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Folktales and Oral Storytelling: Resources in the American Folklife Center Collections

This Cultural Community sub-page provides resources related to African American storytelling.

African American storytelling

The following resources pertain to African American stories and storytellers.

Resources listed in this guide for Brer Rabbit tales are relevant for research on African American storytelling.

Also see resources related to Jackie Torrence and Augusta Baker.

Digital Collections

Selected Collections from the American Folklife Center

Text Resources in the AFC Reading Room

Selected Public Programming from the American Folklife Center

Since its inception in 1976, the American Folklife Center has routinely hosted public programs at the Library of Congress in the form of concerts, lectures, panels, and symposia. From 2006 on, most of these public programs have been video recorded and made available online. Below, find videos of public programming related to African American stories and storytelling.

Staff in the Library's American Folklife Center hosted an orientation of its collections for members of the National Association of Black Storytellers in Washington, D.C., for the group's annual membership conference.

Opalanga Pugh presents traditional African-American storytelling from Colorado, another in the Homegrown Concert Series sponsored by the American Folklife Center.

Other Resources in the Library of Congress