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About AFC Geographic Guides
The collections held by the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress comprise cultural documentation of folk and traditional culture from six continents, every U.S. state and territory, and the District of Columbia. Additionally, AFC staff maintain reference resources that provide descriptive access to our collections; create digital publications such as blogs or podcasts that offer interpretation and context for our collections; and produce public programming that augments collection materials.
These geographic guides offer entry points into the above resources, and draw on the collective knowledge and expertise of the AFC staff.
Introduction
The collections of the American Folklife Center contain rich and varied materials from Delaware documenting the diversity of its expressive culture. Among its unique collections are documentation of African-American singing and praying bands, and the varied collection of Delaware musician, singer-songwriter, and luthier, David Bromberg.
Collections of Interest
In 1992, the Coming Home Division of Lands' End Direct Merchants teamed up with Good Housekeeping magazine to sponsor an "All-American Quilt Contest." From the entries received, judges selected both a first prize winner from each state and a national winner. Selected images from this contest and documentation of Blue Ridge quilting from the Center's Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project were combined to showcase authoritative examples of this material culture practice.
Collection of field recordings of gospel music, unaccompanied vocal quartets, spirituals, a few songs about slavery and the Underground Railroad, folksongs, ballads, dance music, harmonica tunes, and 10 interviews with some of the performers conducted by Joseph Liss. A few interviews include discussion of World War II and national defense. Recordings were made by Joseph Liss, Jerome Wiesner, and Glenn Gildersleeve for the Library of Congress, 1941
Collection of video recordings, photographs, promotional and publicity materials, clippings, posters, and ephemera from the career of David Bromberg, musician, singer-songwriter, and luthier, from around 1962 to 2013.
Read AFC writer/editor Steve Winick's blog post about musician David Bromberg (Folklife Today blog: October 30, 2015).
Public Programming
The Singing and Praying Bands of Delaware and Maryland (Eastern and Western Shore) belong to an African American devotional/musical tradition that is unique to the Delmarva region, probably the oldest living African American musical tradition in Delaware and Maryland.