Part One of Two

Sara Prince was on Daystar International Learning Associates Board of Directors. When Sara was a teacher in the 1990s teaching English in China, this was one of articles she wrote for Daystar News Report. Sara has passed on; but we would like to share this article with you.

This morning as I entered the third floor corridor of Beijing, U.S.A., College of English, the warm, wistful music of Steven Foster’s “My Old Kentucky Home” played upon my cold ears - there were patches of ice still just below the entrance stairs. An interlude of music after announcements and before classes is a welcome innovation. This, however, was the third day I had happily but reluctantly listened to that particular song, and I remembered the discussion I’d had with Mr. Wang about the background of the song and its implications of slavery. He was very much aware of it. He’d studied the history and felt great sympathy for the African victims. I’m sure his feelings are very sincere. I was reminded by one of my students about the feelings of the Chinese people for the oppression of human beings because of color and the recent translation into action during the overturn of the infamous apartheid system in South Africa.

Why then am I uncomfortable when I hear “My Old Kentucky Home” three days in a row? Perhaps I’m remembering how I felt when I was taught the songs of the south - very much like Mr. Wang, sympathetic but detached. I had been taught the history of the Civil War from books authored by people whose views were limited. Slavery was discussed as a necessary institution, and of course, it proved to be. Had it not been for the labor of slaves, American would not be the great country it is today. Slaves were portrayed as happy people - “the darkies were happy and gay.” Perhaps that was indicative of their ability to survive and gain strength from oppression, wisdom from injustice, and love through service. Despite the fact that they were forbidden to make or use musical instruments, they used their voices, not only to express their feelings, but also to achieve their social goal, which was the freedom to be educated and join the pursuit of happiness, which is the right of all human beings. When I was young, I viewed this historic episode with the same sympathy and detachment as Mr. Wang.

                                                            By Sara L. Prince