Those are interesting points, Rowan.

I was going to write that in my opinion, it is very rare to see and hear African American adults singing any songs outdoors as individuals or as a group in settings other than singing to themselves along with an Ipod or CD, or singing publicly during a church service as part of the choir, or along with the choir, or during congregational songs; or at a professional concert {singing along with the artist/s}, or at a karoake bar {as the singer/s at whose turn it is on the microphone or singing along with the karoake singer}.

I have written on another Mudcat thread that based on my direct and indirect experiences, I don't believe that African Americans have the adult tradition of non-religious singalongs groups in nightclubs and/or at homes and indoor/outdoor community functions as it appears to be the case from the comments of other Mudcatters in the USA, Great Britain and elsewhere.

I am old enough to recall-as a teenager-hearing and observing {African American} men singing Doo Wop on street corners. I suppose some women did too, but if so I don't recall them doing so. But that was a long time ago. I don't see any men or women or teens singing or even rapping on street corners or any where else outside except as performers in formal street festivals.

In the African American community-and apparently elsewhere too, judging from my observations and Rowan's remarks, to a large degree adult singing has been reserved for professionals. Adults singing in public-indoors or outdoors-appears to be done on specific limited occassions. And marches and demonstrations don't appear to be one of these occassions. For adults to sing in public other than during those socially proscribed times would be considered to be embarrasing. And most folks don't want to be embarrassed.