Beloved Ft. Frederick Douglass (Expert Lens)

Frederick Douglass was ex-slave and soon a successful writer with his book, Narrative life of Frederick Douglass in 1845. Due to his successful writing, he played a huge roll in influencing many future writers such as Toni Morrison. Douglass wrote his autobiography in order to portray the harsh life of a slave without attacking anyone. In his autobiography, he talks about these songs that many slaves sing similar to Paul D where these songs help tell stories of hardships yet give them power or a will to survive. Paul D was constantly seen as a spiritual man who sang these songs of his struggles as a slave. He introduces himself not by his name but through song which allows one to connect with his spirit and see who he is as a person. Unlike Frederick Douglass, Toni Morrison was not afraid to publish songs in Beloved even when Douglass stated that it would anger many white Americans due to the fact that it was a testimony against slavery.

Throughout African history, songs were used commonly and on an everyday basis for example, cooking, cleaning, and caring for children. Sometimes, there were cases where Spanish Conquistadors would search for tribes to capture in Africa. Some tribes would sing a war song as tradition which would give their position away but the Spanish Conquistadors would let them finish because of how beautiful it was. These songs allowed them to express their emotion, spiritual freedom, and stories. Now how has songs helped in slavery? Well songs have allowed slaves to cope with the pain of slavery but in addition to pass secret information of freedom to one another for songs were passed through generations and family groups.