The collections of the American Folklife Center reflect a long history of ethnographic interest in Luso-Hispanic American music and song. Much of the early collecting work focused on peoples of the regions that formerly belonged to Spain. In this post I’ll provide a quick overview of the Hispanic-American music in AFC’s online collections. Spanish Songs …
The following is part of a series of guest posts by Carl Fleischhauer of the Library of Congress’s Office of Strategic Initiatives. Carl is a former staff member of the American Folklife Center and participated in many of the Center’s field collecting projects. All the photos embedded in this post were shot by Carl in …
Though it sounds a bit illogical, I consider myself lucky to have a job in which I am moved to tears on a regular basis. Working with Veterans History Project collections–whether they are made up of oral histories, manuscripts, or photographs–and the life stories they contain can sometimes elicit a strong visceral reaction. Granted, it …
Today marks the 67th birthday of the U.S. Air Force. As the nation’s strategic, tactical and defensive force for the skies, the U.S. Air Force was officially founded by the National Security Act of 1947. Although they belong to the youngest branch of the U.S. armed forces, advancements in both science and society allow …
The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom opened at the Library of Congress on September 10th. This exhibit draws from collections across the library to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the act. It covers America’s long history of discrimination and segregation, the grassroots movement for civil rights, and the efforts of …
We are happy to announce today that 50 new video oral histories are now available on the Civil Rights History Project website. Here are a just a few highlights from this extraordinary group of interviewees: Luis Zapata describes his childhood in Orange County, California, and how he came to join the labor movement as a …
The following is a guest post authored in 2014 by Russell Rodríguez and Quetzal Flores of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts. We edited the post in 2024 to add two relevant videos, making it part of the Homegrown Plus series. Welcome to our introduction to son jarocho and the fandango. Before we get started, …
The following is a guest blog post by Andrew Cassidy-Amstutz, VHP Archivist. One of the most common questions that the Veterans History Project (VHP) receives relating to our collections is “Why can’t I view my collection online yet?” While the answer to this question varies by individual collection, there are several cross-cutting issues that …
With Labor Day approaching, I’d love to introduce you to some of our resources on the folklore and folklife of labor. This area of study has many names, from the more formal “occupational folk culture” to the more colloquial “laborlore.” It also has many sub-areas, from the study of occupational folk speech, including jargon, to …
