Press Release

5151 Pacific Ave. Stockton, CA 95207

Media Advisory For More Information Contact: Monica Ambalal Delta College Music Dept. mambalal@deltacollege.edu www.deltacollege.edu

                                      African American Work Songs Lecture
                             Wednesday, Feb. 19, 10:30am, Tillie Lewis Theatre

 

From the 1880s to the 1950s, African-Americans were disproportionately imprisoned throughout the American south, and forced to work in the convict leasing system. To regulate work pace and express their dissatisfaction, these prisoners sang work songs. The songs in this repertoire were part of a larger oral tradition dating back to early slavery, and prisoners began to repurpose the music in a new context. This lecture presents an overview of this little-known historical reality, its connection to early slave musics, and the impact of this music on later commercialized forms of 1950s soul and R&B sounds.

 

Please join us on February 19^th from 10:30 to 11:30am in the Tillie Lewis Theatre. This presentation will consist of a 40-minute lecture and a 10-15 minute Q&A session. Please share with your classes and other interested parties, and consider joining us for this informative session on oral traditions and music in our American history.

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