Contemplation and Liberation:
Lessons from the African American Sacred Folk Song Tradition

DATE: November 14, 2020
TIME: 10:00 am - NOON
Webinar
Cost: Members: $15
Non-members $20

The sacred folk songs called “spirituals” were created and first sung by African women and men enslaved in America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Beginning with the national and international concert tours of the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in the 1860s, these songs have continued to have life and power in multiple settings for more than 150 years beyond the end of legalized slavery.

In this two-hour workshop, participants will learn about the spiritual, cultural and psychological history of these songs, including an examination of the multi-layered functions they have served, both during and after slavery, in both secular and sacred settings. Additionally, participants will be invited to explore experientially the unique ways in which the singing of these songs historically has constituted a little recognized form of contemplative spiritual practice, serving to energize the centuries-long struggle for liberation and democracy. Ultimately, the lessons from this cultural tradition serve to illuminate the universally human drive to seek an authentic spiritual life, even in the midst of the toils and challenges of extreme suffering and oppression.

Biography

Arthur Jones is a licensed clinical psychologist and interdisciplinary teacher, scholar, and singer.  He has spent the majority of his career in higher education, including nearly three decades at the University of Denver (DU), in a variety of faculty roles and leadership positions. He is the Founder and Chair Emeritus of The Spirituals Project, which works to preserve and revitalize the music and teachings of the sacred folk songs created and first sung by African women and men enslaved in America in the 18th and 19th centuries, and he is the author of the award-winning book, Wade in the Water: The Wisdom of the Spirituals.

Dr. Jones retired from full-time teaching in May, 2019 and was awarded the position of Professor Emeritus in the DU College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. In recent years, he has been exploring the contemplative foundations of early Christianity, and he is a 2020 graduate (“sendee”) of the Living School at the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dr. Jones is also a new member of the Leadership Council of Spiritual Direction Colorado.

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