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Category: African American History

An outdoor photo of homes being rehabilitated in the historic district Larry Johnson III (Tre) removes debris from a historic home that he and his father Larry Johnson Jr. are restoring in Tenth Street Historic District.

Catching up with Community Collections Grant Recipients: If Tenth Street Could Talk with Tameshia Rudd-Ridge and Jourdan Brunson

Posted by: Michelle Stefano

The following is an excerpt of an interview with Tameshia Rudd-Ridge and Jourdan Brunson of the Dallas, Texas Community Collections Grant project, If Tenth Street Could Talk, as part of the Library of Congress Of the People blog series featuring awardee of the American Folklife Center's Community Collections Grant program.

Sketch of FWP writer and poet Sterling A. Brown

The United States vs. Sterling A. Brown – John Edgar Tidwell

Posted by: Guha Shankar

In this guest blog, Dr. John Edgar Tidwell, Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Kansas, focuses on the critical importance of Sterling A. Brown's work as Editor on Negro Affairs for the Depression-era Federal Writers' Project, and his efforts in the struggle against racial inequality by "authenticat[ing] the representations of Blacks in the American Guide Series travel guides." The response to his work by authorities speaks volumes about the repressive political climate that sought to suppress any research and analysis of societal conflict and injustice such as Brown's. Dr. Tidwell presented a version of these remarks at an AFC symposium in June 2023 to mark the publication of the anthology, Rewriting America: New Essays on the Federal Writers’ Project (2022), which critically examines the FWP on its 80th anniversary. It is most appropriate to publish this blog today, since it was 45 years ago today, on November 16, 1978, that the Library of Congress celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Archive of Folk Song with a day-long symposium featuring, among others, Alan Lomax, song-collector and archivist for the Archive in its early years; David "Honeyboy" Edwards, master blues singer and later a Grammy recipient; and Sterling A. Brown, author, poet, and guiding figure in the FWP.

A group of African American nurses in uniform stands in line at attention, wearing WWII-era military uniforms.

“Still Out There Fighting”: VHP’S Newest Online Exhibit

Posted by: Megan Harris

The Veterans History Project (VHP) is proud to offer a new online exhibit, part of our vast array of curated thematic presentations collectively known as Serving: Our Voices. Previously known as Experiencing War, these exhibits are part of VHP’s new website, which debuted Veterans Day 2022. These presentations provide users with a specially selected set of collections centered on a particular theme, offering immediate access to content-rich oral histories and other original primary-source materials. The newest installment of Serving: Our Voices focuses on the experiences of African American women who served during World War II. Titled “Determined to Serve: African American Women in World War II,” the presentation explores the stories of 15 veterans who served stateside and abroad, from the Arizona desert to the boulevards of France.

Candace Milburn with the contencts of the African-American veteran themed "Go Box"

Black History Month ‘Go Box’ – Surrogates from the Veterans History Project Collection

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

The following is a guest blog post by Candace Milburn, a liaison specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP). You might ask, “What’s the meaning behind a ‘Go Box?’” To answer your question, the story began when former VHP Director Karen Lloyd shared that during her service in the Army, each service member was given …

“Jail, No Bail”: Tactics of Protest in the Freedom Struggle in Rock Hill, South Carolina

Posted by: Guha Shankar

Sixty-one years ago this month, on February 1, 1961, the “Friendship Nine” – a group of African American college students at Friendship Junior College - adopted an unorthodox tactic termed “Jail, No Bail” during their appearance on trespassing charges in a Rock Hill, South Carolina court. The group had been arrested the previous day for trying to get service at a segregated lunch counter in the city (in other words, they staged a “sit-in”). Rather than paying a fine for violating a public ordinance, as was the norm, they chose instead to serve out their sentence of thirty days of hard labor on a county chain gang. In commemoration of Black History Month, my post today (number 999 in AFC blog history!) reaches into the Civil Rights History Project collection to illuminate this facet of the civil rights era as recollected by veteran activists.

Violet Hill Gordon in uniform.

The Courage to Deliver: The Women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

The following is a guest blog post by Nathan Cross, an archivist for the American Folklife Center. This African American History Month, the Veterans History Project (VHP) is pleased to announce a new resource designed to introduce VHP’s holdings related to the veterans of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-African American, all-female unit …

A person stands outdoors in front of a stone wall, holding a fiddle.

AFC Kicks off Homegrown 2023 with Jake Blount February 23

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The American Folklife Center is kicking off the 2023 Homegrown concert series with a solo performance by banjo player, fiddler, and singer Jake Blount, an award-winning musician and scholar of African American musical traditions. Blount draws on historical sources for his music, including field recordings in the AFC archive. Blount's performance will be part of Live! at the Library and the Black History Month celebrations at the Library of Congress, and is presented in cooperation with the Folklore Society of Greater Washington. The concert is at 6:00 pm in the Members Room (LJ 162) in the historic Thomas Jefferson Building.