Walker, Daniel, speaker

Description

Daniel Walker gives an extensive lecture on the history of gospel music. Part one of his lecture begins with Africa and the early stages of slaveryMr. Walker explains the influences of the non-Christian African religion brought over to America, the spiritual practices, particularly music and dance, and the effect it had on African American christianity. He talks about percussive music, polyrhythms, improvisations, and ancestralism as key components to their beliefs and expressions thereof. The initial idea of slavery was "indentured servitude," where people would be kept for a number of years of servitude, and after that period be freed by the master. It is also important to note that only non Christians could be made slavesfor this reason Africans, specifically from the west side of the continent, were brought over, and were deliberately excluded from the master's religion. Around 1730, the "Great Awakening" changed the rules. Slaves were Christianized, by Baptists and Methodists. These two denominations had the most success with the Africans, because Baptists emphasized baptism, which related to the Koluna river which was a spiritual passageway for thier native religion. Not long after the first Free African Baptist church was founded, in Savannah, Georgia. The Methodists worshipped through music and song, which had been so vital to the spiritual experience of the Africans. Though Methodists did not ordain blacks, they would "exhort" them, and used their messages to move the whites to religion.The African Methodist Episcopal church, was the first independent African American christian denomination in America, founded...

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University of Southern California Digital Library

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California Digital Library