Research Catalog

Title

Dark midnight when I rise : the story of the Jubilee Singers, who introduced the world to the music of Black America / Andrew Ward.

Author

Ward, Andrew, 1946-

Publication

New York : Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xv, 493 p. : ill., music; 24 cm.

Summary

"Dark Midnight When I Rise tells the story of a troupe of young ex-slaves and freedmen whose odyssey from cotton field and auction block to concert stage and throne room is one of the most remarkable trajectories in American history. Singing the sacred hymns of their ancestors, the Fisk Jubilee Singers introduced the world to African American music. They enchanted such luminaries as Ulysses S. Grant, Frederick Douglass, Mark Twain, Queen Victoria, and Prime Minister William Gladstone, and demonstrated to millions of white Americans and Europeans the courage, dignity, and intelligence of African Americans." "The Jubilees introduced scores of spirituals, from "Steal Away" to "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," with such soulful artistry they moved throngs to tears. But their contribution extended beyond their music. Forced to do daily battle with American racism in the dark midnight of Reconstruction, they bravely denounced segregation from choir lofts and concert stages, forcing the issue of discrimination onto the world's front pages. In their wake, Northern hotels, railroads, and schools opened their doors to blacks." "Their success came at great cost. The eloquent Benjamin Holmes, who had taught himself to read as a slave, died of tuberculosis. Pious Julia Jackson, who as a small girl had helped her relatives escape from bondage, suffered a paralytic stroke. Frail, stalwart Ella Sheppard, the matriarch of the Jubilees, nearly died of pneumonia after seven years of unceasing toil. As they struggled to overcome exploitation and prejudice, the Jubilees transformed American music forever, foreshadowing the triumphs and travails of thousands of black performers." "Based on the singers' own letters, memoirs, and diaries, Dark Midnight When I Rise is a deeply moving testament to the inherent decency of all men and women, and the power of art to change the heart of a nation."--Jacket.

Subject

• Jubilee Singers (Fisk University)
• Jubilee Singers (Fisk University) > History
• African American musicians > Biography
• African American singers > Biography
• African American choirs

Genre/Form

• Biographies
• History

Note

• Ill. on lining papers.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [465]-474), and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

1. God's own time : Ella Sheppard : 1851-1865 -- 2. From every graveyard : slavery : 1860-1865 -- 3. By the thunder : Nashville : 1860-1865 -- 4. Can't you read? : Joseph Gillespie McKee : 1862-1865 -- 5. We'll overtake the army : Nashville : 1864-1866 -- 6. The angels changed my name : Fisk : 1866-1868 -- 7. Gideon's band : country schools : 1867-1870 -- 8. Hard trials : Fisk University : 1867-1870 -- 9. Getting ready to die : the mission : 1870-1871 -- 10. Listen to the angels : Nashville : 1866-1871 -- 11. Inching along : the first tour : October-December 1871 -- 12. The golden street : New York : December 1871-January 1872 -- 13. Get on board : New England : February-March 1872 -- 14. Old ship of Zion : Washington, D.C. march 1872 -- 15. I ain't got weary yet : homecoming : March-May 1872 -- 16. I've just come from the fountain : the second tour : May 1872-May 1873 -- 17. In bright mansions above : London : April-May 1873 -- 18. At the welcome table : London : May-July 1873 -- 19. There's room enough : Britain : July-December 1873 -- 20. Let me get up : England to America : December 1873-May 1874 -- 21. No cowards in our band : Nashville : September 1872-January 1875 -- 22. Send them angels : the third tour : January-October 1875 -- 23. No backsliding : Scotland and Ireland : November 1875-June 1876 -- 24. Sweet Canaan : Switzerland and Holland : June 1876-February 1877 -- 25. Ain't goin' lay my mission down : England and Germany : March-November 1877 -- 26. Almost home : Germany : November 1877-July 1878 -- 27. Want to cross over : the last tours : July 1878-1903 -- 28. Steal away.

ISBN

0374187711 (alk. paper)

LCCN

^^^99086036^

OCLC

• 43386534
• SCSB-10107359

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library