Journey To Freedom: The Spirituals Radio Project
- Spirituals are rooted in a history of pain and hope. Today, Colorado Matters presents a “Journey to Freedom” with the Spirituals Project Choir based at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. Our colleagues at CPR Classical spent the last year sharing spirituals chosen by the choir’s director, M. Roger Holland II.
- …many enslaved Africans adopted biblical figures not only as heroes, but as ancestors, to replace the African ancestors from whom they had been torn. -M. Roger Holland, II If you want some understanding of how the enslaved African community lived, struggled, and even hoped, turn to their spirituals.
- The significance of the spiritual “God is a God” signaled reliability and stability to the enslaved community. The roots of the words trace back to the Hebrew tradition and were important to those seeking deliverance. Roger Holland speaks to CPR Classical's Monika Vischer about these important messages in Journey to Freedom: The Spirituals Radio Project.
- The first several decades of 4th of July celebrations meant nothing to those who were enslaved. What was there to celebrate? M. Roger Holland, II shares why Juneteenth takes on a meaning of independence. And it’s all related to the spiritual “Great Gettin’ Up Morning” as part of Journey to Freedom: The Spirituals Radio Project.
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