Slave Songs and Spirituals

A Socio-Historical Overview of Black Youth Development in the United States for Leisure Studies

“…Ceremonies, which were often held in wooded areas to avoid detection were further sources of resistance, which may have allowed Enslaved African youth to Bforget all his sufferings, except to remind others of the trials during the past week^ (Randolph 1893, p. 67). Furthermore, spirituals provided Enslaved African youth with a source of relaxation, courage, and occasionally faith in the possibility of escape (Higginson 1867). Franklin and Moss (1994) contended that Enslaved African children were free to play with White children and wander the plantation grounds at will until they were physically able to begin outdoor labor (see also Chudacoff 2008).…”