American Experience; Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory; Interview with Bobby L. Lovett, Historian

two weeks later people in a monotone taken into of the army and the james there were twenty five thousand soldiers along the jamestown and they were really than a lot of the fighting here in the potomac and so the sun they gave is okay so about fifty thousand african americans made of four percent of the enemy of tennis is so very poor what other people what these dazzling into their books the majority of the southerners did not support the confederacy has one major reasons of thing but the myth is that most of the girls were pro confederate they were now when you put the statistics together yeah and most of them would not support did not support confederate alphabet are now a lot of you know a lot of pro confederates today try to do another way so well we had just come out why but you can

exclude thirty percent a population of selma to african americans and most of them support it the unions and so when you put all those again a plus a pro union people to come out with a majority of southerners do not support confederate army so that's why they start going they didn't get the missions they need it when they came into an area to fight people just came out of the checks like this in this book and so much down the road name a way even some girls my work and give my handkerchief they never gave him any up in west tennessee the outright resisted the confederate army would give them any supplies or anything so so they last lyric sung over mandating sixty two that's why they lost the state so fast but they never really had to supporters now but they still perpetuate the myth that most of them are supported the confederate army not true at all no more than they support the confederate flag today he's busy

what religion became very important after the war and churches increase dramatically for the next generation for because again they were social institutions of economic institutions of a political institutions and most importantly they were academies for training leadership and so that's where a lot of african americans get to start to be leaders were going to be a political leader economically vote fitness leader they get that started a church that was the community networks inside their teachers from the church i was an important institution right after slavery african american man dissipated heavily in that search day and compared to today where we make up perhaps about thirty thirty five percent of our members and african americans churches in about two thirds of more of them i went

today in the church but then it was a leadership academy and so it was a very important to an institution where is due in slavery rico they're mostly these were not exposed to formal religion to churches because most masters when the churchgoers most and and give an example beyond the plantations that was sitting in what is called eleven civil district durham a day into that he's now sober a single church and distribute it there were no church is so masters all that will be in his district that and go to church that much or schools so what religion slaves head much of it was what we call the invisible church and invisible church where their informal churches out in the woods and the brush our presence on so after slavery that was a first told him as their own religious institutions in these institutions

became the most productive and important institutions in the black community as well really a theology in and doctrine in my opinion did not have a lot to do with it the developmentally african american church all belief in a deity that was probably lim among most of the former slaves in theology or doctrine was not that important and at the roman period they're in churches although most foremost ways belief in a deity and a belly that god was helpful but remember that there's a

billion of african religious beliefs when western european religious beliefs that make up what we call the african american penology an absence of war and the african americans believe of course they you know god was halfway and that ultimately they would a santorum a life and that life would be better than this particular life but i think the african american church fb that african americans believe that god wanted him to be free but most of them did but also remember that the south was the bible belt van in a way as it is now and many people believe that god interceded in human events as african americans is so

poorly educated whites and center and the confederates for example believe that guy was on the us side and they were going to win the war and when they lost the war confederates were around in creatures are getting there that it punish the south because of slavery and got a turnaround it punishes sadness was outlaws because you were being punished for slavery so the senegalese world but i think most important for the church related to african americans was that it was more a functional institution that archaeological institution with them that fish

university opened at sixty six for example african americans weren't making a great push for citizenship the civil rights act of eighteen sixty six was ultimately passed by congress to give citizenship to reform slaves two years later of course we got invited to head into the fourteenth amendment of the constitution they had been freed but they had no rights and so african americans like john marshall and stun frederick douglass and as well as local up african american leaders and national eye jc nature were pushing for the right of citizenship because you can protect yourself being just a freeman when no constitutional rights whatsoever might resent that that this would in effect make african americans a former slaves constitutional equal to that and they cannot do anything they wanted to do two and i cannot

exclude him from the courts they cannot exclude them from politics and that is what they wanted to do is there will free the sleigh that will set him up in a different class he will not be able to moving to the same classes as white citizens so enough is that came to a lot of friction and in may from the first of the sixth of may at sixty six race riot broke out and that race was mostly whites attacking the negro community it's been the fbi's been and many have eighteen sixty six because there was so much conflict between the white communities in the african american communities or the issue of citizenship for the former

slaves race was broke out new orleans and mate first of the six eighteen sixty six and mrs tennyson and that is where the white police department which was dominated mostly by irishman as well as a fireman and muffins and did this man an office and mostly the lower classes a widespread attack the african american community burning down churches play this is a surprise members of the

