Whenever African-American people or things are referred to, they are often prefaced with the adjective “soul”. African-Americans eat “soul food” and their songs are “soulful”. If a non African-American acquires characteristics of this nebulous idea of “soul”, it might be said that: “S/he got some soul!” What is soul, and what is it to be soulful? Why is being soulful more distinctly associated with being African-American? And if you are African-American, how do you know that you have enough soul?
In our study of this concept of “soul” as it relates to African-Americans, we must venture beyond history books, newspaper clippings, and other strict factual accounts of black history. The answers to our questions about soul will be found in the fictional books of black authors and lyrics of negro spirituals.
Toure is an African American author with exceptional poetic prose, use of imagery, and assembly of literary mechanics. Reading a novel by Toure is a distinct pleasure. Toure’s novel Soul City depicts the Utopian African-American society. With street names like Freedom Avenue and Cornbread Boulevard, the imaginative creations of Toure illustrate a city fueled and fed by African-American soul. Throughout his novel, Toure discusses politicians in this Soul City and how their political term is tied to trends in black music. Here, Toure demonstrates that music, musicians, and other people who speak over music influence black culture. With metaphor, visual cues, and sights and sound for the readers’ mind to feast on, Toure answers all questions about black soul. Black soul is a direct connection with rhythm, beat, and song. These three things have followed the black community across time and have served as outlets for creativity. Please read Soul City and take a ride down Toure’s Cool Street to discover more about soul.
Kristin Lattany was an African-American author who passed in 2008 but now without first leaving her mark on black literature. Lattany was a professor a mother, a wife, teacher, and archivist of accounts of the difference in black experience. In her novel Breaking Away, Lattany writes about a young woman who was raised in a well to do family outside of the city. In an attempt to shield their daughter from the hurtful realities of racism and hate, her parents never properly instructed her in black history nor discussed with her ways to understand and cope with living in a potentially racist society. Much to the main characters’ dismay, she comes face to face with the most dangerous sort of racism in the form of threats from the KKK. In this novel, Lattany provides a truthful account of a young woman who could be considered as not having enough “soul”. She knew her “roots” but not as well as Alex Haley. Breaking Away provokes discussion about the role of African-American parents, specifically mothers, in rearing their children to effectively identify and move past racist set backs.
Taking a different approach to the assessment of black women, Kristin Lattany writes Kinfolks. This page-turner explores a different sect of black women than read about in Breaking Away. In Kinfolks, the reader is introduced to two soulful women who have natural hair, were part of the black liberation movement of the sixties, and became single-mothers by choice. The unique main characters Cherry and Patrice represent a subset of women in the sixties who did not chemically treat their hair nor did they join black sororities. Comically, Lattany laments the status of the black male in regards to the family and keeps her reader engaged and on the verge of humorous tears throughout. As Lattany constructs the characters of Patrice and Cherry, we are taught a little something special about Soul. Patrice and Cherry find that indeed they had plenty of “soul” in the sixties, but that may not be appropriate for the world that they live in present-day. Perhaps in creating this conflict, Lattany was attempting to describe the crisis that some women experience as being “too soulful”. Afros, picks, and sound offs of the Black Panther Party were appropriate in the 60′s and 70′s. But ex-revolutionaries now live in a world where these bold declarations of freedom, liberation, and non-conformity are seen as extremist. Here we find that there exists a time and place for soul and those times and places shift meaning that soul must be flexible. So as Patrice and Cherry must temporarily suspend their “soul”, they attempt to conquer the amazing circumstance created by Lattany in this wonderful novel.
Kim Mclarin is another great black author who has taught us a little something about soul. In her novel Taming it down, we read about Hope a young black journalist who contends with a world outside of her while managing a civil war within. Hope struggles with anger, rage, and a mistrust for her colleagues. In a world that doesn’t seem fair, Hope must draw on and draw in the power she possesses. From crushing on a white male coworker, to balancing the disdain for a female white coworker, and then dating the epitome of an Afro-centric man, Hope will guide the reader through a series of tests of her soul’s strength. Interestingly, in her novel, Mclarin sparks a curiosity in regards to black Afro-centrism as it relates to those who perhaps overly-identify with their African roots. In the narrative, Hope will travel to Africa and take a first-hand glimpse at what life there is like and how starkly different it is from the superficial attempts of her Afro-centric mister at possession of entirely too much soul. Mclarin’s novel will go over the soul of a black women with its many intricacies, frailties, inadequacies, and overcompensation’s.
As we learned from studying Madam C.J. Walker, religion has always been a common form of psychological resilience within the black community. And as Toure teaches us, music is a major influence to African-Americans. These two powerful influences of music and religion intersect at the creation of negro spirituals. Negro spirituals were mumbled, hummed, and belted out by slaves and are still sung present-day. These hymnals are almost primary sources in African-American studies. The composers of these songs were as clever as any mission to encode highly secret messages to its listeners. Negro spirituals have Biblical references to the River Jordan, freedom, a sweet chariot etc…These Biblical references conveyed messages to convoys along the Underground Railroad who were stealthily escaping slavery in the South. As these songs are sung today, traces of the sorrow, joy, hope, and freedom tell of the day to day worries of blacks since slavery. These negro spirituals are the closest to journal entries that historians will ever come across in the attempt of recreating slaves’ thoughts. Negro spirituals drip with the circumstances that have shaped the black soul to feel what it feels today. Negro spirituals sing of the endurance and resilience that has existed in the black spirit across time.
As we study African-Americans this month, our focus remains not solely on specific people or events that have taken place across black history. We are also looking into the experience of African-Americans, how these experiences shape their thoughts and actions, and we will also look to how black history and experience may evolve in the future. Please stay involved with our Black History Month series this February.
Other Posts by Eryn on Black History Month:
Black History’s Leading Literary Lady
The Black Panther Party For Self Defense
Intelligence of Interference? COINTELPRO and the Black Panther Party
“How they sold Marcus Garvey for rice”-LH
Yes you’re a woman…just a different kind
Vote to Discontinue Black History Month
Eryn is a Bostonian native who currently resides in the Metro New York area. She completed her B.A. in Psychology from St. John’s University where she also studied Mandarin, Chinese. Eryn has conducted psycho-social, medical, and environmental research. When she’s off the clock, Eryn spends time learning about world cultures, languages, and the best restaurants in town. She is currently working on her first novel A Beautiful Autymn. You can find more of Eryn’s work ranging from free-writes, poetry, and social analysis at http://autymn.wordpress.com
It is with great pleasure that I announce our most recent audio book release of “The Future of the American Negro” by Booker T. Washington. This title is the most insightful writing on the challenges that continue to confront Blacks in America, although not to the same degree, in the twenty-first century. According to the National Urban League, National Coalition, “…nearly 23 percent of all young Black men ages 16 to 24 who have dropped out of high school are in jail, prison, or a juvenile justice institution in America.” I encourage everyone to purchase a copy of this title for your own edification during Black History Month.
This audio book title is devoted to the impoverished condition of Black Americans post the reconstruction era. Booker presents his views with astounding logic and vision substantiated by his theories on industrial education which were long espoused from both pulpit and press. His marked success at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute attest to the truthfulness of pragmatic measures applied to the lives of countless Black Americans, who otherwise would have remained in squalor. These accounts will undoubtedly be a source of inspiration for you also.
Insightful?:
0 
0
Andrew,
Thank you for reading and commenting. Washington’s autobiography “Up from slavery” was an incredible read. His Atlanta Address was a testimony of his skills as a writer and orator. However, Washington was and remains to be criticized by black leaders because of his specific dealings with well to do white philanthropists of his time. Washington preached a message that blacks should make themselves useful in society by taking up a skill and producing a product that would be useful for the upscale white community. For example, Tuskegee Institute had a brick making program and all bricks were sold to and brought my wealthy whites of the North and around the area. Washington was deemed “the Great Accommodator” by the likes of W.E.B. DuBois and the NAACP. W.E.B. DuBois pushed a much more intellectual agenda for the black community. Washington however supported the institution of segregation. He was a believer in “separate but equal”. All researchers of this era know that nothing that was separate was equal back then. Washington and other educated blacks would have been the only ones to benefit from his system of catering to the desires of whites at the time. Some would speculate if Washington wanted to hoard the favor of Whites to himself as he would be seen as one of few intelligent Negros while the rest of his race as making bricks and taking up other trades. W.E.B. DuBois appealed to a wider audience of blacks for his message of equality, pursuit of education, and resistance. Washington wanted to avoid resistance in order to avoid chaos or disorder. As we’ve seen in our coverage this Black History Month, such passive tactics cannot act alone lest they be unsuccessful. Out of discomfort rises change.
Thanks again,
EAB
Insightful?:
0 
0
[...] So Soulful Share and Enjoy: [...]
Insightful?:
0 
0