Across
- 3. A creole language spoken by African Americans that combines elements from West African and European languages.
- 4. songs Verses of African American spirituals that Du Bois included at the opening of each chapter in The Souls of Black Folk to reflect Black spiritual and cultural traditions.
- 5. franca A common language developed to enable communication between people who speak different native languages, a practice African Americans continued from their ancestors' experience in long-distance trade.
- 6. languages Languages that developed when enslaved African Americans combined elements from West African and European languages to communicate across different linguistic groups.
- 7. A textile art form practiced by African Americans that served as a medium for storytelling and preserving memory and cultural heritage.
- 10. African instruments Musical instruments from West Africa that influenced the construction of instruments such as rattles, banjos, and drums created by African Americans.
- 12. meanings The use of coded or hidden messages in spirituals that conveyed literal meanings to enslavers while communicating escape plans and warnings to enslaved people.
- 13. heritage The cultural, historical, and ancestral connections to Africa and African traditions maintained by African Americans.
- 14. hymns Religious songs that enslaved African Americans learned and adapted by combining them with African rhythmic and performative elements to create new musical genres.
- 16. and response A musical and performative technique where one voice or instrument initiates a phrase and another responds, originating from African musical traditions.
- 18. A musical system from the Senegambia region that shares the same musical structure as American blues.
- 19. An African American musical genre characterized by expressive vocals, call-and-response patterns, and themes reflecting hardship and emotional experience.
- 22. Active opposition or defiance against oppression, injustice, or systems of control.
- 23. Central Africans Enslaved Africans from West Central Africa who arrived in large numbers in Louisiana and influenced the development of American blues.
- 24. Enslaved Africans from the Senegambia region who arrived in large numbers in Louisiana and influenced the development of American blues.
Down
- 1. A stringed instrument constructed by African Americans drawing from African and local influences, similar to instruments found in West Africa.
- 2. A genre of African American religious music that evolved from spirituals and features powerful vocals, emotional expression, and Christian themes.
- 4. A rhythmic technique that emphasizes unexpected beats or off-beat accents, a foundational element in African American music.
- 8. Railroad A covert network of Black and white abolitionists who provided transportation, shelter, and other resources to help enslaved people flee the South to free territories in the North, Canada, and Mexico during the nineteenth century.
- 9. American creative expression Forms of artistic and cultural production by African Americans that blend influences from African heritage with local American sources.
- 11. themes Religious references to stories of redemption and deliverance from the Bible that spirituals used to express hopes for freedom and escape from enslavement.
- 15. The spontaneous creation of music or performance without prior planning, a key element of African American musical traditions.
- 17. songs An alternative name for spirituals, emphasizing the songs' expression of joy, celebration, and hope for freedom.
- 20. Religious songs created by enslaved African Americans that blended African musical traditions with Christian themes and served as expressions of faith and resistance.
- 21. aesthetic influences Artistic and cultural principles and styles derived from African traditions that shaped African American creative practices.