Boston City TV, MA Equity and Inclusion Cabinet, 1 Jun 2023

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From YouTube: Songs of Free Men Act 1

Description

On December 1st 2022, THE MAYOR”S OFFICE OF EQUITY & INCLUSION CABINET:RACIAL JUSTICE FEATURED DANNY RIVERA joined by accompanists and arrangers GAVIN RUSHING (Organ) and MATT SAVAGE (Piano) who made their debut in America’s oldest extant Black church, The African Meeting House to celebrate the release of Songs of Free Men. Rivera has been working on this sustained, centuries-long freedom project of Negro Spirituals since 2020 and performed the work publicly for the first time ever. This performance highlights the association of Black Americans which merged African cultural heritage with the experiences of being held in bondage in slavery, at first during the transatlantic slave trade and for centuries afterwards, through domestic slave trade. These songs were sung in churches, cotton fields, and as "signal songs" on the Underground Railroad.
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Good evening, everyone, my name, is Malika Shepard I'm, the director of strategic planning and special projects with the Museum of African, American history and I'd like to welcome you all today to our historic building the African meeting house built in 1806. It is the country's oldest extant church.

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We have today the songs of free men, Danny Rivera's, debut performance, accompanied by Matthew, James, Savage and Gavin, rushing and on behalf of the Museum of African American history board and staff, We Salute, our partners, the city of Boston equity and inclusion cabinet and the work of racial racial Justice led by the incredible Lori Nelson the results here. Thank you for their commitment to the mission and invaluable support. The Museum's tradition of preserving our important history is Gathering Place, For Freedom throughout the 18th and 19th century, and we're still making American history.

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The museum is fully dedicated to ensuring Liberty equal rights, social justice and all that enhances and promotes dignity, Independence and the realization of promises of our shared democratic ideals and without further Ado I would like to uh introduce is Ashley, oh I'm, sorry, Amani, Amani Wilson. Thank you, she's. Our moderator for today, so thank you, everyone.

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Thank you so much good evening. All welcome to this special Sacred Space that Danny has created, in collaboration with the unknown composers of the songs we call spirituals, which are a map and a calendar and a scrapbook, and a probably a war plan, an Escape, Route and so much more than oral literature, even as they're a musical repertoire and I think we're in for a very special uh treat this evening.

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I would just want to point you to a particular idea that you can wonder about which is this for people to imagine a free life having been born into Channel enslavement took not just guts, but imagination and creativity. Freedom is an art, it's a collaborative event. No one gets free alone, and if the spirituals are a lesson, no one gets free silently.

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So it's not a surprise that the same people who created their freedom, their citizenship, their Liberation, created this body of work that stands Reaching Forward back out and down to the root songs of free men. Thank you.

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Good evening.

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This is my senior recital y'all.

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It's Corrine here, okay, um which you all don't know, is that I wanted to drop out.

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You ready to have fun all right: let's do it. Matt Savage everyone.

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Every time I feel the spirit moving in my heart, I will pray yes, every time, I feel the spirit moving in my heart, I will pray.

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Upon the mountain I got spoke out of his mouth came fire and smoke. All around me. Look so fine I asked my Lord. If always mine, every time, I feel the spirit moving in my heart. I will pray. Yes, every time, I feel the spirit. Moving in my heart, I will pray.

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Jordan River, chilly and cold chills the body, not the soul. There ain't, but one train on this track. It runs to Heaven, run right back every time. I feel the spirit moving in my heart, I will pray yes, every time, I feel the spirit. Every time I feel the spirit. Every time I feel the spirit moving in.

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I will pray.

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He has taken my mother's name and he's Left My Heart in vain. There's a man going round taking name.

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There's a man going round.

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S there's a man going round taking names, foreign.

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There's a man going around taking me.

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There's a man going round on taking names.

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He has taken my brother's name and he's Left My Heart in vain.

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I hate God's long to stay here.

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My Lord calls me he calls me by the Thunder the trumpet sounds within my soul.

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I ain't got long to stay.

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Still Away Home.

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I ain't got long to stay.

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Green trees are bending.

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Them a trembling trumpets sounds within my soul and I ain't gone long to stay here. I.

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Got long to stay here.

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Let me teach you something about the crucifixion of Jesus.

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Because that's all that was going on.

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That's all that was going on yeah.

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Yeah, who are you there.

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When they crucify.

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Who are you there.

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When they Crucify My Lord word, oh.

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Sometimes it causes me too tremble.

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Tremble, tremble.

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Away through there, When They Crucified My Lord.

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Sometimes it causes me to tremble more tremble.

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Who were you there, foreign.

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Please, while I'm mourn this.

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Pilgrim Journey.

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To walk with me.

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Hold my hand Lord and walk with me, hold my hand, Lord and walk with me.

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I want Jesus to walk with me.

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Pilgrim's Journey foreign.

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Do you want Jesus to Walk With You.

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Look at your neighbor say: neighbor I'm warmed up I do want to say that this has been quite a journey to just get to this point and the way that I rehearse this two weeks ago is not the way that I'm performing it tonight, but you're receiving what you need to receive and I want to acknowledge.

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I'll call them the Saints.

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That wrote this and thank God. It's been written.

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I do sing classical music and I'm sure some of you all weren't expecting this tonight, because I'm always singing Pop, but it was through um learning classical music and I do want to acknowledge Mr and Tyrone Sutton who's in the room.

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um Who introduced me to the spirituals and I? Also my elementary choir teacher Miss, Evelyn Lee Jones.

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I have not seen Miss Jones in a very long time, and she told me that I would be a more house. Man and I did get into Morehouse, but they didn't give me any money.

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But that's why I want Jesus to Walk With Me.

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Because he pays all the bills all right. We got this last song called plain chant for America written by William Grant still, and um forgive me because I don't have the exact date for when this was written, but you would be blown away to hear what I'm singing and to understand that it is still applicable to this day and time.

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It is quite shameful and.

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In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we will all be changed.

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The key to Theodore, sorry Franklin, Rose Ville.

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Franklin Roosevelt.

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It's written for orchestra, but we're gonna. Do it and I'm excited.

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Ready for the second half of the concert.

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We Stand Together.

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And the nation's Flame.

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For Freedom, our walls have been hollowed with freedoms, thoughts, conquered California.

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Our skies of doubt.

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Our children's eyes.

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If we have failed lynchings in Georgia Justice in Massachusetts, under the bloody fields of South Chicago,.

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The Voice from the present the batter speaks out in the light of a free, Sun sing. Tell them again.

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Say it again till this blitz there he is.

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Freedom is salt in our blood and its own shape. The freedom fails, we'll fight for more.

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These are the SE when freedoms are whisper above their ashes.

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And the last free Flyers.

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Let them remember that here on the western Horizon.

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Hope and the shape of a vision died for and so forth.

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