i see the rhythm of gospel

7/27/2019 I See the Rhythm of Gospel

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http://www.parable.com/i.READ-and-HEAR-edition-I-See-the-Rhythm-of-Gospel-Igus-Toyomi.9780310423997http://www.christianbook.com/under-the-baobab-tree/julie-stiegemeyer/9780310725619/pd/725619?product_redirect=1&Ntt=9780310725619&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCGhttp://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-see-the-rhythm-of-gospel-toyomi-igus/1100269126?ean=9780310718192&itm=1&usri=9780310718192http://www.booksamillion.com/p/See-Rhythm-Gospel-Audio/Toyomi-Igus/9780310718192?id=5841885292943http://www.amazon.com/See-Rhythm-Gospel-Toyomi-Igus/dp/0310718198/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391630456&sr=8-1&keywords=9780310718192


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ZONDERKIDZ

I See the Rhythm of GospelCopyright 2010 by Toyomi IgusIllustrations 2010 Michele Wood

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zonderkidz,Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Igus, Toyomi.

I See the Rhythm of Gospel / by Toyomi Igus; illustrated by Michele Woodp. cm.

ISBN 978-0-310-7181 9-2 (hardcover)[1. Gospel musicHistor y and criticism Juvenile literature. 2. African AmericansJu venile

literature. I. Wood, Michele, ill. II. Title.ML3187.138 2010782.25'40973dc22

2010008987

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from theHoly Bible, New InternationalVersion, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rightsreserved worldwide.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offeredas a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor doesZondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or anyother except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

Editor: Barbara HerndonInterior & cover design: Cindy Davis

Printed in China

10 11 12 13 14 15 /LPC/ 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


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Dedications

To the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name

all my prayers are made, heard,and answered.

To my mother, Karolyn A. Mitchell, who

taught me to have hope and to believe, an

through her prayers I have come to know

the Lord and his Divine Art.

M.W.

My gratitude to Michele Wood for herennobling artistic vision;

Kazumi and Kenji, my children, for

nurturing my soul; and special thanks to

my grandmother, Rev. Viola A. Gibson,

for inspiring knowledge, faith, and cultura

connection. Bless her heart.

T. I.


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When the artist, Michele Wood, and I worked together on I See the Rhythm,about the history of African-American

music, we both felt there was so much more to explore in one musical form in particular: gospel music.

Gospel evolved from the early African-American spiritual, but no one can say exactly when and where

the spiritual got its start. Did enslaved Africans copy and change the European Christian and folk music? How

many African slaves were exposed to Christianity before they were brought to the Americas? Did those slaves bring

their own African religious songs to the New World and modify them? Did slaves create their own unique songs?

Historians are still asking these questions.

What we do know is that the African-American spiritual was born out of the brutality of slavery and evolved into

what we know today as gospel music. It is a response to the centuries of injustice and discrimination endured by

enslaved Africans.

In this book, Michele and I want to take you on a trip through time to learn more about African-American history

and gospel music.

We want you to see through Micheles pictures and my words how the lives of African Americansand our spiritinfluenced the music and how the music influenced our lives. How gospel music expressed our pain

and sorrows, uplifted our souls, and gave us the strength to endure and survive.

The good news is that African Americans and our unique culture have not only survived, weve thrived! And the

good news is gospel.

Toyomi Igus

GOOD NEWS!Gospel Means

The themes of African-American gospel songs

are often drawn from Bible stories. This picture

s an illustration of the prophetess Miriam

eading Hebrew women in song and dance,

celebrating the Exodus of the Hebrew slaves

and the defeat of the Egyptians. Gospel music

also reflects the natural world and personal

experiences of African Americans.

P. S. Remember Missy in I See the Rhythm?She is the spirit of the artist, Michele Wood, whoappears as a little girl in each painting. Look closelyat the pictures and see if you can find her!


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1485 :The Portuguese colonize the islands in the Gulfof Guinea to make sugar. But they need slaves to work

the tropical plantations. This is the beginning of the slave

trade; a thousand Africans a year are brought in to work the

plantations.

