Chapter one and two talks about when Africans came to the ‘New World” America. Jones explains how there life, customs, attitudes and desires were shaped to a different place. Being held in captivity with no communication between master and slave was the non-humanity relationship one might have with a piece of property. During this time, Africans main purpose was to provide the cheapest agricultural labor. Colonial America was the worst type of slavery because a man who seen the world one way was captured and tortured by a man who interprets the world in a completely different way. Jones points out that a man that was enslaved by his race could still be able to function as a human being because he will remain an important member of the community.
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Before slavery African music consisted of them singing to accompany their labor, references to the Gods of African religion and the use of African drums. During slavery African speech, music and customs all changed by the American experience the salves encountered. Jones expressed that during this time, “Christianity was attractive simply because it was something the white man did that the black man could do also, and in the time of the missionaries, was encouraged to do (Jones, p. 33).” The slaves had to find other ways to worship God when their white captors told them that they could no longer worship their old ways. This took the slaves minds off Africa and material freedom. The suffering and hopes of the oppressed Jesus of biblical times gave them hope and something to look up to and many Negro spirituals reflected that. Also during this time Blues music began, “Blues as a verse form has a much social reference as any poetry, except for the strict lyric, and that also is found in blues (Jones, p. 50).” Post slavery was no place for the black ‘newly-freed’ American and for a negro to have an integral function one would have to create it for him or herself. During this post slave segregation time the negro was completely disfranchised by all legal sorts. It was also during these years that the negro’s music lost a great many of
Before slavery African music consisted of them singing to accompany their labor, references to the Gods of African religion and the use of African drums. During slavery African speech, music and customs all changed by the American experience the salves encountered. Jones expressed that during this time, “Christianity was attractive simply because it was something the white man did that the black man could do also, and in the time of the missionaries, was encouraged to do (Jones, p. 33).” The slaves had to find other ways to worship God when their white captors told them that they could no longer worship their old ways. This took the slaves minds off Africa and material freedom. The suffering and hopes of the oppressed Jesus of biblical times gave them hope and something to look up to and many Negro spirituals reflected that. Also during this time Blues music began, “Blues as a verse form has a much social reference as any poetry, except for the strict lyric, and that also is found in blues (Jones, p. 50).” Post slavery was no place for the black ‘newly-freed’ American and for a negro to have an integral function one would have to create it for him or herself. During this post slave segregation time the negro was completely disfranchised by all legal sorts. It was also during these years that the negro’s music lost a great many of