Sure, Juneteenth was officially last Sunday. But the Houston Ebony Opera Guild is throwing a little celebration to close out the annual week-long emancipation celebration — and you’re invited. Today’s “Songs of Our Years“ concert features performances of traditional African-American spirituals and original compositions by black composers.
The show will also pay special tribute to the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a Civil War-era troupe who were integral to the preservation of African-American history. In 1865, after the Emancipation Proclamation, popularity of the so-called “plantation melodies” — once crucial in giving slaves hope and courage — dwindled. Frankly, freed blacks were ashamed to sing them. That changed when the group of nine singers — from a small ex-slave school — toured the nation, and abroad, creating awareness and fondness for what are now known as Negro spirituals. Shake it for freedom and toast some real cultural folk heroes at 4 p.m.
Sun., June 25, 4 p.m.
This article appears in Jun 22-28, 2006.