Historic Negro Spirituals as Biblical Interpretation

Christa Klingbeil Dixon, Kim R. Harris, Daniel L. Smith-Christopher , Kim R. Harris

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English

Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
27 January 2025

Social & cultural history; Christian spirituality & religious experience; Ethnic studies; Black & Asian studies

Dr. Christa K. Dixon [1935 – 2003] grew up during the time of World War 2, where her father, a German Confessing Church pastor, regularly visited American POW camps, and young Christa heard African-American soldiers singing spirituals. Her fascination grew, but Dixon’s interests became quite focused on her interest in how the famous spirituals interpreted the Bible. In the mid-1960s, Dr. Dixon earned her PhD working on “Negro Spirituals” in Germany and published the text that formed from her years of research and long-lasting passion for the spirituals she heard during her visits to the prisoner camps with her father. A work of careful analysis and scholarship, Dixon’s study has since been out of print, but now newly translated and presented for an audience to rediscover. In John Lovell’s important 1972 monograph, Black Song: The Forge and Flame, he wrote, “…Perhaps the most intensive study of Biblical influences in the spiritual is found in Christa Dixon’s Wesen und Wandel geistlicher Volkslieder Negro Spirituals…her analyses are not only deeply intensive but quite creative…”. In this book, Dr. Kim R. Harris and Dr. Daniel L. Smith-Christopher provide not only a translation of the published German work, but also contribute two new essays to accompany this timeless study as both modern critique and long overdue appreciation.

By: Christa Klingbeil Dixon
Contributions by: Kim R. Harris, Daniel L. Smith-Christopher
Edited and translated by: Kim R. Harris, Daniel L. Smith-Christopher
Imprint: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781978713659
ISBN 10: 1978713657
Pages: 466
Publication Date: 27 January 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Carrying On Dixon’s Program: Early African-American Interpretation of the Book of Daniel in the Lyrics of Spirituals as “Singing Exile” Dr. Daniel L. Smith-Christopher Widening the Origin Stories: Islamic and Roman Catholic Presence and Contributions Reflected in Historic Negro Spirituals Dr. Kim R. Harris “Negro Spirituals”: The Interpretation of Scripture in a Religious Folk Tradition Author’s Foreword from the 1967 Edition Translator’s Introduction Introducing My Mother, Rev. Dr. Christa Klingbeil Dixon Introduction and Literature Review Chapter 1: Laying the Groundwork for Understanding the Negro Spirituals Chapter 2: On the Combining of Biblical Passages Chapter 3: On the Combination of Biblical Statements Chapter 4: On Modernizing and “Re-Contextualizing” Biblical Statements Chapter 5: On the Structuring of Biblical Statements Chapter 6: Summary Second Part: The Spiritual Texts Lyrics Section

Kim R. Harris is associate professor of African American religious thought and practice in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. Daniel L. Smith-Christopher is professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at Loyola Marymount University.

Reviews for Historic Negro Spirituals as Biblical Interpretation

The often-overlooked classic Negro Spirituals: From Bible to Folksong by German scholar Christa Klingbeil Dixon gets new life in this translation edition. Daniel Smith Christopher, a biblical scholar and Kim R. Harris, a scholar of African American Thought and Practice with a rich background in liturgy, both of Loyola Marymount University join to frame this stimulating volume. --Stephen Breck Reid, vice provost for faculty diversity & belonging, Baylor University Written in the 1960s, this newly-translated dissertation explores the biblical roots of the Spirituals' texts and the way those roots have been ""presented and reinterpreted"" in the Spirituals. Dixon is convinced that Spirituals' tradition is betrayed without an understanding of the ""unique unity of life and faith"" they embody, and she takes great pains to present her case. Translators Harris and Smith-Christopher contribute additional chapters that address aspects largely ignored by other authors - making this an invaluable book for innumerable reasons. --Eileen Guenther, Wesley Theological Seminary; author of In Their Own Words: Slave Life and the Power of Spirituals