1494 :The first Africans arrive withChristopher Columbus to the West Indian

island of Hispaniola (today called Haiti).

They are free people.

1511 :The first Africans whoare slaves arrive in Hispaniola.

1522 :African slaves rebel in Hispaniola. This ishe first slave uprising in the New World.

From1500-Civi l War(1860s) : Slaves are brought to the Caribbean Islands,the United States, and South America to provide cheap labor for landowners. About

ten million Africans survive the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, known as the Middle

Passage, to the New World.

I see the rhythm.

of Africa,I seethe rhythm

the motherland of humanity.

I see the rhythm of my people, land, and spirit in harmony.

he drumbeats from our souls echo the movement of the earth,

the journey of the sun and the mystery of our birth.

ut then ... in one moment ...

grasping hands, clanking chains,

my voice is mufed, my family slain.

My heart is broken, my faith is shaken.To what fearful place am I being taken?

I remember the rhyhms of my homeland ...

And that rhythm lives on in me.

the migration of the birds, the tides of the seas.

We dance to the rhythm of our hearts, we sing our songs of strife,

r as creations of the creator, we are connected to all life.

Wefeel

the flowof the rivers, sthe swingof the tree

,


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There are many different peoples, countries, languages, and cus toms in Africa. The same is true of religions. Africans are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and some still practice their native worship rituals. For all Africans, music is devotional. In th

picture, the first panel shows a woman washing clothes in the river, while African villagers are being captured by European slavers. The dye leaking into the river from the ends of the two red scarves represents the blood shed by African peop

died in the slave trade. Many West African tribes had customs similar to baptism, which the water of the river represents. The center panel shows villagers dancing and drumming in celebration. Some tribes believe that the spirits are summon

with the drumming.


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1619 :Slavery begins in the United States, when a

Dutch ship steals a cargo of enslaved Africans from theSpanish. The ship arrives in Jamestown with 20 negars

to exchange for supplies. These are the first Africans to

arrive in the English North American colonies.

1634 :Maryland official

slavery, the first Americanmany to do so.

on arrival in the new land, Africans tried to retain their tribal religious practices, but they lost them over time. They also lost theirguages. At first, the enslaved blacks could not communicate well with each other, but eventually they adopted the language of the slave

asters. Jesus is shown here as one of the s laves, illustrating how, even though the Bible was used to justify slavery, Jesus suffered on

half of all mankind. The minister on the right preaches at a plantation revival meeting. These meetings provide comfort to the

rd-working slaves. The conversion of slaves to Christianity in the 1700s is called the Great Awakening.


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1661 :A law in Marylandis passed ensuring thatenslaved blacks who

convert to Christianity will

remain slaves.

Late 1600s :Slaves are not allowedto be educated or taught to readeven the

Bible. Most Christian colonists were slave

owners and discouraged the conversion of

slaves to the religion. The Quakers, however,

welcomed both slaves and freedmen.

1754 :Benjamin Banneker, a21-year-old black man, makesthe first clock in colonial America,

one of his many inventions.

1642 :The Fugitive Slave Law is passed

in Virginia to punish those who helpenslaved people escape. Runaway slaves

are branded with an R when they are

caught.

strange beliefs,a life of despair,a life of grief.

I am a motherless child, lost and confused, trapped in the darkused and abused.In this new land, there are unceasing commands.But my spirit makes new demands

FREEDOM

from backbreaking work and strife.

FREEDOM to dene a new life. But the labor beats down my body. The hate demeans my soul. Can I reclaim the spirit that they stole?

We nd the answer in our music and in our faith that lightens our plight.I see the rhythm of the Americas, as Africas spiritshines on so bright.

of hope, home, future, salvation.

I see the rhythmNew World,of a

1758 :The first known blackchurch in North America is

founded, the African Baptist or

Bluestone Church in Virgina.

1770 :Crispus Attucks, a sailor and anescaped slave, is the first civilian shot when

British attack a protesting crowd in Boston, aevent known as the Boston Massacre. Attuck

is the first hero of the American Revolution w

died for speaking out against English rule.


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