Taking the characteristics of spirituals into consideration, we can say the only option that does NOT describe spirituals is:
D. They were songs of joy.
<h3 /><h3>What are spirituals?</h3>
Spirituals are religious/Christian songs infused with traditional African rhythms. Back when slavery was still ravaging the country, slaves would sing spirituals as they worked for a few reasons.
First, even though they did not exactly express joy, spirituals expressed hope and faith in freedom. They talked about all the suffering and injustice in the slave's lives and the wish to one day be freed. Second, some spirituals would actually serve as instructions concerning how to escape. The real meaning would be hidden in the sorrowful lyrics.
Spirituals helped build a sense of community, especially because they represented the feelings of a wronged group of people who needed to stay and work together in order to survive.
With the information above in mind, we can select letter D as the option that does NOT describe spirituals.
Learn more about spirituals here:
brainly.com/question/13874674