The Themes Of African Americans - 967 Words

African Americans spirituals were religious songs that were sung by the African Americans during work, rest, play and church. These songs were of great importance to the African Americans. Singing these spirituals helped them escape the everyday hardships of slavery even if it was just for a moment. Each spiritual had its own meaning but overall, I think that the central meaning of the spirituals was encoded communication. These spirituals were used mainly to talk about escape plans and routes. The spirituals used biblical names to speak of the everyday people around them. The encoded messages about escape were part of the central meaning of these spirituals. I do not think that the spirituals were overall political. My opinion differs in the sense that I think the spirituals were a genius way to communicate with their in-group. The messages in the spirituals were what they needed in order to escape to the freedom that they deserved all along. First, I will give examples of the encod ed messages within the spirituals that used biblical names to reference every day people. Then, I will give examples of the communication of escape. Together these both represent the central meaning of encoded communication. While writing and singing the spirituals, the African Americans were not able to use the actual names or positions of the people they were enslaved by. This was because it would give away the messages of their songs. One way of encoding that I read about , was usingShow MoreRelatedThemes Of The African Americans Essay1792 Words   |  8 PagesThe history of the African-Americans is full of struggles, but the heroic acts of many great figures, institutions, and organizations made it possible to overcome the struggles. Facing and overcoming the struggles both portrayed many themes. 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