Sorrow songs expressed the suffering and unjust treatment of enslaved African Americans during the period of
slavery in the United States
The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of List of ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865 ...
(1619–1865). The melodies and the lyrics conveyed sadness, and the words were "stunningly direct" about what it is to be enslaved.
W. E. B. Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist.
Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...
coined the name.
References
{{Authority control
African-American music