Jerrilyn McGregory explores sacred music and spiritual activism in
a little-known region of the South, the Wiregrass Country of
Georgia, Alabama, and North Florida. She examines African American
sacred music outside of Sunday church-related activities, showing
that singing conventions and anniversary programs fortify spiritual
as well as social needs. In this region African Americans maintain
a social world of their own creation. Their cultural performances
embrace some of the most pervasive forms of African American sacred
music--spirituals, common meter, Sacred Harp, shape-note,
traditional, and contemporary gospel. Moreover, the contexts in
which they sing include present-day observations such as the
Twentieth of May (Emancipation Day), Burial League Turnouts, and
Fifth Sunday.
Rather than tracing the evolution of African American sacred music,
this ethnographic study focuses on contemporary cultural
performances, almost all by women, which embrace all forms. These
women promote a female-centered theology to ensure the survival of
their communities and personal networks. They function in
leadership roles that withstand the test of time. Their spiritual
activism presents itself as a way of life.
In Wiregrass Country, "You don't have to sing like an angel" is a
frequently expressed sentiment. To these women, "good" music is
God's music regardless of the manner delivered. Therefore, Downhome
Gospel presents gospel music as being more than a transcendent
sound. It is local spiritual activism that is writ large. Gospel
means joy, hope, expectation, and the good news that makes the soul
glad.
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