The Art and Significance of Black Studies

 Maryanne Haley

Dr. Harris

ENGL 2016-44378

28 November 2023

                             The Art and Significance of Black Studies                     

Black Studies are a deep insight into the history and culture of African Americans. It allows students who are not of African descent to receive a better understanding and appreciation for the contributions that Black People made for America through music and creative writing. Each source of Black studies gives the audience a glance of the Black life experience. The studies also stress the injustices that African Americans still face, and they express how we feel to be an outcast in our country. 

 Spirituals and gospel play a significant role in the musical history of black people because this music began decades ago during slavery. “In the fields as slaves were working you could hear them singing songs to pass the time” (Velarde). Those who became Christians began singing hymns that are also called spirituals today. And gospel music derived from spirituals. The abolition of slavery lead to freed blacks, they created a new genre, blues, where they expressed their experience after being enslaved for so long. “ The blues is a reflection of life; of things that happen to a person” (Daniels 18). African Americans artists on the legacy of their ancestors by continuing to produce music of blues, spirituals, and gospel.

Music is not only part of black culture; it is our encouragement mechanism through tough times. “Music played a central role in the African American civil rights struggles of the 20th century” (Lewis). During the marches, songs were played and sung to motivate those that walked to continue. If someone died along their route, the music was psychological strength for the activist and protestors that fought for equal rights for blacks. Even today we use music at our funerals, ceremonies, and social rituals for every mood of the occasion. 

Writing in Black studies also brings awareness to the social issues and discrimination inside the black community that outsiders may believe no longer exists. African Americans “struggle to acquire a positive consciousness of who they are; their place in the economy; their real place in history;” (Waters 153) Individuals in the black community struggle to find their identity because for so many years we have been brainwashed to see ourselves through the eyes of white people. These studies also express the “discriminatory behavior against people of color in public accommodations, job applications, and court cases” (Bowser 577). Racial stereotypes are quite common today, a dark toned male can be criminalized compared to a light toned male. A black person may not receive the job position that they need due to such discrimination. But because it has gone on for years, it has been normalized and has yet to cease. 

  Black Studies is an academic field that highlights the culture and history of African Americans. It is significant not only for voicing the racial discrimination in the black community, but it also expresses ways that we contribute to American History. We send messages in our music and writing to make sure that our points are understood. Despite any hatred that African Americans have faced, we still have a place in American History.

Works Cited Page

Velarde, Airame. “African American Music History.” Oakland Public Library,

https://oaklandlibrary.org/blogs/post/african-americans-music-history/. Accessed 11 July 2018

Waters, Rob. “Black Studies.” Thinking Black: Britain, 1964-1985, 1st ed., University of California Press, 2019, pp. 125–64. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctv5j02br.10. Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.

Daniels, Douglas Henry. “The Significance of Blues for American History.” The Journal of Negro History, vol. 70, no. 1/2, 1985, pp. 14–23. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2717635. Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.

Bowser, Benjamin P. “Racism: Origin and Theory.” Journal of Black Studies, vol. 48, no. 6, 2017, pp. 572–90. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44631325. Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.

Lewis, Steven.” Musical Crossroads: African American Influence on American Music.” Smithsonian Music, Published 15 Dec. 2018. https://music.si.edu/story/musical-crossroads#:~:text=Music%20played%20a%20central%20role,movements%20for%20equality%20and%20justice.