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African American Studies History African American History Southern History Music
And Ethnomusicology African American Music



SONGS OF SLAVERY AND EMANCIPATION




By Mat Callahan
Introduction by Robin D. G. Kelley
Afterword by Kali Akuno
Series: Margaret Walker Alexander Series in African American Studies

Hardcover : 9781496840172, 234 pages, 32 b&w illustrations, May 2022
Paperback : 9781496840189, 234 pages, 32 b&w illustrations, May 2022

Hardcover $99.00
Paperback $30.00

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RELATED MEDIA

A Companion CD is also available from Jalopy Records. Click here to learn more
and buy now!

A critical study that highlights a new perspective of the long-buried and
forgotten songs of resistance




EVENTS

Jun 18 New York, NY SONGS OF SLAVERY AND EMANCIPATION Film Screening, Book
Launch and CD Release See All Events





DESCRIPTION

Throughout the history of slavery, enslaved people organized resistance, escape,
and rebellion. Sustaining them in this struggle was their music, some examples
of which are sung to this day. While the existence of slave songs, especially
spirituals, is well known, their character is often misunderstood. Slave songs
were not only lamentations of suffering or distractions from a life of misery.
Some songs openly called for liberty and revolution, celebrating such heroes as
Gabriel Prosser and Nat Turner, and, especially, celebrating the Haitian
Revolution.

The fight for freedom also included fugitive slaves, free Black people, and
their white allies who brought forth a set of songs that were once widely
disseminated but are now largely forgotten, the songs of the abolitionists.
Often composed by fugitive slaves and free Black people, and first appearing in
the eighteenth century, these songs continued to be written and sung until the
Civil War. As the movement expanded, abolitionists even published song books
used at public meetings.

Mat Callahan presents recently discovered songs composed by enslaved people
explicitly calling for resistance to slavery, some originating as early as 1784
and others as late as the Civil War. He also presents long-lost songs of the
abolitionist movement, some written by fugitive slaves and free Black people,
challenging common misconceptions of abolitionism. Songs of Slavery and
Emancipation features the lyrics of fifteen slave songs and fifteen abolitionist
songs, placing them in proper historical context and making them available again
to the general public. These songs not only express outrage at slavery but call
for militant resistance and destruction of the slave system. There can be no
doubt as to their purpose: the abolition of slavery, the emancipation of African
American people, and a clear and undeniable demand for equality and justice for
all humanity.




REVIEWS

> "Mat Callahan unearths important new evidence concerning the creative, subtle,
> and persistent resistance of enslaved Black people in the US."
> 
> - Kevin B. Anderson, author of Marx at the Margins: On Ethnicity, Nationalism,
> and Non-Western Societies

> "Mat Callahan's carefully documented and richly interpreted book is the first
> modern comprehensive compilation of the musical archive of Black resistance to
> slavery and abolition. I cannot praise this labor of scholarly passion and
> conscience enough. It is a game changer in the histories of musicology and
> abolition."
> 
> - Manisha Sinha, author of The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition

> "Mat Callahan's Songs of Slavery and Emancipation restores to view a wonderful
> trove of verses that give us access to the voices and lived experience of
> enslaved African Americans and their abolitionist supporters. It is an
> invaluable historical and musical resource."
> 
> - James G. Basker, Richard Gilder Professor of Literary History at Barnard
> College, Columbia University

> "This book is itself an act of liberation. Guided by inspired
> scholars/activists, we discover long-buried songs that remind us of a burden
> still not fully shed, but also of the extraordinary grit, creativity, and
> perseverance of those who have fought the good fight."
> 
> - Victor Wallis, author of Democracy Denied: Five Lectures on U.S. Politics




OTHER BOOKS BY MAT CALLAHAN, ROBIN D. G. KELLEY, AND KALI AKUNO


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