Wallace Willis was toiling under the blistering heat when he noticed the beauty of sunlight glimmering on a nearby river. He started humming, and the melody became a song we all know today.
Willis was known across the plantation for composing and singing songs while he did the grueling field labor. Singing helped pass the time and raise his spirits. His singing offered his community some reprieve, and they too sang along.
Willis was periodically hired out to Spencer Academy. One day the Reverend Alexander Reid overheard Willis’ singing and was impressed by his compositions. In 1871, Reid attended a performance by the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, an all-Black singing group. Reid shared Willis’ songs with them. Among them were “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” and “Steal Away to Jesus.”
The Jubilee Singers sang Willis’ songs as they toured the U.S. and Europe. In 1883 Reid requested that Fisk University credit Willis for his musical contributions to their history.
Many of our beloved Negro Spirituals started as a sung prayer on a plantation. Despite living in deplorable conditions, Willis sang the truth that lived inside of him. Liberation. Black liberation is when we each cultivate liberation from within. What’s your freedom song?