The McIntosh County Shouters
The McIntosh County Shouters are a group of men and women from the coast of Georgia who perform the African American tradition of congregational Ring Shout. Ring Shout is the oldest musical tradition of African Americans dating back to the antebellum South. According to their web site, http://hometown.aol.com/Shoutforfreedom/Shout.html, "The McIntosh County Shouters perform ring shouts and sing songs that Negro slaves were singing when they arrived by ship in Virginia in 1722. The songs are sung to many different melodies, their themes ranging from Biblical vignettes to Biblical themes translated to speak of worldly conditions such as those of slavery, to contemporary topics such as the scourge of drugs and the death of a fellow shouter."
The Ring Shout is characterized by the traditional call-and-response singing as members walk and dance counter-clockwise while one member taps the floor with a long wood pole. To hear songs from the McIntosh County Shouters, go to Media and Reserves on the third floor of Cabell Library and ask for these two CD’s:
Call # M1670 W3 1994 V2
African American Congregational Singing. Tracks 1 and 2.
Call # M1629 F656 1993
Folk Masters. Track 15.
For more information about the McIntosh Counter Shouters and the Ring Shout tradition, read the book, Shout Because You’re Free by Art Rosenbaum. It is located on the third floor of Cabell Library with the Call #, F292 M15 R67 1998.
--Kevin Murray, Evening and Weekend Services Coordinator - Research and Reference Services