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Posted by: Megan Harris
This is the second blog post in a series relating to the Medal of Honor. Today, in advance of Veterans Day, the Veterans History Project (VHP) debuts a new online portal built to share the stories of Medal of Honor recipients in our collection. Through this feature, entitled “Stories Above and Beyond,” we offer access …
Posted in: African Americans, Asian American History, Japanese Americans, World War II
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Introduction The great American songster Lead Belly, first recorded by John A. and Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1933, is a towering figure in global popular music. In some cases, his influence can be clouded, or hard to understand, because of his own enigmatic personality and because of the fragmentary nature of …
Posted in: AFC History, African American History, African Americans, Folk Music, Folksong
Posted by: Stephen Winick
This blog post about the singer-songwriter Billy Bragg is part of a series called “Hidden Folklorists,” which examines the folklore work of surprising people, including people better known for other pursuits. Billy Bragg will be here for a book talk, July 21 at 7:00 pm in the Mumford Room of the James Madison Memorial Building. …
Posted in: AFC History, AFC Publications, African American History, African Americans, Alan Lomax, Benjamin A. Botkin, Benjamin Botkin Folklife Lecture Series, England, Folk Music, Folksong, Hidden Folklorists, Jazz, Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter), Popular Culture
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Note: This is the third in a series of posts about the murder ballad “Batson.” This one discusses the version of the ballad performed by Wilson Jones, aka “Stavin’ Chain,” in light of the real-life Batson case. In previous blog posts about the murder ballad “Batson,” I looked at early versions collected by Robert Winslow …
Posted in: African American History, African Americans, Alan Lomax, Blues, Folksong, John Lomax
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Note: This is the second in a series of posts about the murder ballad “Batson.” This one discusses the performance recorded by John A. and Alan Lomax from a trio of musicians including Wilson Jones, a.k.a. Stavin’ Chain, in 1934. A little while back, I presented for the first time anywhere a version of the …
Posted in: AFC History, African American History, African Americans, Alan Lomax, Blues, Folk Music, Folksong, Louisiana, Photographs
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
This is one of two articles, each focusing on one ethnographic recording of an African American song of World War I. To read the article about “Trench Blues” select here. African Americans left to serve in World War I, beginning one hundred years ago in June 1917, landing in France on June 25. They had …
Posted in: African American History, African Americans, Alan Lomax, Folksong, John Lomax, World War I
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
A celebration of fathers and fatherhood took a long time to be established as a nation-wide observance. Mother’s Day was being locally observed as it was being promoted in the 19th and early 20th century, and became a regular holiday in May in 1914 by presidential proclamation. Father’s Day was locally celebrated around the country …
Posted in: African Americans, Cuban Americans, Father's Day, Folksong, Hispanic American History, Irish Americans, Narratives, Native American History, Storytelling
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Note: This is the first in a series of posts about the murder ballad “Batson.” This one discusses previously unpublished versions of the song from manuscript collections at AFC. The ballad “Batson,” collected by John and Alan Lomax from Wilson Jones (whose nickname was “Stavin’ Chain”) and two accompanists, has long been a well-known and …
Posted in: AFC History, African Americans, Alan Lomax, Folksong, Robert Winslow Gordon
Posted by: Guha Shankar
This guest blog post comes to us courtesy of Catherine Turner, a high school senior working at the American Folklife Center this Spring on her service project for Park School in Baltimore, MD. Catherine is entering Brown University in Fall 2017, and has spent the last six weeks diving into the collections at the Library …
Posted in: African American Heritage Month, African American History, African American History Month, African Americans, Civil Rights, Civil Rights History Project, Freedom Summer 1964, Oral History, Women's History