantin Cojo (or Cormantyn Codjo) and another named Kofi, who was perhaps Kofi Semprende”....
[Pancocojams' editor’s note: The Djuka and the colony signed a treaty in 1760 giving ‘freedom’ to the Djukas.]
“The Saramaka signed their peace treaty in 1762. Once the Djuka and Saramaka had received their “freedom” and were reduced to “watchdogs” for the colony via their respective treaties, other independent Maroon groups in Suriname joined forces. Some even raided the smallholdings of “free men” such as “Quassi’(Kwasi). Others shot a Curacao bomba (slave driver) named Cadjo (Kwadwo) in revolt, while groups of Negroes of Coromantin, the most formidable of all these Africans, shot and killed their masters. Another Maroon group with no ties to others was led by a “chief” named Kwami (Kwame) in the late eighteenth century, while the Kwinti Maroons situated west and southwest of Parimaribo and in the Para region fell under the leadership of gaanman (paramount chief) Kof-maka between1770-1827. A ‘chief’ named Jermes, a Negro of Coromantin, who led an earlier Maroon group in Para during the period when Suriname was under British rule, preceded Kofi-maka. Unlike other Maroon groups that originated in the Dutch colony of Suriname, such as the Saramaka and the Djuka (also known as Okanisi cf okanni, an Akan person), the Aluku or Boni Maroons who came to settle in French Guiana near the Maroni and Lava rivers, did not create a lasting treaty with either the Dutch or the French colonist....
[page 123]
"The brief importance of Koromantin was eclipsed by the key British coastal holdings and embarkation ports of Anomabu and Cape Coast during the eighteenth century as the focus of the enslavement enterprise on the Gold Coast shifted westward away from Accra and the area divided by the Yellow River. It was also during this time that the “Mina” who spoke Akan rather than the Ga Adangme language were brought to the Americas in numbers large enough to form a distinct group there. However, those Africans from the Gold Coast who were transplanted to the Americas through largly British-controlled ports and on British vessels still carried the designation of “Coromantee”, and it is highly doubtful whether a nation under the “Coromantee” rubic ever existed at all.
The general characteristics of the Mina in the Danish and Dutch Caribbean mirrored that of the Coromantee in the British Caribbean: They were prominent in Maroon communities, conspiracies, and revolts against slavery in pursuit of sovereignty, and they formed spiritual-healing practices (based on indigenous medical knowledge, kinship networks, and mutual aid societies as a way to reconstitute family and community in foreign lands. The Dutch capture of Kormantin from the British in the mid- 1600s was a part of a series of events in which the Dutch and British vied for trading supremacy on the Gold Coast, and though they were both on peaceful terms, they nonetheless interfaced with one another’s operations, captured one another’s ships, and competed for favors of coastal leaders and merchants through gifts and bribes"...
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