The Pennsylvania State University the Graduate School College Of
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Communications PRAISE GOD AND DO SOMETHING: THE ROLE OF BLACK AMERICAN GOSPEL ARTISTS AS SOCIAL ACTIVISTS, 1945-1960 A Dissertation in Mass Communications by Nathaniel Frederick II 2009 Nathaniel Frederick II Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2009 ii The dissertation of Nathaniel Frederick II was reviewed and approved* by the following: Ford Risley Associate Professor of Journalism Head of Department of Journalism Dissertation Co-Advisor Co-Chair of Committee Matthew Jordan Assistant Professor of Film/Video & Media Studies Dissertation Co-Advisor Co-Chair of Committee C. Michael Elavsky Assistant Professor of Film/Video & Media Jerome Zolten Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and American Studies Deborah Atwater Associate Professor Emeritus Communication Arts and Sciences and African and African American Studies John S. Nichols Professor of Communications Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT Music in the oral culture of Black Americans is both functional and meaningful in the way it communicates culture. Music is functional as a transmitter of messages and ideas. Music is meaningful as a ritual and serves as a form of community maintenance. Sacred music in particular was crucial in maintaining culture because it was often through religion that enslaved Africans were able to practice modified African rituals under the guise of Christianity. Black American sacred music has historically been a medium that has functioned as an outlet for the frustration against the dominant ideology of racial oppression in the United States. This dissertation examines the intersection between Black American sacred music, cultural production, and social protest during an emerging civil rights awareness from 1945 to 1960. As a crucial part of the trajectory of sacred music in the 20th century, gospel music during the 1940s and 1950s captured the collective sentiment of Black Americans. The popularity of gospel music after World War II coincided with civil rights awareness. This dissertation, based on oral history of gospel musicians, examines how the music created and reinforced social awareness at a time when Black Americans had limited access to mass media. It argues that, contrary to the view that sacred music served as an escape from the mundane world of politics and social issues, gospel music and performance functioned as an outlet for messages of social awareness. This time frame is significant for two reasons. First, this period is widely considered the Golden Age of Gospel. Gospel music was able to reach a mass Black American audience largely through the influx of independent recording companies and radio stations that focused on the Black American community as a viable niche market. Radio served as an important means of dissemination of gospel music and messages of social awareness. Second, this period is iv significant because it overlaps a period of early civil rights victories, tragedies, and protests. Social relevancy did not stop with the spirituals. Gospel music in 1930s also reflected the Black experience and addressed worldly issues and even more so 1940s and 1950s, while coinciding with an emerging civil rights awareness. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………... …...ii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………...1 Review of Literature……………………………………………………...7 Statement of Purpose……………………………………….……….......14 Research Questions…………………………………………………......18 Theoretical Context and Methodological Approaches………………….18 Participants……………………………………………………………...30 Chapter 2. HISTORICAL CONTEXT: SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE BLACK AMERICAN SACRED MUSIC TRADITION………………………………...37 Development of the Black American Church…………………………...42 Secularization of the Black American………………………………..….47 Wartime, Struggle, and Progress in the Black American Community………………………………………………………………52 The Emergence of Gospel Music………………………………………...55 Gospel Music and Civil Rights in Post-World War II United States……64 Chapter 3. “AT LEAST WE KNEW WE WAS BLACK”……………………...81 Family in the Black American Community Narrative………………………………………………………………….84 Family in the Black American Community Analysis…………………………………………………………………..86 Church in the Black American Community Narrative………………………………………………………………….87 Church in the Black American Community Analysis…………………………………………………………………..90 Participation in Church Narrative …………………………………………………………………92 Participation in Church Analysis ………………………………………………………………….93 Economics in the Black American Community Narrative………………………………………………………………….95 Economics in the Black American Community Analysis ………………………………………………………………….96 Experiencing