African-American spirituals are religious folksongs that developed from experiences of enslaved Africans in the American South during the colonial period. During that time, slaves were deprived of their freedom, language, families, as well as their connection to African culture. In fact, slaves owned by Christians were forbidden from practicing any religion, except Christianity (“African American Spirituals- Folk and Traditional Styles,” n.d., para 2). As Africanized Christianity became a part of slave culture, the spiritual developed into an essential means of expression for the slave community (“African American Spirituals,” n.d., para 3).
While spirituals allowed slaves to express their new faith, the songs also reflected the community’s profound longing for freedom. Captivated by Bible stories that paralleled to their own experiences, slaves often created spirituals based on biblical text (“African American Spirituals- Folk and Traditional Styles,” n.d., para 3). For this reason, many spirituals feature the biblical hero David. David, from the story of David and Goliath, represents the story of the