III 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 407 

Recognizing the African American Spiritual as a national treasure. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 28, 2006 

Mr. MENENDEZ submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

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 of the history of the United 

States, the first expression of that unique American 

music was created by enslaved African Americans who— 

(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; 


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•SRES 407 IS

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 this original music, now 

known as spirituals; 

Whereas Calvin Earl, a noted performer 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 only 

represent 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 of the United 

States, remarked that the 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 


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•SRES 407 IS

Whereas the American Folklife Preservation Act (Public Law 

105–275; 20 U.S.C. 2101 note) finds 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 our Nation, including 

9 their original music and oral history; and 

10 (3) requests that the President issue a procla11 mation that reflects on the important contribution of 

12 African American spirituals to American history, 

13 and naming the African American spiritual a na14 tional treasure. 

Æ 


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