III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 69 

Recognizing the African-American spiritual as a national treasure. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 5, 2007 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. REID, Mr. COBURN, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mrs. DOLE, Mrs. CLINTON, 

Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Mr. KENNEDY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

FEBRUARY 15, 2007 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, without amendment 

FEBRUARY 17, 2007 

Considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the African-American spiritual as a national 

treasure. 

Whereas since slavery was introduced into the European colonies in 1619, enslaved Africans remained in bondage 

until the United States ratified the 13th amendment to 

the Constitution in 1865; 

Whereas during that period in the history of the United 

States, the first expression of a unique American music 

was created by enslaved African-Americans who— 


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SRES 69 ATS 

(1) used their knowledge of the English language 

and the Christian religious faith, as it had been taught 

to them in the New World; and 

(2) stealthily wove within the music their experience 

of coping with human servitude and their strong desire 

to be free; 

Whereas as a method of survival, enslaved African-Americans 

who were forbidden to speak their native languages, play 

musical instruments they had used in Africa, or practice 

their traditional religious beliefs, relied on their strong 

African oral tradition of songs, stories, proverbs, and historical accounts to create an original genre of music, now 

known as spirituals; 

Whereas Calvin Earl, a noted performer of, and educator on, 

African-American spirituals, remarked that the Christian 

lyrics became a metaphor for freedom from slavery, a secret way for slaves to ‘‘communicate with each other, 

teach their children, record their history, and heal their 

pain’’; 

Whereas the New Jersey Historical Commission found that 

‘‘some of those daring and artful runaway slaves who entered New Jersey by way of the Underground Railroad 

no doubt sang the words of old Negro spirituals like 

‘Steal Away’ before embarking on their perilous journey 

north’’; 

Whereas African-American spirituals spread all over the 

United States, and the songs we know of today may represent only a small portion of the total number of spirituals that once existed; 

Whereas Frederick Douglass, a fugitive slave who would become one of the leading abolitionists in the United 


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States, remarked that spirituals ‘‘told a tale of woe which 

was then altogether beyond my feeble comprehension; 

they were tones loud, long, and deep; they breathed the 

prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the 

bitterest anguish. Every tone was a testimony against 

slavery and a prayer to God for deliverance from 

chains.’’; and 

Whereas section 2(a)(1) of the American Folklife Preservation Act (20 U.S.C. 2101(a)(1)) states that ‘‘the diversity 

inherent in American folklife has contributed greatly to 

the cultural richness of the Nation and has fostered a 

sense of individuality and identity among the American 

people’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes that African-American spirituals 

3 are a poignant and powerful genre of music that 

4 have become one of the most significant segments of 

5 American music in existence; 

6 (2) expresses the deepest gratitude, recognition, 

7 and honor to the former enslaved Africans in the 

8 United States for their gifts to the Nation, including 

9 their original music and oral history; and 

10 (3) encourages the people of the United States 

11 to reflect on the important contribution of African12 American spirituals to United States history and to 

13 recognize the African-American spiritual as a na14 tional treasure. 

Æ 


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