AFRO-INDIGENOUS FOLKLORE
Myths, Legends, and the Wisdom of Ancestors
Can’t Classify This
A little boy had read numerous stories in his children's books about different life and death struggles between a Man and a Lion. But no matter how ferociously the lion fought, the Man emerged victoriously every time. Puzzled, the boy asked his father: "Why is it, Daddy, that the Man always beats the Lion, when everybody knows that a lion is the toughest cat in all the jungle?" The father answered, "Son, those stories will always end that way…until lions learn how to
Blues Narrative - Phoenix Moon
In this episode, I speak with Phoenix Moon, a Colonial America historian, Forensic genealogist, Civil Rights Activist. Grassroots Political Legist.
Langston Hughes Family Roots
In the late 1890s, John Sanford Perry Hughes struck oil on land he owned in Oklahoma. After leasing the land, he moved to Los Angeles, where he became a successful real estate speculator. In addition to being a prominent businessman, Hughes was also the favorite uncle of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes.
“A Sunday Kind of Blues - An Interview with Teeny Tucker”
It is the middle of a Sunday afternoon when I finally connect with Teeny Tucker, a woman born into blues royalty whose made a lane all her own. She is all blues, all the time. A blues songstress and a songwriter who is as much of a blues historian as she is a blues activist.
The Blues is Our Story
The blues is healing. The blues is freedom. That is the message I take with me everywhere I perform. As an African American blues artist, I feel it is essential to have a clearer understanding of this music. Sadly, the real knowledge of what this music is about is too often overlooked. Blues began out of a need for African Americans to seek healing and freedom in a society that denied them both. This music allowed black folks a way of expressing their humanity in a world that, for 400 plus years, refused them of their humanity. The blues was a way of saying, “we matter.”
Langston Collin Wilkins - Folklorist Of The Month
Langston’s commitment to the preservation, documentation, and the raising of awareness regarding African American music, tradition, cultures and communities culminate in his making significant contributions to the black folk narrative, black folklife and the many expressions birthed in the urban and rural landscape of African American life.
The Drive
It’s mid-afternoon on a Friday, back in August 2019, the first week of school, and Annette and I bust the kids out early to take a trip. There are questions, games, and mild disagreements, and after an extended period of what Annette calls “crunkness,” during which time Selah, six, and Ida, four, run around quarter clothed and negotiate for sweets somewhat successfully, we pile back into the car and inch our way through typical New Orleans midday traffic.
