thegooddeath

NEW Article: The Unbreakable Spirits of Black Gospel During Funerals

Added 2020-09-18 18:37:27 +0000 UTC

Hello Deathlings!

Today we have a new article for you on the Order website on the power of Black song.

Writer Danielle Broadway explores the history and importance of music in Black funerals in her guest post for us, The Unbreakable Spirits of Black Gospel During Funerals.

During slavery, Black people weren’t allowed to have formal ceremonies or rituals to mourn the dead, as slave masters viewed their gatherings as a sign that they were conspiring against them. Yet, Black people sang spirituals which not only carried secret messages to help one another escape and find freedom, but also carried the souls of the ancestors that white society thought they had erased. While there may be lost paper trail histories, blood memory has always traced back to the soulful music of the Black church.

Danielle also touches on the connections between modern homegoings in the U.S., and traditional practices of music and dance among various cultures in Africa, including praise dancing which is often incorporated into homegoings. Here's a video of a praise dance from a 2014 funeral: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZLeES7RzVk

I was especially moved by this part of Danielle's piece:

A popular African proverb that I, among many other Black American and African people, learned as a child was that, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and much like the funeral gatherings, it also takes a village to bring God’s children home.

The village for life, the village for death. What more is there?

There are more articles coming up soon, so stay tuned deathlings!

From an appropriate social distance,

Caitlin