memphis police department fire department businessman and mostly the working class whites attack the african american community the twain may first and and six for about five days burning down african american churches and schools and yelling blacks and beating last eight years members of the fire department police department which is mostly man by irish immigrants a businessman and the white working and poor classes in my office attack the african american community may first through may six burning down churches and schools beating people killing people some love sixty people also that and that particular and almost all the african americans were run

out of town for several days these are mostly former slaves who had flocked into the city when it was on the union occupation and the first was the day when the union army ended the occupation of the city and they let the city and out there will be an african american regiment left in town at fort pickering enough is but the commander of course like the african american soldiers in the four they would not let them out so it wouldn't be they would not be a job now but the conflict it started when they refused to allow the police department to rest some of the members there particular regiment who haven't of the time in front of some of the tab for instance outside of memphis as a result of that rap or however outcome or seven investigation khamenei into the snow and i as is also their report in july congress passed the civil rights act of eating sixty six which gave african

americans citizenship and the rights they are there for a now head protection you know they could go to court they could sue people and they could bring charges against people and so on and now also in the same month the tennessee general assembly approved under other proposals fourteenth amendment to the constitution which will embody that civil rights activating sixty six and tennessee consequently was and made it back into the union in the summer of waiting sixty six so they were disadvantaged has advantages on that rat but it did set the tone for a pretty productive period where african americans in tennessee for making sixty six and to the conservative korea starts again and eating seventy these bishops be well why did whites target schools and churches and

businesses during that race riots made at sixty six precisely because working class and lower class whites ok they target them because they targeted those schools and churches and even african american businesses started during the civil war because working class and more class whites resent it any progress made by the former slaves and by eighteen sixty six and memphis and nashville and new orleans and other parts of the south for most ways an african american freed men were making a tremendous amount of progress that established businesses churches of screws they are we're at this pakistan's benevolent societies around cemeteries various institutions and of course it was a socialist way to whites and

so that the former slaves would be moving so fast the whole problem is why so afraid that blacks and not only become equal to them that that they are going to exceed them this is when physicists create the formation of his supporters were well one of the problems during the war that would help to create a fisk university was the lack of free public education for the former slaves after the americans have for one quite a few schools right after the union army occupied national but those were schools

we had to pay like about wilma consul and at sixty three the army ask and i'm all for churches to come down and help with all these fugitive slaves flocking into town and so many churches for missionary groups the methodist missionary society for example the baptists who mission society almost given the nomination form a missionary society raise money and senate when men and women into the southern states to help the formal soy especially to educate him to provide church isn't so and so by eighteen sixty four nationalists feel what about a dozen different mission or societies in town and one of them is the congregational church and that one forms where scalia american missionary association ama and eight combat what the framers bureau and the union army and the sum of

waiting sixty five the congregational church of new england is one of those twelve also missionary society isn't commenting nashville and to tennessee to have a former slave make the transition from slavery to trade union army had tried to serve as a social agency but the word to simply away and insulate had this for him from the mill and the church's responded so indecent of making sixty five the america america mr association which is an arm of the congregational church it

forms a alliance with the free ms carolyn davidson county and what the union army in davison county to start a school for former slaves and they call that fisk frisco name at the clean boy and fierce who was a general in the army and also was he and other freebies bureau for kentucky and tennessee district and january of nineteen sixty six they formally open that school for spheres friedman school and the stillness i'm not a lot i'm not required to pay tuition fees as a giant poster of a negro proprietors goes and so they can come and most of the tuitions fees and donate by norman churches and they raised money to keep it going until the american missionary association well the ama is that basically the way that it was started when it was considered to be a day effort also the twain local black

leaders and also the northern white missionaries as the way to the adventure really started off and at the opening ceremonies so mostly of low african american leaders what was his goal one does this university a medicinal waters phase frisco decide to charge itself as fish overstate and at sixty seven one of the things that happens is that the tennessee general assembly passes a public school building and at sixty seven spring meetings at seven and end at public school deal they provide that there will be schools for the roles and for whites only will be segregated schools so we start with city schools public schools and the fall

