Go Tell It on the Mountain, the beloved African-American spiritual, tells the tale of Christ’s birth that is inextricably tied to one of America’s darkest sins. Originally passed down orally from plantation to plantation, the spiritual was sung by the enslaved in the tradition of a long-awaited jubilee—the hope of emancipation. In 1907, John Wesley Work, Jr., published a collection of African-American spirituals and folk songs, and it became a staple of the Jubilee Singers from Fisk University in Nashville. The spiritual inspires both hope for better days and joy at Christ’s coming.
Besides the spiritual, Go Tell It on the Mountain is the name of African-American author James Baldwin’s 1953 semi-autobiographical novel. Considered one of Baldwin’s best works, the novel chronicles the conversion experience of John Grimes, an African-American teenager living in Harlem during the Great Depression. It is a coming-of-age story that focuses on race, religion, sexuality, poverty, and family during a time when hope and joy seemed like an illusion.
For many, Advent is a time of family and traditions, but there are those among us who struggle to balance the joy of the Advent season with a painful reality. Some are single, widowed, divorced, childless, or in a strained marriage. Others have suffered the death of a loved one, unemployment, homelessness, or failing health. For many, the Advent season can feel like the slower, pensive verses of the hymn while others only hear the chorus of exultation that Christ has come. This season, pay attention to both, and extend kindness to those who may be in the valley instead of on the mountaintop.
— Angela Bell
