THE MCINTOSH COUNTY SHOUTERS

Biography

The McIntosh County Shouters are a group of traditional Gullah musical performers from the community of Briar Patch in Bolden, Georgia, located in McIntosh County on the coastal Georgia Sea Islands.[1][5] Descended from former slaves London and Amy Jenkins, the group has maintained an unbroken ring shout tradition since slavery times, making them the principal and one of the last active practitioners of one of the most venerable African American song and movement traditions.[2] The ring shout, associated with burial rituals in West Africa, persisted among African slaves and was perpetuated after emancipation in African American communities, where the fundamental counterclockwise movement used in religious ceremonies integrated Christian themes, often expressed in the form of spirituals.[2]

The McIntosh County Shouters first began performing outside their community in 1980 when they appeared at the Georgia Sea Islands Festival on St. Simons Island.[2][3] Patriarch Lawrence McKiver, born in 1915, explained the origins of the shout by recounting how enslaved people used singing as a form of communication when they couldn't speak freely to one another.[2] The group's musical practice involves a hypnotic counterclockwise shuffle accompanied by call and response singing, with percussion coming only from clapping hands and sticks beating drum-like rhythm on a wooden floor, notably without crossing their feet as that would be considered dancing.[1] Since their initial public performances, the Shouters have presented at prestigious venues including the National Folk Festival at Wolf Trap Farm in Virginia, Atlanta's Black Arts Festival, Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center, and the Library of Congress.[1][3]

The McIntosh County Shouters have become recognized as an American treasure and keepers of Gullah-Geechee heritage.[1] In 1993, they received the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 2008, they were named Master Artists by the National Endowment for the Arts.[1] The group released recordings through Smithsonian Folkways in 1984 titled 'Slave Shout Songs from the Coast of Georgia' and again in 2017 with 'Spirituals & Shout Songs from the Georgia Coast.'[3] They performed at the openings of the Tubman African American Museum in Macon and the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and some members contributed to the soundtrack of the 2021 PBS documentary series 'The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song.'[3]

Fun Facts

• The McIntosh County Shouters do not cross their feet during performances—doing so would be considered dancing, which is prohibited in their religious and cultural practice of the ring shout.[1]
• The group's tradition traces back to West African burial rituals and has remained unbroken since slavery times, making the ring shout probably the oldest surviving African American performance tradition on the North American continent.[3][8]
• Original member Lawrence McKiver, who was born in 1915 and lived to be 97 years old, explained that enslaved people created the ring shout as a form of secret communication, singing in 'old slavery sounds' when they couldn't speak freely to one another.[2]
• The McIntosh County Shouters are literally 'one family of people' descended from slave-born London and Amy Jenkins, with multiple generations continuing the tradition—including Freddie Palmer representing the third generation of his family in the group.[1][4]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Lawrence McKiver - Patriarch and founding member who preserved and transmitted the ring shout tradition to younger generations through family teaching and community practice (Ring shout performances and recordings) [1915-2013]
• Alan Lomax - Legendary folklorist who first recorded the Georgia Sea Island Singers in 1935 with Zora Neale Hurston, establishing the documented history of the tradition (Field recordings and documentation) [1935, 1959]
• Moses Asch - Legendary founder of Folkways Records who first recorded the McIntosh County Shouters, bringing their music to wider audiences (Slave Shout Songs From the Georgia Coast (1983)) [1983]

Key Collaborators

• Original McIntosh County Shouters ensemble members - Family and community members who formed the original performing group descended from London and Amy Jenkins (All group performances and recordings) [1980-present]
• Carletha Sullivan - Current leader of the McIntosh County Shouters, continuing the tradition and guiding performances (Contemporary performances and recordings) [1980s-present]
• Freddie Palmer - Third-generation family member representing the continuation of the Palmer family's participation in the group (Group performances) [1980s-present]
• Brenton Jordan - Youngest member and stick man for the group, providing percussion and leading songs; great-grandson of original founding member (Contemporary performances and recordings) [2000s-present]
• Smithsonian Folkways - Record label that has documented and released the group's recordings, bringing their music to national and international audiences (Slave Shout Songs From the Georgia Coast (1984, reissued 2006); Spirituals & Shout Songs from the Georgia Coast (2017)) [1984-present]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Sign of the Judgement (Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions Vol. I-IV)
2. Sign of the Judgement (Wade in the Water, Vol. 2: African-American Congregational Singing)
3. Oh, Lord, I Want You to Help Me (Spirituals and Shout Songs from the Georgia Coast)
4. Blow, Gabriel (Slave Shout Songs from the Coast of Georgia)
5. Jubilee (Slave Shout Songs from the Coast of Georgia)
6. Wade the Water to My Knees (Slave Shout Songs from the Coast of Georgia)
7. Move, Daniel (Slave Shout Songs from the Coast of Georgia)
8. Watch That Star (Slave Shout Songs from the Coast of Georgia)
9. Determined Spirits (Freedom's Path (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack))
10. Lay Down Body (Wade in the Water, Vol. 2: African-American Congregational Singing)

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia