Y R Iph Luker,
begun by oci I
,g pel prophe e rly in the cen­
tury formed the institution I b i
'for the later Civil Righ move­
:ment and King came th mo t
effe rive po e man for their
ide in race rei tions at mid­
century.
Luker explore the ocial
.go pel movement' ctivitie in
ANNOUNCEMENTS
-SPRING REVIVAl.
March 2-6, 7pm, Nightly
Monday-Friday. Guest
choirs and soloists ministr­
jng every night.
-FREE MEALS. Mon­
day-Friday at 12 noon.
Free meals to anyone who
wishes to eat.
-FREE CLOTHING.
Tuesdays & Thursdays
from 1-4pm.*
There are no rules
and/or criterias that have
to be met.
* The sizes vary from in­
fants to adults.
New Providence Bap­
tist Church, 19901 Ken­
tucky, 863-9883 or
861-9481.
RELIGION
,
artln luther King, Jr.
Univ it of orth C rolin
Pre in ovember.
After Emancipation, Luker
ay , the h ir of anti lavery en­
timent r at d a erie of or­
ganization aimed at racial
reform, but all had foundered by
n min io
•
or
J'
ditio I 0 pel
tun c lied "Do Not Pas e By", nd hen T m ine
H wind H mmer t med up to perform it t the .
recent Americ n ic w rd , they brought the .
ho e do n.
Th tu i fe tured on Hamm r' 1 t t lbum, ·
"Too Legit To Quit", and it fulfill committment he
m de veral ye 0 to include God-i pired tun
on e ch of hi albums. It turns out that Hammer met
Tram inc when he opened for her the "Holy Ghost .
Rapper."
B c then be doln ehri ti n raps. One of them,
tune called "Pray" became m h hit I t ye r. Last
weekend at a ranch ou ide 1.0 Angel ,the two
teamed up in for the video, which ill ir e rly thi
Spring.
Ju I BmJly: Earlier thi month the W t Angel
cOGle M Choir held a live recording ion for
the production of their third album, lated for rele e
Iter thi pring.
The choir i p rtly re ponsible for the growth in
popularity of worship and prai e music. Response to
their "Saints In Praise" albums, volumes I and II, w
phenomenal.
West Angeles pastor, Bi hop Charle E. BI eke, was
honored recently with a Black-tie dinner in Los An­
geles, for hi countle contributions to the community.
r
o
.,
p.rof
o
n
By CAROL TANIS
MOUNT PL ·ASANT - African­
Am rican acred mu ic of th 19th
century, commonly known a
Negro spirituals, ha been adopted
by different group of Americans
for widely different purpo es, says
a Central Michigan University
profe sor.
Robin Hough, who teaches a
course called "African-American
Religion in Song," says spirituals
were used by white society to pro­
vide comfort during World War II
and by African-Americans during'
civil rights marches and to provide
solace in difficult modem times.
"African-American scholars
have been aying for generations
that the e ongs must be preserved
for future use," Hough said. "We
know they are powerful. They can
be adapted to the situation. And the
method by which they are sung can
be changed to meet new needs."
Hough, who has an exten ive
collection of Black sacred music
dating from 1867, said Negro
spiritual are founded in a trong
identification of enslaved African­
American with the suffering of
Jesus and the enslavement of the
Hebrew people described in the Old
Testament. The songs talk about a
promise of divine action and a hope
of final deliverance from oppres­
sion.
see victory in that proces for those
who identify with uffering."
Hough aid that following eman­
cipation, the freed slaves wanted to
forget the spiritual that reminded
them of bad times. '
However, rural African-
American churches retained the
spirituals as part of a vibrant oral
tradition of sacred song. The songs ,
were often performed by Black
inging group from the early
African-American institutions of
higher learning, including Fisk
University and Tuskegee and
Hampton Institute .
"The spirituals now had a more
concertized sound," said Hough.
"Some of the singing groups made
world tours. Fascination with the
music spread across Europe and the
United States. It was another use of
the spiritual for omething other
than sustaining the slaves. Here the
building of the educational institu­
tions themselves was supported by
these ·songs."
During and after World War II,
the spirituals were performed on
radio and seen as America's songs
during hard times, Hough said.
"People turned on the radio and
heard choirs like Wings Over Jor­
dan, which had a national radio
show," he said. "The spirituals
were America's deepest meditation
on itself when as a nation it was
under its greatest stress. Now,
when you're facing the Nazis,
'Nobody know the trouble I've
seen' is sung by whit people, Black
people and yellow people all over
the country."
"IN ONE SENSE the spirituals
are selective," he said. "They look
at Jesus being 'flogged, publicly
humiliated and crucified, and they
We want you
- Send the history of your church along
with photo (If possible).
- Send all church announcements and
information about activities.
- Send information about
accomplishments of members and church
. groups,
Send to: Michigan Citizen, P,O, Box
03560, Highland Park, MI 48203 or
Call 869-0033.
,� Hollywood Fashion
-- Gospel Hours
W.C.H.B. 1200 AM -7:00 a.m. -11 :00 a.rn.
Every Sunday Morning
Rev. Wilmore Allen
Rev. A.J. Rogers
Joe Ella Ukely
Catherine Robinson
Gloria Parker
Lorraine Walker
Bro. Dunkin
894-8774
298-6333
298-6334
298-6335
Henry Ruff Rd.
Inkster, Mich.
BEGINNING IN THE mid-
1950s, th spiritual's lyrics were
heard in freedom songs sung during
the civil rights movement.
"They were sung by young
people for whom the idea of going
to heaven in the future was trans­
formed into freedom now," said
Hough. "Crossing Jordan i no
longer dying and going to heaven.
Crossing Jordan is the fight against
resentment and resi tance of the
Thi "Ie' criptur«: "Do not kt Gny un-
hot. 0111' laUe COIM ouI 0/ Jour llloul ,bul DIlly
wlult is h,lpful/or building oth,rs up GCcordu., to
th,;, n"ds, llull it IIIIIy b,n,jil tlao wlto lIst,n,"­
Eph,sians 4:29.
r
.
.
white e tablishment.
"'We shall overcome' is an out­
standing example because it was an
old spiritual about going to heaven
which w transformed into a politi­
cal tool to galvanize the people and
communicate the e ence of the
movement," he added.
Hough said today's contem­
porary Black gospel and rap music
contains orne lyric from
spiritual.
"Modem gospel takes some of
majority of Michigan voters con­
tinue to 'favor Democratic policies,
however.
THE RESULTS OF surveys
conducted by Public Sector Consult­
ants indicate that Engler's approval
rating decreased 5 percent over
1991.
Engler suffered large losses in
Detroit and in the northwest, which
has been one of his strongest areas of
support. Among con ervatives,
Engler's approval rating fell from 63
to 54 percent between June and Oc­
tober.
PSC is an independent Lansing­
based firm that specializes in politi­
cal and economic policy analysis.
Flood said the Democratic tactic
has been to hift attention from the
issues to the question of Engler's
personali ty .
"That's the reason that Gary Cor­
bin, the Michigan Democratic Party
chairman, several weeks ago
launched unprecedented personal
and vicious attacks on John Engler
prior to the State of the State ad­
dress," Flood said.
"I MFAN, calling the governor
of this state and his policy 'evil'­
that is defini tely out of the ordinary."
But state Democratic leaders
argue that Engler continues to woo
the far right and divide the citizenry.
Corbin called the alleged polariza­
tion attempts extremely destructive
to the legislative proce and the
function of the state.
Corbin aid governors tradition­
ally use the powers of their office to
y
those old pirituals and revivifie
them with synthesizer, complex
chords and lots of record scratch­
ing," he said.
HOUGH ESTIMATES that the
500 spirituals that have survived are
only a small portion of the sacred
songs that sustained the African­
American community during the
19th century.
.
•
.'
EN·GLER
•
. promote cooperation and unity in the :
Legislature, but that's not what he -:
sees happening. :.
"This governor has done dif- c
ferently. He's decided to drive .
"
wedges rather than create bridges," ,
Corbin said. "We have to strive to
work well or none of us will sue-
ceed."
Speaker Dodak said that the .
governor himself has become the "
root of the problem. .
..
"HE KEEPS wanting to cam- :
paign - so with that in mind, he's:
tried to split caucus from day one," '
Dodak said. "He's really run the "
state government on Confrontation, :;
and there's been chaos a 'few times �
and 1 don't think it's getting any �,
better.
"Someday this guy is going to '
wake up and find out that he's gover- -
nor. For some reason he thinks that
he's been eiected king of the state
and not governor.
"JOHN ENGLER has gotten so
far to the extreme right that he's been
bouncing off the walls, and then he
finds out there's a problem. With
that attitude, that's not good long­
term for the standard of living or the
quality of life in this state .. And were
going to suffer, all of us, long-term."
Sederburg said that despite the
Engler administration's resolve to
not budge an inch on their agenda,
they will have to moderate their
policies when the economy im­
proves.
FORA FREE
PACKAGE
to try nd $1.00 to
cover po &'
handling to Requa,
P.O. Box 4008 M,
Greenwich, CT 06830
continued from Page 1
become more conservative. He said
this allows Engler to mover farther
right and solidify support while
creating a contrast that makes 1tim
look good.
"And so when Jesse Jackson
blows into town to meet wit the
governor, does Engler mind that at
all?" Sederburg said. "No,-the
more Jackson rants and raves, the
more polarized the public becomes,
and Engler i quite happy with that
set-up."
On the other hand, Engler may
just be implementing policies that he
has always privately supported, but
never had the opportunity to effect,
said William S. Ballenger, editor and
publisher of Inside Michigan
Politics.
Ballenger said that he thinks
Engler has always been a shrewd but
more conservative politican than
many people think.
State Democratic leaders do .
argue that Engler has deliberately
obstructed the legislative process
time after time and that he has used
the governor's office to pit factions
against one another to create a con­
trast favorable to the Republicans.
SPOKESMEN FOR the Engler
administration and Michigan
Republicans deny any attempts at
polarization. Engler press secretary
John Truscott said the governor is
just doing what he thinks is right. He
said that polarization "is as an issue
that in Michigan is nonexistent."
"The bottom line is that Gov.
Engler is a politican who has kept his
promises," Truscott said. "There is
no intent to polarize our government.
We are not playing people off one
another."
Michigan Republican Party press
secretary Bryan Flood said that
what' happening is an attempt by
Democrat to shift the focus of
public attention from the issues to
Engler's personality.
"The Democrats cannot win
when it comes to the is ues. The exit
poll clearly how. that Engler'
priorities are the priorities of the
people," Flood said.
House Speaker Lewis N. Dodak,
D-Birch Run, contends that the
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