Black Folk Music: Setting the Record Straight

Abstract

Romeo Eldridge Phillips During the past two decades, with such figures as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in the vanguard, the march for social justice for Afro-Americans has significantly changed and expanded the perception of black Americans by nonblacks. There are still many uncertainties and myths, however-uncertainties such as in choosing the correct term for the race. Does one still say Negro? Or is it black, Afro-American, AfraAmerican, or even Aframerican? There are those in different generations who prefer one term to the other, and it is therefore not unusual to see written references to the Negro/black! Another uncertainty, from a musicological standpoint, resides in the process of convincing many well-intentioned nonblacks that their newfound social awareness has not eradicated long-standing false assumptions about the music of black Americans. It is still not unusual, for example, to hear singers and instrumentalists say that the modal quality of spirituals and blues is minor and derived from texts reflecting sadness exclusively. Yet, this is far from true. In her book The Music of Black Americans: A History, Eileen Southern has stated that