Fisk Jubilee Singers

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The Fisk Jubilee Singers were a group of African American singers in the 1870s. Their repertoire centered on spirituals, but also included some Stephen Foster songs. The word jubilee was originally intended to set them apart from blackface minstrels, but was soon adopted in the names of several minstrel troupes.^[1]

The singers were a fundraising effort for Fisk University, although one that was not initially approved by the university itself. The treasurer at Fisk at that time was George L. White. In an effort to raise money for the University, he gathered a nine member chorus of students to go on tour in an attempt to earn money. On October 6, 1871, the group of students left for their tour. The began in small towns, some of which were not receptive to their performances.

After a concert performed in Cincinatti, the group donated their small $50 profit to the victims of the notorious 1871 fire in Chicago. The group then traveled on to Columbus where they were tired and discouraged. Mr. White, determined to raise their spirits, named them "The Jubilee Singers". This was a reference to the year of Jubille in the Bible in the 25th chapter in the book of Leviticus.

Soon, the audiences they performed for began to appreciate their beautiful voices and they began to receive praise for their talents. Prior to this group, most black music was being performed by white musicians and it took a while for audiences to accept the talent of The Jubille Singers as a group of black performers. Eventually, they were able to earn enough money to send back to Fisk University to help cover some expenses. In the end of 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant invited them to perform at The White House.

After a tour of Europe in 1873, the group earned enough money to send back to Fisk to construct the first ever permanent building. The building was named Jubilee Hall, and it is still standing today.

The Fisk University Jubilee Singers, Middle Tennessee State University. Accessed 31 August 2006.</ref>^[2]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Lott, Eric. Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-19-507832-2. p. 236.
2. ^ Kay Beasley, Fisk Jubilee Singers (1871–), Tennessee State University. Accessed 31 August 2006.

http://www.fiskjubileesingers.org/our_history.html

http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/jubilee.html

[edit] External links

• Fisk Jubilee Singers cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.