Unsung Heroes of Black America

Unsung Heroes of Black America
The Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory

Writers of the Harlem Renaissance wrote novels, stories, and poems about black people deserving equality. Painters and sculptors made visual representations of these people. Musicians sang of them, and politicians spoke of them. Yet the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, possibly more than anyone else, were living examples of black people who deserved equality. To me, the most powerful excerpt from the film The Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory was when the singers were at a railway depot, stranded there and surrounded by a jeering crowd:

Ella Sheppard Mr. White stood between us and the men and directed the singing. One by one the riotous crowd left off their jeering and swearing and slunk back, until only the leader stood near Mr. White. He finally took off his hat [and] begged us, with tears falling, to sing again.
- Ella Sheppard

It shows that the singers truly affected people. They reached those who needed to "see it to believe it" - who needed something to counteract the stereotyped images they saw in everyday life and from entertainment sources. If a white person had no actual contact with blacks normally, what was to say they shouldn't believe what they heard and saw in popular culture - that blacks were dumb, "happy sambos" who couldn't be civilized? The singers touched people so much that many became embarrassed at racism in America, to the extent that they would protect African-Americans from racist attacks.

A concert poster Another amazing aspect of the Jubilee Singers was their courage. It takes only so much courage to write a controversial novel, somewhat more to incite race marches, but incredible amounts to venture helplessly out into a racist society with only $40 and not even coats. Much of what spurred them to do this was the desperateness of their situation, but notably they refused to just give up and go home, something which they could have done very easily. Instead they persisted to their very limits, singing wherever possible, even when barely any money was made for the first few months. Finally, recognition came when they sang a program including spirituals for an influential New York church.

It is interesting to compare the singers' reception in Europe to their reception in the United States. Granted, by the time they set off for Great Britain, they were a renowned group and didn't have to start from nothing as they had in the U.S. On the other hand, it's remarkable that they sang for Queen Victoria only a day after their arrival! Not only did they have crowds of British fans who purchased portraits and songbooks, they returned home with more than twice the money they had received on their American tour. It shows that the U.S. had racism pretty abnormally ingrained in it, and that the Europeans were quite a bit more open to new things than Americas were.

Remarkably, it can be argued that the Jubilee Singers did even more for the race than W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington. This is primarily because they touched such wide audiences with such concrete "proof." Although Washington's propaganda was also aimed at "the masses", he was only available to give a limited number of speeches, and much of what he said was actually aimed at blacks, doing little to combat racism. His ideology that blacks could be "separate as the fingers in all things social" in reality seemed to be giving in to racism. DuBois spoke to white citizens primarily, but he had little tangible proof of the race's merit to back up his demands for total equality. Indeed, his concept of the "talented tenth" may have even deepened racism against the other nine tenths of the race.

Because of all that they did, the Jubilee Singers should be recognized more universally for their amazing and widespread accomplishments. In many instances have I heard Washington and Dubois compared to figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., but in all of the reading I have done about the Harlem Renaissance I can't remember ever hearing about the Jubilee Singers. The courage, morality, and achievements of these "unsung heroes" should be more widely acclaimed, even for no other reason than to show people everywhere that with hard work and determination a difference can be made.

€ An Elite Group of African-Americans
€ A New Way to Treat Racism
€ Admiring the Differences
€ Unsung Heroes of Black America
€ A Lot of Creative, Inspiring People


	Writers of the Harlem Renaissance wrote novels, stories, and poems about black people deserving equality. Painters and sculptors made visual representations of these people. Musicians sang of them, and politicians spoke of them. Yet the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, possibly more than anyone else, were living examples of black people who deserved equality. To me, the most powerful excerpt from the film The Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory was when the singers were at a railway depot, stranded there and surrounded by a jeering crowd:
Ella Sheppard		Mr. White stood between us and the men and directed the singing. One by one the riotous crowd left off their jeering and swearing and slunk back, until only the leader stood near Mr. White. He finally took off his hat [and] begged us, with tears falling, to sing again. - Ella Sheppard
	It shows that the singers truly affected people. They reached those who needed to "see it to believe it" - who needed something to counteract the stereotyped images they saw in everyday life and from entertainment sources. If a white person had no actual contact with blacks normally, what was to say they shouldn't believe what they heard and saw in popular culture - that blacks were dumb, "happy sambos" who couldn't be civilized? The singers touched people so much that many became embarrassed at racism in America, to the extent that they would protect African-Americans from racist attacks.
A concert poster		Another amazing aspect of the Jubilee Singers was their courage. It takes only so much courage to write a controversial novel, somewhat more to incite race marches, but incredible amounts to venture helplessly out into a racist society with only $40 and not even coats. Much of what spurred them to do this was the desperateness of their situation, but notably they refused to just give up and go home, something which they could have done very easily. Instead they persisted to their very limits, singing wherever possible, even when barely any money was made for the first few months. Finally, recognition came when they sang a program including spirituals for an influential New York church.
	It is interesting to compare the singers' reception in Europe to their reception in the United States. Granted, by the time they set off for Great Britain, they were a renowned group and didn't have to start from nothing as they had in the U.S. On the other hand, it's remarkable that they sang for Queen Victoria only a day after their arrival! Not only did they have crowds of British fans who purchased portraits and songbooks, they returned home with more than twice the money they had received on their American tour. It shows that the U.S. had racism pretty abnormally ingrained in it, and that the Europeans were quite a bit more open to new things than Americas were.
	Remarkably, it can be argued that the Jubilee Singers did even more for the race than W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington. This is primarily because they touched such wide audiences with such concrete "proof." Although Washington's propaganda was also aimed at "the masses", he was only available to give a limited number of speeches, and much of what he said was actually aimed at blacks, doing little to combat racism. His ideology that blacks could be "separate as the fingers in all things social" in reality seemed to be giving in to racism. DuBois spoke to white citizens primarily, but he had little tangible proof of the race's merit to back up his demands for total equality. Indeed, his concept of the "talented tenth" may have even deepened racism against the other nine tenths of the race.
	Because of all that they did, the Jubilee Singers should be recognized more universally for their amazing and widespread accomplishments. In many instances have I heard Washington and Dubois compared to figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., but in all of the reading I have done about the Harlem Renaissance I can't remember ever hearing about the Jubilee Singers. The courage, morality, and achievements of these "unsung heroes" should be more widely acclaimed, even for no other reason than to show people everywhere that with hard work and determination a difference can be made.