This is your place to publicly comment on the topics and issues addressed in Speaking of Faith programs. React in a personal way, and put into words what this program meant to you.

Submit Your Reflection about "Joe Carter and the Legacy of the African-American Spiritual."

Synchronicity (July 14, 2008)
How sad I feel to have just been introduced to Joe Carter and his beautiful voice and inspirational singing, warm intellect and soothing speaking style, only to learn that he died two years ago.

I believe I recently heard Krista's interview with Joe Carter on Speaking of Faith; was it yesterday morning? Then tonight, coincidentally, the same interview was playing on a WNYC podcast I had downloaded, who knows when. I was transformed by the conversation as much as by the low, smooth voice of Mr. Carter. How is it I never heard of him before? And what synchronicity to hear this interview twice in a short period of time.

"Let the life that I've lived speak for me". Those words cross all boundaries.

Sherril Smoger-Kessous
Morris Plains, NJ (WNYC, 93.9 FM)

"Let the Work That I've Done Speak for Me" (July 13, 2008)
I listened to much of the program and found it very enjoyable. The music was beautiful and Joe Carter's voice is wonderful, I also liked the choral parts. I heard the end of the show when Joe Carter said he heard "Let the Work That I've Done Speak for Me" on the day his father died. And then he sang it.

I've decided that I would like to have this music available for not only my memorial services, but when the time comes, be able to use it for my parents' services. They are in their mid-90's, and my Dad is a former music educator and choral conductor and has always loved spirituals. I believe both of my parents' lives 'speak for them' both now and in the future.?

Cindy Russell
Center Conway, NH (WEVJ, 99.5 FM)

Insight Into African-American Music (July 13, 2008)
I loved the program on Joe Carter and the black spirituals. He sang songs I had heard of but did not know them in context. Thanks for enlightening to a wonderful program. I loved how these songs reflect the spirit for both religious and civil rights purposes. Music teaches us if we are willing to listen to it. Spirituals teach us about our faith. They give us an opportunity to learn from them.

Rebecca Blitz
Laurel, MD (WAMU, 88.5 FM)

Wishing (September 1, 2007)
Wow, what a great show. Many of Speaking of Faith's programs are excellent, and this was a noteworthy one among that good company. This show came the closest to making me wish I were christian since my parents packed me off to a brainwashing camp as a child.

Dan Stromberg
Laguna Niguel, CA (Listens to SOF on Demand)

Joe Carter on Deep River (July 15, 2007)
Joe Carter felt that Deep River is one of the most moving spirituals. He said:

"For me it is a song about death. Slaves sang of the most noble of sentiments. Once again there is the image of water. We came here by water, we were baptized in water, some of us escaped through water, and as we leave this world we come to that great river which must be crossed. The African continuum of leaving this life to go on to another life is evoked. This river will never dry up. We will never come to an empty riverbed of sand. The current never stops flowing. It is deep as the soul is deep, deep as freedom is deep, and deep as salvation is deep.

Deep River my home is over yonder
I want to cross over into camp ground
Oh don't you want to go
to that gospel feast

On this side of the river is slavery, on the other side is dignity. On this side sorrow, on the other there is the image of God wiping away all tears — a place of peace. This great song brings forth feelings evoked by such images."

Chris Conner
St. Paul, MN (KNOW, 91.1 FM)

Joe's Spirit and Joy Filled My Kitchen (June 18, 2007)
I always enjoy Speaking of Faith. This Sunday morning I heard the program with Joe Carter. It was the most moving and profoundly spiritual program I have heard. His sincere spirit and humble joy filled my kitchen. The image of his mentor sending him to look under her bed to find her suitcase packed with her "going home clothes" has stayed with me all week. Krista Tippett does a wonderful job and I thank her and your program for bringing me a great big dose of church. Real church. I look forward to meeting Joe one day. I'll have my bag packed.

Reba J. McMellon
Hurley, MS (WFUM, 91.1 FM)

History Behind "Deep River" (June 18, 2007)
I just heard a little of the program last night and did not realize Joe Carter had died until seeing it in one of the posted reflections a few minutes ago. I wanted to ask him if he still had his mentor's suitcase full of notes, and, if so, whether there was anything about the song "Deep River." I'm in central North Carolina near our Deep River (there are several in the U.S.) and we are on the route of the Underground Railroad. I'm wondering if the song came from our area and might contain information for those trying to escape to the North. If anyone can shed any light on this, I'd appreciate it and if there is a connection, I'll try to get it properly commemorated.

Tom Duckwall
Greensboro, NC (WFDD, 88.5 FM)

Reverence Without Being Religious (June 18, 2007)
I found your programs on Einstein and Joe Carter to be highly enlightening, as well as enjoyable. What is most interesting to me is that while the programs discuss religion they do so without being religious. They focus on a reverence for the human spirit in whatever form it takes.

Howard Staiman
Stuart, FL (WCQS, 88.1 FM)

Using Music and Story in Detroit Public Schools (June 17, 2007)
Every Thursday I hurry home and check my email for my SOF Newsletter. Well, what a joyous surprise to hear the wonderful stories and music of Joe Carter. The music brought back the songs my mother to use to sing as she worked around the house. The singing would be interspersed with lyrical moaning. My father did not sing around the house. Instead he listen to a cappella spirituals and considered most gospel songs as glorified blues. I literally had forgotten about the music of my childhood.

I listened to the show at least eight times since Thursday. I have given the address to four different people to listen to. This spiritual music gave me access to an enduring source of spiritual strength. This strength disclosed a connection that extends beyond the physical barriers and thus binding the African and African American ancestors to me. I am a school social worker in the Detroit public schools. Maybe this concept using the music and stories of the spirituals to help students gain clarity as they undertake their mission in life. I will let you know how this works out. Thank you again and again and again.

Linda Sylvester
Detroit, MI (WFUM, 91.1 FM)

How Art Illuminates Art (June 17, 2007)
I couldn't believe what I was hearing the other night as I was driving home and listening to NPR: Speaking of Faith was airing a show on African-American Spirituals. I was driving home from my sixth night of rehearsal for A Raisin in the Sun that I am directing in Darien, Connecticut; I have been struggling with trying to discern what different kinds of music would be appropriate to use before, during, and after the show.

As a 30-something, Caucasian woman, my experience and knowledge of African-American culture and music is embarrassingly limited. I'd been researching the Blues to see if that genre would help tell Ms. Hansberry's story, but after listening to today's radio broadcast, it became evident how it is obviously the Spiritual that more fully illuminates the life and mind set of the Younger family in the play. The courage and dignity that Ms. Hansberry made manifest in the characters of Mama, Ruth, and eventually Walter, clearly reflects the courage and dignity of the Spirituals that were so beautifully sung and talked about by Joe Carter.

Thank you for having recorded such a national treasure, and thank you for presenting such beautiful art that will certainly inspire more beautiful art.

J.D. Higgins
Stamford, CT (WEDW, 88.5 FM)

I'm Listening (June 17, 2007)
I'm not sure where I've been, but I don't generally listen to the radio on Sunday evenings. About a month ago I was on the way back to our home on a trip and listened to your show. Since then I've listened to many on the Web. Tonight I listened to your interview with Joe Carter. My impression is that the work you are doing is among the most important there is. Religion is the great divider, as we stake out our camps and build the barriers to keep heretics out. But, you show that there are wonderful people that "get it" from so many different traditions. It is so important that we come to understand that. Thank you!

My concern is that as you air on public radio; it's almost as if you're preaching to the choir. I wish your show was on rock stations, and country stations, and talk show stations, etc. I do have an idea for a show in the future. John Perkins, from Jackson, Mississippi is a guy I've gotten to know from going to Jackson a few times in Hurricane relief work. His story would fit so well, I think, with the mix of who you talk with. Dr. Perkins is an old man, but sharp as a tack and articulate to boot. He is the founder of the Christian Community Development Association, of whom Shane Claiborne is a large part. Just a thought. Again, thanks so much for your great work. I'm listening!

Ben Slothower
Corvallis, OR (KOPB, 91.1 FM)

Songs of My Childhood (June 16, 2007)
It might interest you to know that in the 1930s my Brooklyn-born white, Jewish mother was singing Negro spirituals around the house, and taught me the meanings behind them. We had no phonograph so I imagine she learned them at one of the political meetings my parents attended. We identified closely with them because so many of the songs mention the Hebrew children. I also learned them at a progressive public school I went to from 1937 on. So many younger people think that everything was discovered by them in the 1960s. Thanks for the program.

Barbara Krales Cotler
Maplewood, NJ (WNYC, 93.9 FM)

A Great Jam Session (June 16, 2007)
I am so grateful to you for airing Mr. Joe Carter, an elegant, talented and articulate man whom, sadly, until today I'd known nothing about. As a singer, I've sung many styles of music. When people ask what kind of music I sing, I never feel sure of how to answer them. I just rattle off a list — "everything from reggae to Broadway and opera."

For years, I have been searching, exhaustively, trying on so many musical "hats" but, the look was never quite right — until today! The essential beauty and truth that this music holds for me, brought me to tears. My heart now knows "the message and the sound" that my soul yearns to sing. The subtlety with which you wove your interpretive comments and insightful questions illuminated the topic brilliantly. The "conversation" had all the elements of a great jam session, each one vamping and playing off of the other.

Sue Skye
New York, NY (WNYC, 93.9 FM)

Growing in Age and Understanding (June 16, 2007)
I'm 71 years old and I find that I am but a child in learning about my fellow companions in this journey through life. Thank you for this wonderful program. I look forward each week to your programs, but today's presentation was inspiring and assisted me in "getting to know' my fellow man.

Frank Gosztyla
Piscataway, NJ (WNYC, 93.9 FM)

Truly Unique American Musical Form (July 18, 2006)
How refreshing it was to hear the interview with Joe Carter on Sunday, July 9. We who are Roman Catholic belong to a predominately African-American Catholic Church and sing in the choir. Some of the selections chosen recalled many memories of our choir rehearsals and presentation at Sunday Mass. It has been said that the spiritual is the truly unique American musical form, as opposed to other American music whose roots are not entirely that of our own country's history and culture, as they have, in some cases, been influenced by European musical forms and styles.

Mr. and Mrs. William K. Ach
Winston-Salem, NC (WFDD, 88.5 FM)

Words Not Enough (July 17, 2006)
I must write to say that words are not enough to express my appreciation for the program on Joe Carter. My soul was captured when I heard Mr. Carter speak about the things that his parents and his mentor had taught him. As an African-American, educated woman, I find that some of those great Spirituals take me into a dimension that allows me to cope with the surrounding atmosphere at times. I can not thank you or Mr. Carter for that great presentation. I especially thought that the ending was wonderful — Mr. Carter singing the song that he would always dedicate to his dad before his death at the end of Mr. Carter's performances. What a way to close the show of life. "Let My Works Speak for Themselves" and so they did Mr. Carter, and so they did!

Angela Parham
Atlanta, GA (WABE, 90.1 FM)

Grieving (July 10, 2006)
If the world only knew what we've lost in Joe Carter. Nobody knew the spirituals like he did, and he brought the sounds of lament and hope to the most unlikely places. Is there any voice quite like his the world over? He has impacted the world and the lives of many people in ways only heaven will someday explain. You would never find a better friend or mentor. You did good Joe. I hope to make you proud with all you've taught me these last 15 years.

Chris Conner
Saint Paul, MN (KNOW, 91.1 FM)

Joe Carter Lives On (July 10, 2006)
I cried in January 2006 and the tears flowed again July 6 as I sang along on my early morning Sunday drive to work. Thank you for making Sundays a joy as I prepare for my long day as a specialized nurse caring for the head injured and paralyzed. The spirituals "Steal Away" and "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" were especially meaningful for me due to the nature of my work. I would have to say this is a top three of all your shows I have listened too and what a pleasant surprise to hear it on July 6. You made my day and Joe Carter is a national treasure as another listener mentioned. What an inspiration!

Phil Widuch
Grand Rapids, MI (WVGR, 104.1 FM)

Aloha (July 10, 2006)
I often catch your show and always enjoy it. Today, however, your show was exceptionally outstanding. I loved hearing Joe Carter's voice, both speaking and singing. He was so articulate in his teaching on the role of the slave songs. I have heard these stories elsewhere (I am an academic) but it was just a wonderful experience to hear him tell it.

Thank you. Ke aloha,

Noenoe Silva
Honolulu, HI (KIPO, 89.3 FM)

Powerful Program (July 9, 2006)
I am not a devout listener to your program. Today as I set out on an early morning head-clearing walk I turned to 90.9 (as usual) and was moved/uplifted both by the theme of your show and Joe Carter's invaluable insight and contribution to the world's greater understanding of African-American spirituality. While we have lost a great man, we can all be enriched by the show you produced capturing his music and interpretation.

Something you and Mr. Carter expressed touched my core: regarding the ability of the music to lift the singer (and listener) above the daily toil here on earth, and for a moment achieving what most people wait until death to achieve. I have always loved listening to African-American spirituals because of the power of conviction expressed not only in the words, but also the singer. I have felt for a long time that too often organized religion has focused entirely too much on what will save our souls for eternity and not enough on what can save our souls here on earth — love, compassion, passion, strength of character…all found in the spirituals Mr. Carter sang and loved all his life.

We will miss the man, but thanks to you we will always have his message.

Kathryn Culbertson
Vienna, VA (WETA, 90.9 FM)

Spirituality of Joe Carter (July 9, 2006)
Moving! I did not know about Joe Carter until this morning. The spirituality of the man showed throughout the program. Krista seemed to have opened him up to share about the songs' history and hidden meanings in a way that was very powerful. Keep up the good work, Krista. It is sad to know that Joe Carter died at such a young age.

Uday Patankar
Phoenixville, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

Meant for Me (July 9, 2006)
I am a long timer listener of WLRN's many programs but this morning, before getting out of bed, I listened to this program for the first time. It was meant for me. I was struck, not just by the program's content and beautiful voice of Joe Carter, but at the end to learn that Joe died of leukemia on the 26th of June. My beloved husband also died this year, on the 26th of January, of non-Hodgkins disease and leukemia. The last spiritual Joe so tenderly sang was descriptive of my husband's good life and fitting for the end of his lengthy, difficult time, lived with dignity, that I am in tears singing it over and over in to myself. I shall have my son-in-law add it to his repertoire of spiritual songs that he plays on his guitar. It will be a song my children and I will sing together. Thank you.

Toby Davidow
Miami, FL (WLRN, 91.3 FM)

South African Music and Johnny Clegg (July 9, 2006)
I listen to your program about Joe Carter and African-American Spirituals with great joy. It also reminds me of other music of the oppressed that I use to keep myself going, particularly the music of Johnny Clegg & Savuka or Juluka. I do not know if they call themselves Christian or anything else, but they definitely reach the spiritual plane that I have also come to expect from your programs.

If you don't know them at all, watch the DVD: Johnny Clegg with Savuka & Jaluka - Live! and More… (2004). I would love to learn what their spiritual consciousness is, so if you know and could let me know (even if it disappoints me), or if you would care to do a program with them you would have at least one happy listener.

David Wierda
Zeeland, MI (WVGR, 104.1 FM)

The Suffering (March 2, 2006)
Joe Carter spoke about the universality of the African-American Spiritual or, perhaps better said, the ability of genre to help others understand and express their own suffering. I thought you might be interested in a recording by Israeli artist Shlomo Gronich with an Ethiopian Children's Choir called the Sheba Choir. They have a very powerful recording of "Motherless Child". I'm new to Speaking of Faith and very moved by your work. It enriches us all.

Lina Grazier-Zerbarini
New Haven, CT (the Web)

America's Living National Treasure (January 9, 2006)
This program was exceptionally insightful and inspiring. I would nominate Joe Carter for status as a Living National Treasure had we the institution that Japan reserves for those few who keep living a national art form through performance, practice, and the teaching of others. His voice is rich, warm, joyous. To hear him sing spirituals raises my spirit.

Diane Wells
Eagan, MN (KNOW, 91.1 FM)

Growing Love and Respect (January 8, 2006)
As a middle-aged white woman surprisingly I heard many of these songs in my childhood. Believe it or not some in public school music class. I recall my mother knowing many of the songs and some were also included in church hymnals where we worshipped. As an adult I enjoy hearing them and singing them. Thank you Mr. Carter and Ms. Tippett for a pleasant and classy walk through the deeper meanings of these treasures. I've always been charmed by them and now have a deeper respect and love for how they began. I have been blessed.

Debbie Marksberry
Hebron, KY (WVXU, 91.7 FM)

How I Got Over (January 8, 2006)
I loved the show on spirituals, their theology and history. I had never heard them in such a way, and Joe Carter and the songs touched my heart. It was a little disheartening, however, to hear the Africans came from a purely animist/ancestral worship background. It would have been very important to document the African Muslim contribution to this genre of music.

It has been well documented that the majority of slaves came from West Africa, which had very high populations of monotheistic Muslims. Estimates range from 1 in 3 to 1 in two Africans brought over as slaves were Muslim. There is excellent evidence for literate, accomplished Muslims who lived, wrote, and contributed to Pan-American society. In fact, there are well supported academic papers that trace blues music and other traditionally "Negro" music to African Muslim music. I reference Sylvianne Diouf's Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas. I also suggest you contact the International Museum of Muslim Cultures in Jackson, Mississippi, which will be opening an exhibit about the literature culture of West Africa and evidence for Muslims as slaves in the South.

Rubina Inamdar
Jackson, MS (WMPN, 91.3 FM)

How I Got Over (January 8, 2006)
What a glorious way to begin my Sunday morning, listening to Joe Carter sing and speak about the songs of my youth! I grew up on spirituals at my grandmother's church in Akron, Ohio. Music has been my passion throughout my life. I direct the choir at my church and make it mandatory that our youth learn about their musical heritage, including spirituals, gospel (Thomas Dorsey), and contemporary music. Thank you so much for your program at large and especially for your interview with Joe Carter.

Nonita Stiggers
Milwaukee, WI (WUWM, 89.7 FM)

Warming a Frozen Presbyterian (January 8, 2006)
I start each Sunday morning with your profound programming at Speaking of Faith. I am one of the "chosen frozen" traditional Presbyterian that is not suppose to show any emotions. I found your program on spirituals by Joe Carter wonderfully enlightening. His delivery was excellent and his singing even better. I find the simple spiritual speaks volumes to me and have more feeling than most sophisticated Presbyterian hymns. Thank you for enriching my life with your program.

Eliza Shelton
Racine, WI (WUWM, 89.7 FM)

Feel Like Joining a Choir (January 8, 2006)
Wow, what a treat to wake up Sunday morning to Joe Carter. That was an amazing show. I love those spirituals. He sounds great. That music is so moving when sung and played so soulfully like that. What a talent, and how articulate. I was feeling a little ill this morning, but upon taking a half hour to listen to your show, I feel a lot better, and am ready to face the challenges of the day! In fact I feel like running out right now and finding a gospel choir to join. Excellent choice. Bravo. Thank you.

Stephen Croce
Lambertville, NJ (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

Pride in Personal Heritage (January 8, 2006)
I am a volunteer at the local prison for what is called the Alternatives to Violence Program. I love your program; it has spoken to me every time I have listened to it. I was very moved by this particular program because it speaks eloquently of the musical heritage of African Americans. Part of what I try to accomplish in working with the inmates is to instill a sense of pride about their history, to affirm the importance of their personal heritage. Thank you!

Melissa Hutton
Hagerstown, MD (WETA, 90.9 FM)

Not in the Shadows (February 26, 2005)
I really enjoyed the program with Joe Carter. I first heard it on a Saturday morning before getting up. It was an uplifting experience to hear those songs as sleep slowly receded. Through written in troubled times they evoke a sense of hope and redemption that won't fade away.

Alan Paul Brink
North Liberty, IA (WVIK, 95.7 FM)

Giving Me Great Hope (February 27, 2005)
What an awesome experience it was to listen to Joe Carter, and his sharing of the Negro spirituals! Even though I'm white, I have always felt a certain connection to the history of the black people, and hearing how their story and their spirituals transcend suffering gives me an incredible amount of hope and uplift. Thank you!

Don Faust
Davenport, IA (WVIK, 95.7 FM)

Quote from Jefferson (February 21, 2005)
While I always enjoy Krista Tippett's insightful Speaking of Faith, the broadcast of February 20 with Joe Carter was especially gratifying. Mr. Carter's powerful message was worthy of his powerful voice. He delivered his reflections without the slightest trace of rancor or resentment, suggesting that deep inside he is the forgiving, compassionate person he hopes we shall all become.

Mr. Carter noted that in the days of slavery, it was the slavemaster who was the more enslaved party. That reminded me of a saying attributed to Thomas Jefferson: "Slavery is holding a wolf by the ears." In Jefferson's picture, both the man and the wolf are captive to the other, but only the man is fearful. Bravo, Mr. Carter! Brava, Ms. Tippett!

Thomas O'Herron
Silver Spring, MD (WETA, 90.9 FM)

Crossing the Divide (February 21, 2005)
What a wonderful program! I would love to hear more on the use of music in religious practice. Especially worth noting is the ease with which traditional African-American music as well as that of other groups crosses all sorts of cultural and religious boundaries when people want to sing it.

Stephen Finner
Barre, VT (WVPS, 107.9 FM)

All God's People Got A Place in the Choir (February 21, 2005)
I have loved listening to and singing spirituals since I was very young and would go to different churches in Southwest Pennsylvania, Southeast Ohio, and West Virginia with my dad. Imagine my surprise when at the advanced age of 49 I was told by my choir director that I couldn't sing them because I was not African American. I then pointed out that if that were true then our African-American tenor section leader shouldn't be singing the Northern European and English music in the regular choir! Sigh!

But I was never allowed to do it. Of course I could and did sing them in private but I felt as if a part of my own spirituality had been crippled. We now have a more enlightened director and I feel like I have been let out of jail. And the joy and the spirit must be coming through because every time I have done a piece, people of all racial persuasions stop me to say how it touched them. I loved your program yesterday with Mr. Joe Carter. It was magnificent. I am so sorry to hear that he is ill. I will keep him in my prayers. Music should have a history but it shouldn't have a color. Things of the Spirit are for all of God's children. Thank you again for a wonderful program.

Eileen Schmidt
Pasadena, CA (KPCC, 89.3 FM)

The Impact of Music on Worship (February 21, 2005)
I have always enjoyed listening to your show as I drive into the hospital to make rounds. The subjects are timely and provocative. This show was particularly important to me as it illustrated the impact that the vocalists and musicians can have on worship. Americans have long benefited from African-American Spirituals, no matter what their heritage or background. Joe's ability to sing about and describe a few of the important events of his life was impressive.

We don't always understand how God comes into other people's lives, nor do we understand how that interaction furthers the mission of the church. I learned something from his message that one does not always hear in church liturgies or sermons etc. We should all be more open to the people around us, no matter how old or ill they are. I am sorry to hear that he is ill and wish him the best. Thank you for bringing his message to NPR.

Bryan Hainline
Indianapolis, IN (WFYI, 90.1 FM)

Struck and Uplifted (February 21, 2005)
I am a white woman from Florida living in Mississippi; I listen to MPR every day, almost all day, usually while I am painting. I particularly enjoy Speaking of Faith on Sunday mornings before I go to mass. This is the first time I have ever written about any of the programs I listen to (I do not have a computer; my husband is doing this for me).

I was so struck, uplifted, and joyful yesterday morning to hear Krista's interview with Joe Carter. Please thank him for his stories and spirituals and his marvelous "old time religion" inspiration. I hope that someday his lecture tours will bring him to the Mississippi coast! I know he touched many hearts yesterday, black and white alike… and we can all learn a thing or two from the lady who "had her bags packed." God bless.

Betsi Burgess
Gulfport, MS (WMPN, 90.3 FM)

Can We Clone Joe Carter? (February 20, 2005)
I have only recently begun listening to Speaking of Faith, and am so impressed with the topics addressed and the guests on the program. However, this particular show not only touched me but gave me an "AHA!" moment. A little background on me will be helpful, first. I am the 57-year-old white granddaughter of a "Southern lady" from South Carolina. I never liked the way my grandmother would talk about the "little nappy headed darkies" and perhaps from that developed a sense of guilt over what we white people perpetrated on the Blacks.

As a committed Christian who believes God has a ministry for each of us, I have become involved in a prison ministry called the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP). I did not look for this ministry, it found me. I have been profoundly affected by my many experiences with the inmates that come through the program. It is my belief that our American society has continued to perpetrate a form of slavery on the Black people. Some, like Joe Carter, were fortunate to grow up in an intact family and neighborhood where stability, values, education, self-sufficiency, and appreciation of those that came before and their historical legacy, were the norm. Most of the men I meet in prison have had a strong female figure in their lives whom they very much love and respect, but the rest of the equation was missing. And now they are in prison.

I am a lover of history, and like it or not, feel connected to these men by virtue of my Southern heritage: what my people did to their people. As an Episcopalian I probably know more about Negro spirituals and have sung more spirituals than most if not all of the younger men. As I listened to Joe talk, and what a wonderful voice!, it dawned on me that this man needs to go into the prisons and tell his own story as well as the story of slavery and the music traditions that came from it. All I can do as an AVP volunteer is introduce some basic concepts and provide experiential learning opportunities for them. But something is missing, something I as a white person cannot give them. These men need to feel genuine pride, not only about themselves as individuals, but also as a people, in their collective history. No white man or woman can instill this, for obvious reasons. It will take people like Joe Carter, credible and respected Black people who are not afraid to go into the prisons and tell their own stories. As you might imagine, getting people of any race to volunteer to go into the prison environment is a challenge in itself.

I plan to order a tape of this particular show to use in our program, assuming that you give your "OK", and the prison administration will approve it. Thank you for an excellent program.

Melissa Hutton
Hagerstown, MD (WETA, 90.9 FM)

A Meaningful Dance (February 20, 2005)
I was deeply moved by this program. Just recently, I attended the Community Sing at the Levine School of Music, led by Ysaye Barnwell. We had sung many of the songs presented on the program. The music is transporting and now I understand the depth of it and why I was so moved. I thank you for expanding my life. I also admire Krista's gentle and probing questions. She seems to know how to speak to the heart and to the intelligence and makes me feel that there is a meaningful dance between the two.

Renee Dunham
Washington, DC (WETA, 90.9 FM)

Inspiring (February 20, 2005)
I want to make a standing ovation and shout more and more for today's program. Thank you. My awareness has been expanded and deepened. I can see ways to use this with negative thinking people and prejudiced from lack of awareness. A radiance of love and appreciation.

Jonelle Reynolds
St. George, UT (KUER, 90.1 FM)

The Opposite of Cheap, Shallow Religion (February 20, 2005)
I heard an interview with Joe Carter on the value of the old spirituals. He sang "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child." I endorse the program heartily. He emphasized the depth of the spiritual experience that brought them forth. This is the opposite of cheap, shallow religion. We need more of this. You asked for our favorites:

"Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"

"There Is a Balm in Gilead

"Steal Away to Jesus"

"When the Love Come Twinkling Down (Seek, seek, seek and ye shall find)"

"Sister, Did You Hear When Jesus Rose"

"Were You There"

"Steal Away"

Louise H. Hudson
Vancleave, MS (WMAV, 90.3 FM)

More Programming Like This (February 20, 2005)
Although I rarely ever listen to NPR because of your liberal bias, I was captivated by Joe Carter and his teaching about the black spiritual this morning. I pastor a country church north of Meridian, Mississippi and drive from Jackson every Sunday. It's about a two-hour drive. When I got to church I told my congregation about the program and to learn more about Joe Carter by checking the future NPR scheduling and Web sites. Joe certainly knows music; he is an excellent teacher, and he knows the Bible well (which blesses my heart). Please do more of this type of programming and less of the political stuff. I often complain to Sen. Cochran about NPR, but this time I'll pay you a compliment and will listen again to this type of programming.

Rev. Charlie Rodriguez
Clinton, MS (WMPN, 91.3 FM)

A New Understanding (February 20, 2005)
I have just been introduced to SOF by a friend and was so very glad. What a find! Thoughtful and informative. I went to church after listening to the program on Sunday AM and one of the hymns we sang was "Wade in the Water." I was deeply moved by all that my new understanding about the spiritual added to my worship experience. Blessings and thank you. I only wish that the program were on slightly later in the morning — but I will set the alarm to make sure I am awake.

Peggy Myers
Hamden, CT (WNPR, 89.1 FM)

Fabulous Program (February 20, 2005)
I was enthralled with this program. It really spoke to me regarding the power that music has in lives — past and present. I appreciated hearing Mr. Carter's distinction between "blues" and "spirituals" as I had not thought about this before, and had unfortunately, almost used the terms interchangeably. I won't do that anymore! Yes, music can take us from pain — even temporarily. Thank you.

Marcia Relyea
Mount Clemens, MI (WUOM, 91.7 FM)

A Substitute for Corporate Diversity Training? (February 20, 2005)
First, let me say that I love your show, and admire the depth and breadth of what you bring to the discussion of matters of human faith in what is truly a remarkable program, which I hope will have a very long life. I also loved your interview this morning with Joe Carter on the African-American spiritual and the richness of the stories he shared, which connected so powerfully with the origins of the "sorrow songs" in the lives of the slave community, as relayed to him by his ancestors and others. Mr. Carter's seamless way of telling these stories through both word and song is both moving and powerful.

I did have one concern about a statement that was made twice on the show to the effect that the spiritual was all but forgotten until it was revived during the civil rights movement. While there was no other reference to the civil rights movement connection made later in the show, this historical moment for the spiritual was not an isolated public flowering of the spiritual, but the culmination of a rich history of the spiritual coming to wide public awareness at various turns in late 19th and then 20th century American culture; the forms in which this happened were quite varied, but the spiritual managed to maintain its integrity in the face of many cultural challenges. The show alluded to a couple of these moments in references to the "Wings over Jordan" choir and the great solo singers Paul Robeson and Marian Anderson.

But it is generally agreed today that the African-American spiritual might never have become as widely known around the world as it is today were it not for the former slave Ella Shepherd and the Fisk Jubilee Singers, who first performed the spirituals for concert audiences in landmark tours to the East Coast and European capitals in the years just following the emancipation — and this at a time when black-face minstrelsy had for years been the primary image of slave musical culture in America. Their story is most recently documented in a book and PBS video:

Andrew Ward, Dark Midnight When I Rise (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000)

Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory produced by WGBH and Nashville Public Television for the PBS American Experience series: Llewellyn Smith and Andrew Ward

"'Shout All Over God's Heaven!': How the African-American Spiritual Has Maintained Its Integrity in the Face of Social and Musical Challenges." Choral Journal 45:1 [August 2004] p. 9-25. [Audio] samples are at http://www.acdaonline.org/cj/interactive/aug2004/

Thomas Lloyd
Havertown, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

A Substitute for Corporate Diversity Training? (February 20, 2005)
I want to thank you for your thoughtful and "spirited" interview with Joe Carter. For me, it was a "driveway moment." I only intended to listen for a minute or two and it was so compelling that I listened for the rest of the show. Thank you so much for asking Mr. Carter what he thought about the fusion of slavery to Christianity and also about his feeling of "white people" celebrating the slaves' music.

In my ideal world, a recording of this show would be required listening by every single American, white and of color. It would do so much more than the superficial, cookie-cutter corporate "diversity training" classes taken so corporations can check it off their list. Wonderful!

Pat Klimas-Reinhardt
Grand Rapids, MI (WVGR, 104.1 FM)

Spirituals, Blues, and Jews (February 20, 2005)
Thanks for a fine show. I was struck when Mr. Carter mentioned that it was his Jewish friend who had first alerted him to his own musical heritage. Since the 1950s Jews have been strongly attracted to Black music, as players, producers, and even as writers. I know of other examples where Black-Jewish cooperation has had great results — I'm thinking of Thurgood Marshall and Louis Armstrong. I think the current disconnect between Black and Jewish artistic and political interests needs analysis. (Maybe you can even do a show about it.)

The only disagreement I have with the show's points is that there are elements of transcendence, of converting pain into beauty, of communicating with eternity, of purity and honesty, that are part of blues and jazz music, just as much as these achievements are part of spirituals.

Paul Simons
Levittown, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

Spiritually and Intellectually Interesting (February 20, 2005)
Sometimes Speaking of Faith programs I find to be intellectually interesting, but not very spiritual. Yet again today you have been able to capture the essence of ALL THAT IS, THAT which is so mysteriously ever present if we were but conscious and turn to IT. Thank you Krista for Joe Carter and really bringing so much of THAT presence to me through your discussion and those beautiful Spirituals sung by Mr. Carter. I will e-mail this program to those I love.

Benjamin Gray
Cornwall, CT (WNPR, 89.1 FM)

Black Spirituals (February 20, 2005)
Your program featuring Joe Carter brings hope and sanity to the black community that is being drowned out by rap and all the negative aspects of black culture. May we, blacks and whites alike learn from the values, history, and mistakes we have made in the past.

Paul Kato
Fowlerville, MI (WUOM, 91.7 FM)

Growing in Faith (February 19, 2005)
Thank you for starting my Sunday morning so thoughtfully, smartly, movingly. I was moved by the thought of the slaves' spirituality as "mature" spirituality — that to grow in faith does not mean to grow toward warfare and resentment, but to grow toward "it is well with my soul."

Emily Hoffman
Reisterstown, MD (WYPR, 88.1 FM)

Quilts and Code (February 19, 2005)
I enjoy your show every time I tune in. The story of African-American Spirituals vs. "blues" was wonderful. It enhanced my appreciation of the dignity and forgiveness in the hearts of the slaves in America. I had heard of the ten or more differently patterned Gullah quilts hung out as codes for underground railroad on Simply Quilts. The sharing of real meaning of the spirituals was truly inspiring. Thanks for having Joe Carter explain and sing spirituals today.

