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Posted by: Stephen Winick
In honor of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, we present this vintage AFC researcher photo. (And by “vintage,” I mean “prior to the existence of Folklife Today.”) This photo shows the stage, film, and television actor George Takei, best known as Mr. Sulu from the original Star Trek, who visited the AFC Reading Room on April …
Posted in: AFC Reading Room Visitors, Asian American History, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Nicole Saylor
The latest collection of oral histories and related documentation acquired by the American Folklife Center explores the significance and impact of wild horses, which remain deeply connected to the culture, economy and mythology of the West. Two companion collections include more than 1,000 images and more than 70 recorded interviews with those whose lives are impacted by the horses. Also …
Posted in: Oral History
Posted by: Stephen Winick
NOTE: After the concert video went online, we updated this blog post to feature the concert itself after Solomia’s essay. Scroll down to the bottom to watch it! On Thursday, May 22, at noon, in the Library’s Whittall Pavilion (right next door to the Coolidge Auditorium in the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, which is 10 …
Posted in: AFC Events, Folk Music, Folksong, Ukrainian Americans
Posted by: Megan Harris
On a hot, humid day in late May almost 10 years ago, I was on the National Mall in Washington, DC, surrounded by tens of thousands of World War II veterans and their families as part of the National World War II Reunion. The Reunion was organized around the official dedication of the National World …
Posted in: Oral History, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Stephen Winick
It’s not often a fiddle tune becomes controversial, but that’s happening this week, thanks to a blog post by Theodore R. Johnson, III over at National Public Radio. Johnson discusses a well-known tune, with many versions in Library of Congress collections, and raises interesting and important issues, so I thought we might feature the piece …
Posted in: African Americans, England, Folk Music, Folksong, Old Time Music
Posted by: Megan Harris
The following is a guest post by Rachel Telford, Program Specialist at the Veterans History Project. When Veterans History Project staff members are called upon to identify particularly interesting, poignant, or visually appealing collections in our archive, one name that comes up again and again is Kenje Ogata. A Japanese-American who fought for more than …
Posted in: Oral History, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
The tradition of a national celebration of Mother’s Day in the United States grew out of reactions to the aftermath of the Civil War. Poet, suffragist, and author of the lyrics of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” Julia Ward Howe attempted to unite women in the cause of peace, beginning with her “Appeal to …
Posted in: Charles Lafayette Todd, Folksong, Holidays, John Lomax, Robert Sonkin, Ruby Terrill Lomax, Sidney Robertson Cowell
Posted by: Stephen Winick
[This post is part of a series of blog posts about the song “Hal An Tow.” You can find the whole series at this link.] As you can read in Stephanie Hall’s Post “May Day: A Festival of Flowers,” on May Day, or May 1, people in Europe traditionally celebrated the coming of summer …
Posted in: Celtic Music, Dance, England, Folk Drama, Folk Music, Folksong, Hal An Tow, Holidays, May Day