Racial Discrimination Narrative………………………………………………………………….98 Experiencing Racial Discrimination Analysis…………………………………………………………………100 Reaction to Racial Discrimination Narrative………………………………………………………………...102 Reaction to Racial Discrimination Analysis…………………………………………………………………..105 Introduction to the Singing Profession vi Narrative………………………………………………………………….108 Introduction to the Singing Profession Analysis…………………………………………………………………..113 Chapter 4. “BELIEVE JESUS, GET UP AND DO SOMETHING"…………….119 Reflections on Racial Encounters as Gospel Performers Narrative………………………………………………………………….121 Reaction to Racial Encounters as Gospel Performers Analysis…………………………………………………………………..125 Social Meaning of Gospel Music Narrative………………………………………………………………….129 Social Meaning of Gospel Music Analysis…………………………………………………………………..137 Participation in Organized Civil Rights Activities Narrative………………………………………………………………….145 Participation in Organized Civil Rights Activities Analysis…………………………………………………………………..149 Chapter 5. “IT”S LIKE A BEAT”………………………………………………..155 Meaning and Essence of Gospel Music Narrative………………………………………………………………….157 Meaning and Essence of Gospel Music Analysis………………………………………………………………......158 The Influence of Radio in the Dissemination of Gospel Music Narrative………………………………………………………………….167 The Influence Radio on the Dissemination of Gospel Music Analysis…………………………………………………………………..170 A Cultural Connection between Africa and Gospel Music Narrative………………………………………………………………….175 A Cultural Connection between Africa and Gospel Music Analysis………………………………………………………………..…177 Chapter 6. CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………….…...184 Opportunities for Future Research…………………………………….…191 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………..193 APPENDIX………………………………………………………………………202 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank God. Without His guidance, none of my aspirations would have ever come into fruition. I would like to thank my dissertation committee members: Ford Risley, Matthew Jordan, Michael Elavsky, Deborah Atwater, and Jerry Zolten, whose presence and critique of my work has made me a better scholar. In addition, I would like to thank my colleagues in the doctoral program at Penn State: Tayo Banjo, Kalen Churcher, Ed Downs, Maja Krakowiak, Aziz Douai Doug Tewksbury, Erika Polson, and Shannon Kahle, for providing me with laughter and support during my dissertation process. My family has been a continued source of inspiration and motivation for me. I would like to thank my mother and father, Everleen Keller McFadden and Nathaniel Frederick, Sr. for all of their support while I was pursuing my doctoral degree. I would also like to thank my stepfather, Robert Lee McFadden for his advice throughout my experience. Special thanks go my cousins, Sharmina Katesha Miller-Randolph and her husband Curtis Randolph, for extending their hospitality at their home in Maryland while I was working on my degree. My work would have been impossible without the help of Gregory Starks, Yogi Lebby and James Eaddy, who did not hesitate to open their homes to me while I conducted field research. There are several individuals who have guided me unselfishly throughout this process. Three mentors have been pillars of support for me. Very special thanks go to Catherine Lyons, Cliff Jernigan, M. Christopher Brown has continued to support of my educational endeavors. 1 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Music in the Black American community is a communicative medium that has historically functioned to foster a sense of community, disseminate information, and provide a means of social critique. Amiri Baraka states, “The most expressive Negro music of any given period will be an exact reflection of what the Negro himself is. It will be a portrait of the Negro in America at that particular time.”1 In that sense, music can be understood as a reflection of the collective awareness of Black Americans. The ability of Black American music to function as an expression of social and political thought is rooted in an oral culture that can be traced back to Western Africa--the native region of most Black American ancestors. In Western African culture, singing was a part of everyday life. Singing preserved a way of life as it reflected the religion, cultural values, and customs of the people. Similarly, Black American music has always been functional, in that it is a part of daily living and closely related to the conditions of life and the maintenance of community.2 After several generations, as Africans became exposed to Christianity and their descendants identified themselves as more American than African, the music changed to reflect the hybridity of the Black American experience. According to Horace Boyer, gospel music refers to