	Login Cart Advanced Search
Our List Bestsellers Current Bestsellers All-Time Bestsellers Activism General Economic Justice Environmental Justice Education Reform Racial Justice Community Action Immigration Reform American Society General Anthropology Cultural Studies General Latin American Native American Myths Made In America Economics Law and Society Philosophy Sociology Sports and Society Child and Family Issues Adoption General Media and Technology Beacon Classics Biography and Memoir Autobiography and Memoir Biography Disability Disability Environment and Conservation Energy and Climate Conservation Food and Agriculture Wildlife Nature and Environment Concord Library Series Gardening General Biography and Memoir Feminism and Gender Feminism Gender Women's History Women's Literature Black Women Writers Bluestreak Series General Women's Lives Sexuality Biography and Memoir History American History General Early American History 19th Century American History 20th Century American History 21st Century American History African American History General The King Legacy ReVisioning History Adult Editions Young Readers Editions World History Africa Asia Central and South America Europe Middle East Literature and the Arts Fiction Poetry Nonfiction General Essays Food and Society Letters Memoirs Queer Perspectives Multicultural Interest African American Asian American Caribbean Latin American Middle Eastern Native American South Asian By Series Black Women Writers Bluestreak Concord Writers Young Adult Music The Arts National Poetry Series Raised Voices Poetry Series Politics and Current Events Politics and Current Events Progressive Education LGBT Issues Books for K-12 Classroom Use Teaching and the Classroom Higher Education History of Education Race and Education School Reform and Policy Race Education Democracy Series Queer Perspectives Education and Youth Fiction General Memoir Religion and Sexuality Queer Ideas Queer Action Transgender Perspectives Transgender Voices Also of Interest Race and Ethnicity in America General African American History African American Literature Fiction and Poetry Nonfiction Black Women Writers Celebrating Black Women Writers King Legacy Series Race Education Democracy Series Religion How We Live Our Beliefs Pluralism Buddhism Christianity African American Theology Catholicism Early Christianity General Protestant Islam Judaism Unitarian Universalism World Religions Gender and Sexuality Inspiration Science and Medicine Public Health Medicine Science Psychology Women's Health YA and Children's Audiobooks Books by Mary Oliver Poetry and Prose Audiobooks Spring 2025 Summer 2025 Fall 2025 Blog About About Beacon Address and Directions Awards Booksellers and Librarians Catalogs Staff Distribution Sales and Ordering Submission Guidelines Contact Customer Service Author Appearances Jobs and Internships Media Requests Rights and Permissions Resources Book Banning Resources Desk and Exam Copy Information Reading Guides Teacher Guides Guides for UUs and Book Groups Social Impact

The Sounds of Slavery

Discovering African American History through Songs, Sermons, and Speech

Authors: Shane White, Graham White

This exploration of African American slavery through sound is a groundbreaking way of understanding both slave culture and American history

“A work of great originality and insight.” -Ira Berlin

“Shane White and Graham White’s book is a joy.” -Branford Marsalis

“A fascinating book . . . that brings to life the historical soundscape of 18th- and 19th-century African Americans at work, play, rest, and prayer . . . This remarkable achievement demands a place in every collection on African American and U.S. history and folklife. Highly recommended.” -Library Journal

“The authors have undertaken the difficult task of bringing to contemporary readers the sounds of American slave culture . . . [giving] vibrancy and texture to a complex history that has been long neglected.” -Booklist

“The book’s strongest point is its attention to detail . . . [it] will not only be valuable to young scholars, but . . . to young performers and composers, especially with the explosion of interest in ‘roots music,’ looking for new sources of original and searing music.” -Ran Blake, Christian Science Monitor

“A lyrical and original treatment of the musical and spoken culture of American slaves. This book is moving testimony to how scholarship can penetrate the transcendent spirit once considered exotic or unknowable, how historians can trace social survival to the human voice in slavery’s heart of darkness.” -David W. Blight, professor of history, Yale University, and author of Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory

“A seminal study of a neglected aspect of Southern and African-American culture . . . and the approach to the topic is both creative and resourceful. The book is highly recommended.” -Michael Russert, The Multicultural Review

Reviews

Review by: Michael Russert, Multicultural Review - July 1, 2005

"Highly recommended."

Review by: Ran Blake, Christian Science Monitor - April 15, 2005

"The Sounds of Slavery will not only be valuable to young scholars, but . . . to young performers and composers, especially with the explosion of interest in 'roots music,' looking for new sources of original and searing music."

Review by: Ira Berlin, Distinguished University Professor, Univ of Maryland - April 1, 2005

"A work of great originality and insight."

Review by: Branford Marsalis - April 1, 2005

"Shane White and Graham White's book is a joy."

Review: Library Journal - March 15, 2005

"A fascinating book . . . that brings to life the historical soundscape of 18th- and 19th-century African Americans at work, play, rest, and prayer . . . This remarkable achievement demands a place in every collection on African American and U.S. history and folklife. Highly recommended."

You might also be interested in:

ISBN: 978-080705027-9
Publication Date: 4/1/2006
Pages: 264
Size:6 x 9

Price: $22.00
Format: Paperback

Availability: In stock.

Add To Cart

Other Retailers:
InSpirit Book and Gift Shop
Bookshop.org
Barnes and Noble
Amazon

Categories: