I have too many places to post my thoughts on the internet. And a guaranteed audience for all the other outlets. I have no idea who reads this, and I’ve disabled comments so I never will, I guess. Unless someone tells me that they do.
But here’s an update for you.
My apartment actually pretty much rocks. It’s tiny tiny tiny, but it’s been good for me to live in such a small space. Through moving around so much within the District, I’ve been constantly paring down my stuff, but living in a 250 square foot apartment really makes you realize what you do and don’t need. I really think I’ve made the most of this space, though. It’s cozy and despite the loft bed, it doesn’t look or feel like a dorm room. So I will declare my apartment cured. A lovely home.
In other news, I’ve joined the Heritage Signature Chorale, which is exciting. I used to perform with choirs when I was younger, in fact, all the way back to age 9 I can’t remember a time that I was not singing with a group. I’m particularly stoked to be singing with HSC because they focus on the choral music that inspired me the most – African American choral music. Spirituals, praise songs, gospel music. Much of it a capella. Familiar arrangers such as Moses Hogan peek out in stacks of sheet music. Songs I used to sing from the first pew at my mother’s concerts when I was six.
It sometimes feels disingenuous for me to love to sing African American spirituals. They are not “my” songs. These songs came out of a time when black people were exploited in the worst possible way in this country, and daily still I am reminded of how the effects of those historical injustices continue to be felt in the daily lives of African Americans. In these songs are the roots of soul, jazz, R&B, and the blues. Sometimes I have to ask, as a privileged white person, can I really sing these songs?
I decided that I can, the same way Peggy Lee could sing the blues and Joss Stone can sing R&B. The music surely means different things to me, but I also do understand the current of history that flows through songs like ‘Wade in the Water’ and ‘Go Down Moses’. And sometimes, I too, feel like a motherless child. We all understand that feeling. We all know human sorrow (though many spirituals are also incredibly joyful!) – that is why these songs are so poignant, so moving, to anyone of any color, creed, or background. That’s why, long before history began including the stories of Black Americans, the Jubilee Singers toured the world.
I am happy to be singing their songs again.