The month of February is Black History month and in honor of this we wanted to take a look at the significant impact of Negro Spirituals on how we worship today.

To understand their impact we must first look at their origin. According to Arreon Harley-Emerson, Director of Music & Operations at the Choir School of Delaware, Spirituals are, “The first original music from the United States. We call them Negro Spirituals because [this term] pays homage to the struggle of those who were enslaved … it’s important that we call them Negro Spirituals because there was a lot of struggle that went into the creation [of them].” Harley-Emerson goes on to say that although Christianity was not always the religion of the enslaved, they heard Christian stories in church services. These stories became apart of their spiritual life and people began to sing about them. 

Harley-Emerson also states that “one unique trait about a Negro Spiritual is the tradition of call and response. There would always be someone leading the song and then they would sing in response. This was functional music, it was used for a purpose, whether that was church or work.” Though some of the songs were functional they were also emotional. In fact, according to the Spiritual Workshop, “They were used for expressing personal feeling, and for cheering one another.”

Another, and very important, use for Negro Spirituals among the enslaved was communication. Some of the songs had clues to the Underground Railroad. “Wade in the Water” by Harriet Tubman was one such song. The lyrics describe the story of the Israelites crossing the river Jordan, but also remind those seeking freedom to walk in the rivers as they go so that dogs tracking them could not follow their scent or footprints.

When we look at the origin of Negro Spirituals and their many uses, we see a direct reflection of the very heart of worship. Worship itself is emotional expression, has a functional power to cause movement in the spirit, and can lead to freedom. It is no wonder that these songs are the foundation for Gospel music today. But how did they become this foundation? To find this answer we look to a man who is known as “The Father of Gospel Music” a man named Thomas A. Dorsey.