Page 18 Portland Observer Section II February 26.1981
The Fisk Jubilee Chorus toured America and Europe in the 1870s. singing traditional spirituals and
songs. Their performances helped introduce Black American music to the world. (The Bettman A r­
chive)
without eliminating those qualities.
Their first selections were popular ballards o f the day,
such as Annie Laune and Horne, Sweet Home. In un­
structured moments, they would sing some o f their
spirituals and plantation melodies for their own enter­
tainm ent. Hearing these songs, their sim p licity and
beauty so evident. White wanted to include the songs in
the first concert that he planned for Nashville in 18678,
but there was strong resistance by the singers for fear o f
ridicule.
F in a lly , he encouraged them to sing several o f
“ their” songs at the progam...the success and accolades
with which the selections were met created a more am­
bitious local scheduling o f concerts.
In 1871, White decided to take the group on tour to
raise funds. This was a d ifficult decision, for there were
several obstacles; none had the proper clothing fo r a
northern tour and no money to purchase any, their
program was not in form o f the minstrelsy with which
the American (i.e. white) public was fam iliar and, in
fact, the genre (spirituals) was quite unfam iliar to the
general public.
Nevertheless, with borrowed clothing and funds.
White and his singers left, with hearts in their mouths,
to begin a fundraising tour on October 6, 1871, in Cin­
cinnati, Ohio. At Oberlin a turning points o f sorts was
reached. White being kept waiting in the audience for
their turn to perform, at a lull in the proceedings, they
softly began to sing. Steal A way to Jesus. As a hush set­
tled over the audiences, their confidence grew. The
purity and beauty o f their singing and the song moved
the white audience in a way that nothing else had.
W'hite then decided to include more spirituals on suc­
ceeding program s, and a new name was needed.
Remembering the slaves had talked about the "year o f
jubilee” that would be celebrated when bondage was
ended, he elected to call the group the Fisk Jubilee
Sinners.
A SALUTE TO BLACK HISTORY
Born in New Orleans
in 1806 and educated in
France. Norbert Ril-
lieux, while chief en­
gineer of the Louisiana
Sugar Refining Com­
pany, made a most
important contribution
to the advance of the
sugar industry. His in­
vention of an evapor­
ating pan to refine raw
sugar
revolutionized
the sugar industry. His
system reduced the
hand labor of refining
and saved fuel because
the closed system trap­
ped the heat and boiled
the juice at lower tem­
peratures Everywhere,
its use increased sugar
production, produced a
superior product, and
SAFECO
INSURANCE
COMPANIES
N orberl Rillirui.
reduced
operating
costs
With this device,
patented in 1846, Nor­
bert
Rillieux estab­
lished the scientific
principles that form the
basis of all modern
industrial evaporation.
TAKES THIS OPPORTUNITY IN REC­
OGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF
ITS BLACKS AND HOPE ALL WILL
JOIN IN A SALUTE TO BLACK HIS­
TORY WEEK.
Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of Portland
salutes Norbert Rillieux for his
contribution to the history of America
1500 SW 1st AVE.