Whether it’s art, literature, bluegrass, or blues, Black Kentuckians have had a hand in shaping it. The African American Folklorist explores that history by providing a more personal look at culture. Building upon the existing newspaper and podcast series, The African American Folklorist presents a chance to share lesser-known stories of influential figures.
As an applied folklorist and media producer, I began producing 4-minute features based on local, regional, and national ethnographic interviews I was collecting. The pieces were accompanied by reflective essays published and broadcast on the WKYUFM website, NPR, and local radio stations.
Preserving Black Bowling Green Through Art features Alice Gatewood Waddell.
Shake Rag Barbershop features Chris Paige
The work I have done in radio, as it relates to my learning of folkloristic methods during my undergrad and graduate studies at Western, culminated in my being contracted to teach workshops and guest lectures for universities and folklife organizations and programs.
I also hosted the Jack Dappa Blues radio show, which played African American Traditional music that dates back to early Black Spirituals and pre-war Blues. Still, we highlight today’s practitioners of the music, as well as tackle the sensitive topics that relate to the African American experience from the past to the present. Engaging and interactive, Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Radio gives its audience the context in which African American traditions, culture, and social environment are shared through the oral documentation of Blues, Black Spirituals, and the like, which reflects the African American community and their different classes throughout history. It aired on Sundays on Revolution 91.7.