The spread of spirituals Spirituals were little known outside the Southern States until after the blacks were freed from slavery. In 1867, William Francis Allen, Lucy McKim Garrison, and Charles Pickard Ware published a collection of black music called Slave Songs of the United States. In 1871, spirituals were introduced to other parts of the United States by a group of blacks called the Jubilee Singers, of Fisk University. They traveled throughout the United States, and to England and Germany, giving concerts to raise money for their school. Other black schools followed their example.
Spirituals are now one of the best-known forms of American music.
Major writers of spirituals include the black composers Harry Thacker Burleigh , William Dawson, and Hall Johnson. Such black singers as Marian Anderson , Roland Hayes , and William Warfield helped make spirituals popular. For a free trial of World Book Online, click here . We'd like to hear from you. Click here to submit your comments.