Lesson 1.1 - Unit 1 Lesson 1 (Music)

• Liberation Arts

(5 min) DO NOW DIRECTIONS: Complete the response to the best of your ability.   

“Wade in the Water” was one of the songs used to motivate enslaved people to freedom.  

It is time to move, It is time to go by the waterway, It is time to go to the North Star.

“What was meant by ‘Wade in the Water’?”  

The dogs can’t smell that scent.

“What reason would the enslaved need to wade in the water?”

It's time to start looking, It's time to start traveling, It's time to start getting ready to cross over that Jordan.

Identify different forms of Art that have been used to motivate African Americans to freedom, and provide one example of each.
Plastic Art, Pottery and Painting Art

Read this passage

Spirituals were songs that the enslaved sang for various reasons. It could’ve been so that the day could go by faster during their forced labor, or it could’ve been codes for getting away from oppression. Spirituals served as a tool for freedom; whether it was physical freedom, or a mental escape from the conditions the enslaved were in. We are going to focus specifically on the song Wade in the Water. Does anyone know what it means to Wade in the Water? 

Does anyone know what it means to Wade in the Water?

20 Min to Discussion and Listen and Read

Directions: Listen to the following song and discuss what is the coded spirituals.

What do we think they are referring to? 

Coded Spirituals

Stanza or Code

-Dressed in white or White

-The Israelites  or  Israclitcs

-Moses and leading people or Moses

-“Troubling” the Water or Trouble

What do you think the coded spirituals are referring to?

Directions: 5 min. RECAP

Yesterday we discussed how jazz is used as a tool for liberation by allowing African American artists the freedom to ___________ themselves any way they desire.   

In particular we discussed that Jazz was said to originate out of  ___________ . It mixed rhythms with other traditional ___________                       American Music. If Blues is the child of  ___________ , then Jazz would also be the child of ___________ . Jazz music is primarily composed of ___________ , but occasionally jazz featured singing artists that would sing Scat music without preparation. ___________  is the term used to describe performing music on the spur of the moment.