Railroads Change Florida: Zora Neale Hurston and the Railroad Track Lining Chants: | Zora Neale Hurston is most often remembered as a gifted novelist with a knack for capturing the essence of the lives of rural Southerners, especially in Florida. She was also, however, a folklorist who helped the Federal Writers’ Project document the lives and traditions of African-Americans during the Great Depression. Hurston’s work has been instrumental in writing the history of African-American individuals and communities. In this lesson students will listen to a track lining song that was collected by Zora Neale Hurston to write brief journal responses to the audio recording. |
Shape Note Singing in Florida: “Florida Storm”: The Miami Hurricane of 1926: | American shape note singing is a tradition that goes back to the New England singing schools of the 18th century. It is an easy method for learning written music and was intended to replace lining out - the call and response form of singing in which a leader chants each line of a hymn to the congregation before it sings them.
In this lesson students will listen to and analyze a recording of "Florida Storm," a shape note song from The Colored Sacred Harp to discuss the meaning of the song. |