Music is more than just sound - it’s a shapeshifting art that can be used in a multitude of ways. For many artists, music was molded into a tool to spark something special.
When Black enslaved people didn’t have music to listen to, they made their own. But this wasn’t just to spare time while working on plantations. It was also to empower themselves. But these Negro spirituals would be a problem for slave owners.
Negro spirituals were often prohibited on plantations throughout the 18th century. But that didn’t stop powerful spirituals such as “Down By The Riverside” and “Wade In The Water” from being passed down to future generations.
However, this prohibition didn’t end with enslavement.
Artists like Curtis Mayfield and James Brown both had songs banned on radio stations in 1968 because of their messages of Black empowerment. These anti-Black efforts were futile though, because those songs would continue to top the Billboard charts. Now it’s time to continue that legacy.
We’ve used music for centuries as a way to empower ourselves, regardless if people tried to silence Black music artists. They must continue to make empowering songs for our culture so current and future generations can continue to be uplifted.