When I hear spirituals SometimesA big, full feelingGrows in my chest . . .
Her heart pounds, she gets a lump in her throat, and tears flow down her cheeks. The music makes her want to clap her hands and stomp her feet. She hears healing, tenderness, strength, pride, and above all, hope.
The author of the classic picture book Bright Eyes, Brown Skin, Cheryl Willis Hudson, has woven together lyrics of twelve timeless, Black spirituals with a moving exploration of how music can hold memories, emotions, and empowerment.
Songs include Go down, Moses, Nobody Knows the Troubles I See, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, Rock-a-My Soul, Get on Board, Little Children, and more.
Evocative illustrations by award-winning artist London Ladd depict important people and places in Black history and culture: Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Great Migration, and the Enslaved Peoples Uprising of 1811.