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Posted by: Stephen Winick
Whether you’ve been a follower of Folklife Today from the outset, or you’ve only recently joined us, we’d like you to help us celebrate a milestone: this is our 100th post! And what better way to mark that point on our journey than to announce a centennial celebration? So I’m pleased to announce AFC’s 2015 …
Posted in: AFC Events, AFC History, African Americans, Alan Lomax, Folk Music, Folklorists, Folksong, John Lomax, Louisiana
Posted by: Kate Stewart
On September 25th, the American Folklife Center and the Library of Congress’s Hispanic Division brought together eight scholars and activists for a day-long symposium titled Organizing Across the Boundaries: Strategies and Coalitions in the Struggle for Civil Rights and Social Justice. It was the last event for this fiscal year in our public programs series, …
Posted in: AFC Events, African Americans, Black Panther Party, Chicano/a, Civil Rights, Civil Rights History Project, Hispanic American History, Religion, SNCC
Posted by: Kate Stewart
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 …
Posted in: African Americans, Alan Lomax, Civil Rights, Civil Rights History Project, Exhibits, Oral History, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Kate Stewart
The following is a Q & A with one of our long-term researchers, Jeannette Estruth. KS: Hi Jeannette! Tell us a little about your background and why you came to the Library of Congress and the American Folklife Center. JE: Hi Kate, thanks so much for inviting me to take part in the American Folklife …
Posted in: AFC Reading Room Visitors, African American History, African Americans, Civil Rights, Civil Rights History Project, Freedom Struggle, Oral History
Posted by: Kate Stewart
Ever since the Civil Rights History Project Act was passed in 2009, archivists at the American Folklife Center have kept their eyes and ears open for items related to the Southern Freedom Movement as they process collections. Todd Harvey, curator of the Alan Lomax Collection (AFC 2004/004), recently noticed a folder of twenty-one photographs in …
Posted in: African Americans, Alan Lomax, Civil Rights, Civil Rights History Project, Folk Music, SNCC
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Caribbean American Heritage Month is a relatively new commemorative month, first created in June, 2006. The American Folklife Center has many collections that document aspects of Caribbean cultures and some of these are available online. This essay can only touch on a few examples, but I hope it will provide ideas on how to explore …
Posted in: African Americans, Caribbean Americans, Folksong, Herbert Halpert, Native American History, riddles, Sidney Robertson Cowell, Stetson Kennedy, Zora Neale Hurston
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
June eighth is World Oceans Day, and an opportunity to look at a few examples of folksongs that relate to the interconnection between humans and the sea from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. In this recording, available via the link, James H. Gibbs of Nantucket, Massachusetts sings an untitled song about sperm whaling, …
Posted in: African Americans, Animals, Folk Music, Folksong, Massachusetts, Stetson Kennedy
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: Stephen Winick
In my last post, I discussed the more serious side of songs about Noah’s ark. As I mentioned, though, there are other songs too, often with more celebratory messages–or even silly ones. We’ll look at some of those Noah songs in this post. Celebratory songs tend to focus on the joy felt by Noah when …
Posted in: African Americans, Alan Lomax, Animals, Folk Music, Folksong, Languages and Dialects, Uncategorized