The Sonic Souls of Black Folk

The Stanford University Department of Music writes:

Throughout American history, the rich sound of black sacred expression has colored the American cultural landscape. Sacred sound has been a medium through which black communities have raised protest, advanced social movements, challenged ideologies, mourned injustices, and given praise. Various forms of black sonics—instrumental music, vocalized and chanted sermons, gospel choirs, percussive repetitions, poetry, and shouts of agony and exuberance—constitute black sacred sound.