Happy Black Music Month! Juneteenth (June 19) commemorates the day when slaves in Texas were finally emancipated in 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect (January 1, 1863). Prison work songs belong to the tradition of work songs sung by the slaves to both make their time pass more gently and to appease their overseers. This work crew from Parchman Farm in Mississippi was recorded by Alan Lomax in 1947-48. #BlackMusicMonth
Posted on: Sat, 21 Jun 2014 23:35:28 +0000