of beating sixty seven nashville opens its public schools which have been closed since the union army came to town in eating sixty two national had a public school system for meeting for depleting sixty two for whites only of course and so and at sixty seven m us open the schools for blacks and whites and so they opened a black screen and now blacks can go to public school free they don't have to pay tuition fees anything so although the freemans colleges schools in town now converter collegian status because they're no longer needed to prove that grammar school education that is going to be provided by the city so in the fall of waiting sixty seven fisher issues leaders decide to convert to quote a more national character and that is to go toward a university so they get a charter

from the state and they've accomplished over stayed at city center thank you will so whenever the school opens and at sixty seven and eating sixty eight as a collision institution we students now have to pay some tuition fees in order to operate as too soon as well this station is in bad financial straits because mostly men have no money and no you know it's been mostly men have no money and arrow

therefore they cannot pay their bills on a regular basis is secondly after the war there were several recessions economic recessions thank you most friedman had no money out but now they have to pay tuition fees on a regular basis is also after the war there were several economic recessions agriculture was depressed for wow and saw that the slaves worked as leading the farms and plantations in migrating into the cities and the towns and so many people whose families were rooted in the rural areas but not have steady income and the missionaries also having trouble raising money you know among the mormon church's pastor

and missionaries were having trouble raising money among the mormon church is sold by at sixty nine fish university had to come to depend upon a singing group it was very important well it'd be the singer's raised quite a bit of money locally and then they of course twelve concert says while his atlanta and the money that they raise was very important to the daily operations of the institution by at seventy one for example fish universes decided to do a new campus to move out of the old smoky

downtown readily raggedy buildings which are mostly plain barracks and for what billings aleppo had by the union army and they relocate to a site on all four gill which was a former union decided they get full of nothing and decide to build a main building here which ultimately will be called jubilee hall and when you look at the records of the construction of that building the construction superintendent is always complaining that he needs more money to come into the us but the unofficial jubilee singers raised money not only to deal the main building on the new campus at salem street in jefferson straight same street today's meeting and

roll out but also that money was going into the operations of the school and the building superintendent julie holland's complaining that the president or the proms while the university to put more pressure on the students to pay their bills so that so much money from the jubilee singers were not have to go into the operating budget and more that money can go into the construction but so the construction of a haul of jubilee hall a strung out from making seventy one and tilly occupy that billing in generating seventy six and because of money is slowly coming in an unnatural if it had not been for the jubilee singers or perhaps to university and worked on he says

is it when the jubilee singers are returned to the united states from their tour abroad and you're an eighteen seventy the south is a different place it's a more conservative place african americans who have political power have lost most of their political power where's the republican party had control many of the state government's the democratic party which was the pro confederate party had now regain most of the states in tennessee they have taken over and they now control the state may appears the poll tax to take away the right to vote for most african american voters and at seventy eight it's also

when benjamin perhaps singleton davis and counties now leading the black exodus out to kansas and thousands of former slaves a leading tennessee kentucky and mississippi because they have no hope that things are going to change and they're going out to kansas where they can find their own farms and go home states because under the homestead act beating sixty four making sixty two also by eating seventy eight african americans have not a single seat on the city council whereas by eating sixty nine after they grew up playing the right to vote in eating sixty seven they will file african american man sitting on the city council elected to the city council nashville and at seventy eight jubilee singers come back there's not a single one and the society is increasingly segregated de facto and ultimately by law by the time that they come back so they come back to a south and a city that is

rich rigidly racially divided and eighteen sergey nice work once they come back to the united states there was the jubilee singers come back to the united states they will find that there are opportunities nowhere near the ones ahead in europe they will face segregated facilities they will face a restrictive to educational or access they will be relegated to lord economic jobs and opportunities in the society and they will be coming back to us all where terrorism and especially election raises its ugly it by the late eighteen

seventies and really takes off and four fourths twenty eighteen at one in at ninety two square there was a juice is what reduces represent sue the jubilee singers represents achievement for african americans in the united states at that period of time in the eighteen seventies the community was extremely proud of them because they perform in and gain access to find out why society that most african americans did not

and mostly they perform for the elite class of weapons and then before the working class and the poor whites and they were able to go into places and to do things and see things that most african americans had no opportunity to do or say especially am leaving to go abroad to year that was exciting for all african americans because the jubilee singers idiot when most african americans would not be able to do for generations to come and in fact now we're walking on that you have a large number of african americans to leave the boundaries of this country says they had been imported into this country from africa as slaves and a slave was a person's whose mentality was confined to an oppressive mentality because his experiences were doing gasoline you didn't know anything else that the typical view

in which he was born and raised