Alien Gospel or Source of Inspiration?; Alienation, Anger, Rage Summary

The section begins with "Go Down Death," a poem author James Weldon Johnson describes as a "funeral sermon." The poem describes what happens upon the death of a woman named Caroline who was released from the pain of suffering by God. Carline is then borne away into the waiting arms of Jesus, who wipes her tears and allows her to rest. In "Spirituals and Neo-Spirituals," author Zora Neale Hurston examines the origins of hymns, saying that spirituals did originate during times of slavery but that, contrary to what some believe, spirituals continue to be created. Hurston goes on to discuss the use of breathing in songs and sermons, saying that mechanics requires that the singer's breath not be heard but that Negroes use that intake or outpouring...