Throughout the history of slavery in the Americas, music carried messages of survival, rebellion, and solidarity. Enslaved people composed songs that were far more than laments--they were calls for liberty and revolution, celebrating heroes like Gabriel Prosser and Nat Turner and the triumph of the Haitian Revolution.
Alongside these songs, fugitive and free Black people and white abolitionist allies created and circulated songs that fueled the abolitionist movement. Sung in meetings, printed in songbooks, and passed hand to hand, these works stirred action and sustained courage well into the Civil War.
A Songbook of Slavery and Emancipation brings together these long-hidden voices. Mat Callahan and Kathy Bullock present sheet music for recently unearthed slave songs and abolitionist songs--some dating as far back as 1784--to make them available to chorus leaders, music teachers, church and community groups, and individual singers and musicians inspired by these powerful songs. Included in the book is a brief history of the project, background material on each song, and explanatory notes regarding the different styles of singing presented.
This collection stands as both history and testimony: a living archive of music that called for the end of slavery, the emancipation of African Americans, and a future built on equality and human dignity. These songs do not simply mourn oppression; they demand resistance, freedom, and justice.
