For the Birds
Posted by: Meg Nicholas
Celebrate the end of the annual Great Backyard Bird Count (and perhaps learn a thing or two about said backyard birds) through selections from the American Folklife Center's archive.
Posted in: Animals
Archive: 2026 (11 Posts)
Remembering Joe Hickerson, 1935-2025
Posted by: Stephen Winick
In this post we look at the life and legacy of Joe Hickerson, longtime employee and head of the Archive of Folk Culture, who passed away on August 17, 2025. Joe was well known as a folklorist, archivist, ethnomusicologist, and folksinger. He was an important public face for folklore and folk music, and his passing will be seen as the end of an era among folk music enthusiasts, as well as for those of us at the American Folklife Center.
Posted in: AFC History, Joe Hickerson, Obituaries
Library of Congress Launches Eighth Season of “America Works” Podcast
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress today launches its eighth season of “America Works,” an original podcast series that honors the creativity, resilience and dedication of the 168-million-strong American workforce. The new season features interview excerpts from the Occupational Folklore Project with 8 workers whose jobs involve health and healing – from an emergency room pediatrician to a hospital nutritionist, a large animal veterinarian to an anesthesiologist. Find links to the podcast, and to the full interviews with the participants, in this blog post.
Posted in: America Works, Occupational Folklife Project, Podcasts
COVID Recollections: American Folklife Center to Host Symposium on COVID-19 and Cultural Heritage, March 12-13
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
This COVID Recollections entry details an upcoming American Folklife Center symposium and concert, both focused on COVID-19 and cultural heritage, which will take place at the Library of Congress on March 12 and 13, 2026. These events are free and open to the public, but the concert requires pre-registration. The American Folklife Center is organizing these events as part of the COVID-19 American History Project.
Posted in: AFC 50th Anniversary, African Americans, COVID-19 American History Project, COVID-19 pandemic, Cultural Heritage, ethnomusicologists, Fieldwork, Folk Art, Folk Drama, Folk Music, Folklorists, Foodways, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Material Culture, Narratives, Native Americans/indigenous communities, Puerto Rico
Whose Space Is It? Artistic Expression in Public Places
Posted by: Meg Nicholas
Inspired by the murals and graffiti she encountered on her own recent travels, AFC Folklife Specialist Meg Nicholas explores the topic of street art and wonders if we can truly draw distinctions between official and unsanctioned examples of artistic expression.
Posted in: Folk Art, Photographs
The Open Door: VHP Hosts a Saturday of Skill-Building Workshops and Resource Fairs on February 28, 2026
Posted by: Owen Rogers
What are your goals for 2026? Are you looking to deepen your community connections through oral history? Interested in expanding your portfolio of humanities skills and professional networks? On Saturday, February 28, 2026, the Library of Congress Veterans History Project provides community and professional development opportunities through “The Open Door.” This public program includes two …
Posted in: Veterans History Project, VHP 25th
MLK’s Philosophy of Non-Violence Considered
Posted by: Guha Shankar
This blog post commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday draws on interviews recorded for the Civil Rights History Project collection, accompanied by selected images in the Glen Pearcy collection. The narratives offers viewpoints on the topic of non-violent direct action such as Dr. King's “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” tensions surrounding the formation of SNCC, and the reality of life on the front lines for activists confronted by violent segregationists .
Posted in: African American History, Civil Rights, Civil Rights History Project, Dr. Martin Luther King, Freedom Struggle, SCLC, Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March, SNCC, Uncategorized
Collection Spotlight: Rare Glimpses of Quentin Roosevelt and the 95th Aero Squadron
Posted by: Megan Harris
A World War I scrapbook recently acquired by the Veterans History Project includes rare and fascinating photos of World War I aviation and aviators—including Teddy Roosevelt’s son Quentin Roosevelt, who was shot down over France in 1918. Read all about how the scrapbook illustrates the history of the 95th Aero Squadron.
Posted in: Army, Photographs, Veterans History Project, VHP 25th, World War I
The Roots of Tejas Music with the Nick Gaitan Band: Homegrown Plus
Posted by: Guha Shankar
This post in the Homegrown Plus series features Nick Gaitan, musician, music historian, band leader, and proud exponent of Houston’s vibrant Chicano music scene. Like others in the series, the blog links to a concert video of Nick’s band in performance in the Coolidge Auditorium in Fall 2025, a video interview recorded with him prior to the concert and links to Latino/a educational resources held in the AFC. The group is composed of Nicholas Valdez (vocals, accordion), Charlie San Miguel (drums), Luis Gonzalez (bajo sexto, guitar), Nick Gaitan (vocals, stand up bass). The band’s self-described “Tejas [Texas] Roots Music” sound is a cover term for a repertoire that encompasses conjunto, cumbia, Louisiana swamp pop, country, and rhythm and blues. These stellar musicians slip seamlessly from one musical style to another during the course of performance and bring the sound of Texas and the wider Gulf Coast region to the Washington, DC, audience. In the interview, Nick Gaitan reflects on his documentation work for Sonidos de Houston, a Community Collections Grant project and his upbringing in the multi-cultural, polyphonic environment of his native Houston and its long-lasting influences on his personal and professional development.
Posted in: Chicano/a, Hispanic American History, Homegrown Concert Series, Homegrown Plus, Houston, Latino/a, music, Oral History, Texas