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Posted by: Stephen Winick
This blog post about the “Two Sweet Singers” Becky Elzy and Alberta Bradford is part of a series called “Hidden Folklorists,” which examines the folklore work of surprising people, including people better known for other pursuits. In preparing this post, I was greatly aided by Shane K. Bernard, the archivist at Avery Island in Louisiana, …
Posted in: African American History, Hidden Folklorists, Women's History
Posted by: John Fenn
The following is a guest post from AFC Folklife Specialist Nancy Groce. A previous Folklife Today blog, “Botkin Lectures to Go!,” drew readers’ attention to an engaging and readily accessible AFC resource: the more than 100 AFC Botkin Lectures on a wide variety of folklore and folklife topics that are currently available free-of-charge through the …
Posted in: AFC Events
Posted by: Lisa Taylor
The following is the first post in a six-part series highlighting women veterans’ collections from the Veterans History Project (VHP) archive in recognition of Women’s History Month. Imagine coming across this job announcement today: Candidates must be highly skilled in math and linguistics, willing to relocate and able to keep a secret to the death. …
Posted in: Narratives, Oral History, Storytelling, Students, Veterans History Project, Women's History, World War II
Posted by: Megan Harris
The following is a guest blog post by Sebastiaan Vonk and Mieke Kirkels, historians in the Netherlands working to research, document, and commemorate the history of African American soldiers stationed in the Netherlands during World War II. Much like the Veterans History Project, their work ensures that the stories of veterans—particularly those whose voices have …
Posted in: African Americans, Veterans History Project, World War II
Posted by: John Fenn
This is a guest post by AFC acquisitions coordinator, Todd Harvey. “Big things come in small packages,” they say. I coordinate acquisitions for the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and I can attest to the wisdom of this adage. Our archive accessions about a quarter-million items annually and they range from the …
Posted in: Acquisitions
Posted by: Megan Harris
London, summer, 1948. All eyes were on the first Olympic Games held since 1936. After years of war, representatives from around the world met in venues like the track field stadium, the swimming pool and the boxing ring, instead of on the battlefield. At Wembley Stadium, six runners crouched on the track for the finals …
Posted in: African Americans, Ohio, Oral History, Veterans History Project, World War II
Posted by: Nicole Saylor
Guntis Ulmanis, former president of Latvia, brought to life a song from his home country during a recent visit to the Library of Congress. Mr. Ulmanis was at the Library on January 16 to view Latvian treasures from the Library’s collections. He viewed a number of historic maps of Latvia and several books regarding his …
Posted in: Archival Practice
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
This blog post is the second of two about the abolitionist Frederick Douglass (celebrating his 200th birthday) and part of a series called “Hidden Folklorists,” which examines the folklore work of surprising people, including people better known for other pursuits. The first post, “Frederick Douglass: Free Folklorist,” is available at this link. The 1850s brought new …
Posted in: African Americans, Hidden Folklorists
Posted by: Kerry Ward
The following is a guest blog post by April Weiner, Foundation Manager at National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF). Veterans History Project (VHP) is very grateful for the long-time participation of the National Court Reporters Association and Foundation in their work to conduct and transcribe interviews. While VHP does not require interviews to be transcribed, the …
Posted in: Oral History, Purple Heart, Veterans History Project, World War II