Pauline Lebeyka
Eatontown, NJ (WNYC, 820 AM)

Music, the Great Uniter (February 19, 2005)
I just wanted to compliment you on today's program. I have never been so touched with history of the Black community. Music certainly unites heaven and earth. Thank you so much.

Luella Mathusek
Dumont, NJ (WNYC, 820 AM)

Spirituals Still Live? (February 7, 2004)
What a wonderful surprise to learn that the spiritual is not a dead art form. As a WASP growing up in Minnesota, the spiritual was, and is, a treasure of my childhood. I have often wondered why it is so little heard today. Thank you Joe Carter for instructing, inspiring, and challenging me. I look forward to the next time I hear you sing and teach.

My favorites? The ones that Mr. Carter sang on your program.

Robert Hall
Bronx, NY (WNYC, 820 AM)

A Better Understanding (February 8, 2004)
As a White American growing up in Chicago, I was first exposed to spirituals in grammar school and Sunday School. They were in our songbooks in both places. One we learned was "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Later, listening to radio programs on WFMT hosted by Studs Terkel, I heard him play recordings of spirituals by Mahalia Jackson, who I believe lived in Chicago. Sometime later, I owned an LP of her singing spirituals and gospel tunes. The album was very uplifting. One song I recall was "In That Great Getting-Up Morning."

The comments by Joe Carter added to my appreciation of the role of spirituals in the lives of the slaves, particularly his comments about song as a way of reaching ancestors who would intercede with God. His comments will lead me to consider how I can gain greater spiritual benefit from the music I currently listen to.

Coincidentally, earlier this Sunday morning I heard an interview with one of the members of the "Wings Over Jordan" choir. The interview was conducted by Steve Cushing, as part of his program "Blues Before Sunrise" which is broadcast on WBEZ and other stations. The interviewee talked about how the choir members tried to embody the values of self-empowerment and self-improvement that Joe Carter talked about. Steve Cushing and the interviewee discussed the race-based difficulties that this all-Black choir faced as they toured America in the 1930's and 1940's.

I'm a fan of the Blues. They can teach us a lot, and put us in touch with our emotions, and show us how to live with and live through pain. However, I'm intrigued by the point Joe Carter made about the White commercial establishment preferring to exploit the image of the drunk or wanton Black male. Of course, the sex and violence of White people is also generally "sold" more than their spirituality.

Fred Meyer
Evanston, IL (WBEZ, 91.5 FM)

Amazing (February 8, 2004)
Thank you Joe. It was a wonderful afternoon today as we heard you on MPR and SOF. You have a beautiful voice. Thanks for bringing some grace into our lives today.

Brian Belgarde
La Crescenta, CA (KPCC, 89.3 FM)

Soul Blues (June 25, 2004)
First, thanks for a great show but the criticism of blues actually talked about only one small part of blues. It is about deep heartbreak and loss, triumph in serious undertakings, and humanity's place in the infinite universe, as well as getting drunk and finding sexual enjoyment.

Second, in talking about Gospel please don't forget the groups that use very modern and moving harmonies, chord progressions, and rhythms to bring love to body and soul. In particular I've been moved by Luther Barnes and the Red Bud Gospel Choir.

Paul Simons
Levittown, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

Very Interesting (February 8, 2004)
What a wonderful way to spend the evening, driving back to Kentucky from Tennessee, listening to Mr. Joe Carter! Am looking forward to obtaining a copy for my U.S. History class. Delightful and educational!

Allen Brown
Shelbyville, KY (WEKU, 88.9 FM)

Keep the Spirit Alive (February 8, 2004)
This was a wonderful program. I especially liked the fact that it illustrated the context in which these African-American spirituals were composed and sung.

Our contemporary culture, while perhaps appreciative of these spirituals, has a tendency to treat and experience them superficially (e.g. "gospel brunches"). As this program illustrated, these spirituals are truly eternal music — a powerful testimony to the incredible faith, perseverance, hope and dignity of the people who composed and sang them.

Paul Matthew
Washington, DC (WETA, 90.9 FM)

I Didn't Turn This One Off (February 7, 2004)
I normally turn this program off. Tonight's program kept me tuned through 100 miles of slow driving icy roads. As a rule I tune out anything with even remotely religious overtones. Though this show had more of a historical perspective in my opinion.

Mark Olson
Twin Valley, MN (KNBJ, 91.3 FM)

Great Program! (February 7, 2004)
This was one of the best things we have ever heard on Public Radio! We re-played the program for all five of our kids.

James and Lisa Munis
Byron, MN (KZSE, 90.7 FM)

Great Program! (February 7, 2004)
Joe Carter sings with such feeling. We were swept away while listening. I am reminded that whenever one culture tries to destroy another both lose opportunity to benefit from the God-given gifts that each individual has. I am grateful that these spirituals that speak for many have been preserved.

Sherry Kooiker
Boyden, IA (KNSW, 89.3 FM)