Coded Messages Hidden Inside Spirituals
By Dr. Bertice Berry
By Dr. Bertice Berry
Overview
Dr. Bertice Berry, a distinguished scholar and activist, explains in this short video how spirituals were not just songs of joy or sorrow, but that they were coded messages that slaves sang in order to escape. She uses humor and a light-hearted tone, but criticizes and pokes fun at people (like white slave owners) who believed these spirituals were nothing more than tunes to keep slaves occupied or happy. Dr. Berry highlights the genius of slaves, a people so oppressed but so brilliant, who used what little they had to take their lives back from servitude. Dr. Berry beautifully sings excerpts of these spirituals in order to highlight the messages within them, consistently debunking the myths of what people thought them to be (slaves signing about going to heaven, when they were singing about escaping to freedom). She ends with the notion that slaves "weren't waiting for [freedom], they were making it happen." Many texts talk about slaves just waiting to be free, but I appreciated how Dr. Berry countered this by highlighting how slaves were actively working towards their freedom.
Possible Engagements
This video connects to multiple texts in the set, namely the one on Harriet Tubman (since the spirituals were used to communicate about the underground railroad) and about Juneteenth, which mentions how spirituals are sung to celebrate the holiday. Students could discuss connections they have, maybe filling in a KWL as they progress through the texts.
The video also connects to "Manos Que Bailan" because of the musical element. However, the people in these texts use music for very different (and sometimes similar) purposes. Students could explore this idea, answering questions such as "What purposes does music serve?"
As an extension activity, students could find recordings of spirituals and research about their possible meanings and purposes, and then share with the class.
Advantages & Shortcomings
I really loved how the author blended singing with important messages about history, making the lesson engaging with music and using a very conversational feel and tone. I also appreciated how the author was able to slip in and out of Black English and elements of it to note when she was changing speakers. The author has a beautiful voice and really brought the spirituals to live when she sang them. I also appreciated the criticality of people's perception of slaves as ignorantly blissful. The only thing I felt could have made this video better is if Dr. Berry touched on the emotional connection slaves had with music, and/or the ways in which spirituals were also used to teach outlawed knowledge, like days of the week and counting. I did really appreciate this authentic video and the interesting and important message it contains.