John W. Work

John W. Work (1901-1966) was a gifted composer and
educator. One of the first African American academics to
argue the value of African American folk music, he
preserved this heritage both in his book, American Negro
Songs and Spirituals, and through his work with the Fisk
Jubilee Singers, which he directed from 1947 until 1956. He
retired from Fisk University in 1966.