AFRO-INDIGENOUS FOLKLORE
Myths, Legends, and the Wisdom of Ancestors
The African American Folklorist Manifesto
All who are under the umbrella of African Americans and Black Americans have to look no further, as this is the manifesto for the raising our voice, representation, story, legacy, and repository. Our scholarship is not questioned in OUR space that we share with “other.” You, we, have the final say in how our perspective, language, communication, and expression are shared. I AM BLUES PEOPLE!
African American Folklorist for January - DR. Daniel Atkinson
Our January African American Folklorist conversation opens with a reminder that folklore is not something we merely study, it is something we carry, protect, and live inside of. This episode features Daniel E. Atkinson, an independent ethnomusicologist and cultural documentarian whose work insists that sound, memory, and responsibility are inseparable.
African American Folklorist of the Month: Dr. Paulette Richards
In our December feature of The African American Folklorist, we highlight the extraordinary work of Dr. Paulette Richards, a pioneering scholar, filmmaker, educator, and one of the most influential voices in African American object performance today. This episode explores how Dr. Richards transforms puppets, folk songs, and low-tech digital tools into powerful vessels for historical remembrance, artistic resistance, and cultural healing.
The African American Folklorist for November. Dr. Patricia A. Turner
Dr. Patricia A. Turner stands as one of the most significant voices in contemporary African American folklore studies. Her scholarship reveals how Black communities use stories, whether whispered rumors, circulating legends, family sayings, stitched quilts, or everyday objects, to interpret their circumstances, navigate systems of power, and preserve their cultural memory.
William Still: Black Ethnographer of the Underground
William Still wasn’t just recording history. He was practicing a distinctly Black ethnographic methodology grounded in survival, storytelling, and freedom.
“The Archive Is Alive: We Are What They Imagined
In the Black folk tradition, we say the ancestors are always speaking. You just have to listen. The African American Folklorist was born out of that deep listening. It is not simply a magazine, platform, or project—it is a response. A call and response, to be exact. We are answering the calls of those who came before, affirming their intellectual labor, carrying forward their cultural vision, and transforming their blueprints into living, breathing work.
Still Standing
It's strange, the way I feel,
as if my heart has softened,
as if compassion has found a home in me
The African American Folklorist for September: Brandi Waller - Pace
This September, we shine the spotlight on Brandi Waller-Pace (they/she) as our African American Folklorist of the Month. Brandi is a musician, educator, and scholar-activist
the african american folklorist for the month of august: michael L. jones
Every month, The African American Folklorist highlights a tradition bearer who embodies the spirit of Black folk heritage. For August, we are proud to honor Michael L. Jones—a journalist, author, music historian and cultural preservationist from Louisville, Kentucky. Jones balances the roles of musicologist, ethnomusicologist, historian and folklorist; his work documents and preserves African American musical traditions while actively engaging the communities that created them. In recognizing him as our African American Folklorist of the Month, we also celebrate a career devoted to uncovering the threads that connect Louisville’s Black and working‑class histories.
the african american folklorist for the month of july: benjamin hunter
What happens when a classically trained violinist reclaims Black folk traditions, embraces the deep Blues, and makes community the stage? In our latest video feature, The African American Folklorist sits down with Benjamin Hunter, musician, composer, educator, and Artistic Director of Northwest Folklife
The African American Folklorist for the Month of June: Dr. Elisha Oliver
Each month, The African American Folklorist honors a Black scholar whose life’s work is immersed in the deep study and preservation of African American folkways, knowledge systems, and community truth-telling. For June, we recognize Dr. Elisha Oliver, a biocultural anthropologist, visual ethnographer, and Executive Director of Texas Folklife, as our African American Folklorist of the Month.
~Cutting Ties~ Poem
Sometimes...
you gotta let go of hands that once held you,
just to hold on to yourself.
Blues Plus Column - Introduction
The blues is a living, vibrant, and contemporary art form, even if you couldn't tell from the limited coverage blues artists usually get in mainstream newspapers and magazines. Yes, there's a solid specialty press devoted to the music.
Honoring the Matriarchs: Black Spirituals, Field Hollers, and Slave Seculars on Mother's Day
Today, on Mother’s Day, we take a moment to honor the legacies of Black mothers, grandmothers, and aunties whose voices and influence continue to resonate through the traditions of spirituals, field hollers, and slave seculars. These women were not just caregivers—they were cultural bearers, spiritual leaders, and community builders who shaped musical traditions that echo through generations.
The African American Folklorist of the Month of May - Dr. Ebony Bailey
In this episode of The African American Folklorist, we honor Dr. Ebony Bailey as Folklorist of the month of May. Dr. Bailey is a dynamic scholar, writer, and cultural worker whose groundbreaking research intersects Black Literature and Folklore. Dr. Bailey explores how African Americans have historically been both represented as “the folk” and how they have powerfully redefined that term through literature, activism, and cultural intervention.
April 4 On My Heart
Thank you for making time to meditate on two prominent dates, April 4,1968, the day of Dr. Martin Luther King's Murder at the Lorraine Motel in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, and April 2, 2020, the evening our oldest sibling and sister "Cookie" died from Covid 19. Her vibrant 52-year-old Daughter, Melvenia, passed 8 hours later. We didn't know Mel was infected.
The African American Folklorist of The Month - April Edition: Featuring Dr. Constance Bailey
In this month’s episode of The African American Folklorist, we shine a spotlight on Dr. Constance Bailey—Assistant Professor of African American Literature and Folklore at Georgia State University, and an innovative scholar whose research explores Black women’s comedy, speculative fiction, and African American oral traditions.
Kodak’s Hidden History: Frankie Taylor Jones and the Black Appalachian Coal Camp Experience
We looked forward to sailing paper-made boats down the creek, swinging across the creek on an old tire suspended from a rope tied to a branch far up in a tree, playing on the coal train cars, even when we knew better! It was always a treat to visit Uncle Ralph, Aunt Frankie and our cousins there in the coal camp.
Blues, Folklore, and Black Identity: A Legacy of Resistance and Revival
On this day, March 6, we recognize significant moments in both blues history and the broader landscape of Black American folklore. From the birth of blues legend Furry Lewis to the infamous Dred Scott decision and the enduring legacy of folkloric themes in his lyrics…