" ""A Little More Swinging and Upbeat:"" The Music Traditions of the Boone Mennonite Brethren Church"

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Audrey Thomas (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Advisor
Bruce Stewart

Abstract: An African American neighborhood, known as Junaluska, formed in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina in the late 1800s. In 1918, a group of Krimmer Mennonite Brethren (KMB) missionaries established the Boone Mennonite Brethren Church (BMBC) there. This church would maintain prominent standing in the community, outlasting all other black churches in the town. While the BMBC stood as the center of the community, the music was the center of the church. Music played an important role in Mennonite religious history and, when this combined with the African American culture in western North Carolina, the music would come to encompass the unique cultural exchange of the Mennonite and African American traditions in the BMBC. Though the music has adapted to changes within the Mennonite Brethren denomination and the Junaluska community, it remains a testament to the church’s rich cultural history.

Additional Information

Publication
Honors Project
Thomas, A. (2015) "A Little More Swinging and Upbeat:" The Music Traditions of the Boone Mennonite Brethren Church. Unpublished honors thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Language: English
Date: 2015

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