Found 2 collections related to African%20Americans%20--%20Folklore

Volume containing lyrics to twenty songs, two of which, "Nevermo'" and "The Lee Family" were recorded by Williams on Columbia Records in 1915 and 1916 respectively. Second volume, entilted "Anecdotes, Jokes, Axioms, Proverbs, Funs and Puns..." contains over two hundred jokes or "lies" told by Williams and written down by Alex Rogers, a member of Williams' company. These dialectic stories, all of which contain a flavor of fable and black folklore, are primarily about rural or unsophisticated characters. They were first used by Williams in 1909 when he experimented in vaudeville as a solo performer, and later while Williams was a member of the Ziegfeld Follies. less

In 1992 and 1993 City Lore coordinated an oral history project focusing on the Northern migration experience and the maintenance of southern folkways within New York City's African-American church community. Fifty men and women who migrated from the South to New York during the post World War II years were interviewed. Topics covered in the interviews include how and why individuals left the South (generally for economic reasons, not blatant racism and violence); their experiences adjusting to life in New York; their retention of Southern cultural practices (food, especially soul food, gospel music, crafts including quilting, worship practices and church activities); the individuals' ongoing connections to the South through regular family visits, homecoming, etc.; and their thoughts on moving back to the South (or for those few who had already moved from New York, they compared their lives in both areas). The informants recount their positive relations with other black families and with white neighbors in the South and school experiences with strict yet caring black teachers. Neighborhood life in Harlem, central Brooklyn and parts of Queens during the 1940's through the early 1960's were recounted, as well as discussions covering life up to the early 1990's during the time of the interviews is included. The New York City interviews were conducted by City Lore Project Director Ray Allen and the Virginia interviews were conducted by Dr. Marilyn White. less