Archive of Folk Culture

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS/FISK UNIVERSITY MISSISSIPPI DELTA COLLECTION

AFC 1941/002
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/guides/fisk.html

Library of Congress
American Folklife Center
September 1998

SUMMARY

The Library of Congress/Fisk University Mississippi Delta Collection consists of audio recordings, manuscript materials, and moving images. The materials in this collection are products of a two-year joint field study conducted by the Library of Congress and Fisk University. During the summers of 1941 and 1942, Alan Lomax, the head of the Archive of American Folksong at the Library of Congress, teamed up with members of the faculty at Fisk University. The goal of the partnership was to carry out an intensive field study documenting the folk culture of a specific community of African Americans in the Mississippi Delta region. The rapidly urbanizing commercial area of Coahoma County, Mississippi, with its county seat in Clarksdale, became the geographical focus of the study. The field workers recorded secular and religious music, sermons, children's games, jokes, folktales, interviews, and dances. The materials from this field trip in the Library's holdings include 521 manuscript pages, 96 phonographic discs, and 5 minutes and 33 seconds of motion picture footage.

Access and Reproduction: Access to the collection is unrestricted. Duplication of sound recordings and motion pictures may be governed by copyright.

Library of Congress Subject Headings: Afro-American children's games, Afro-American churches, Afro-American dance, Afro- American Family Religious Life, Afro-Americans Folklore, Afro- American musicians, Afro-American preaching, Afro- Americans Religion, Afro-Americans Social life and customs, Afro- Americans Songs and music, Ballads, Blues (music), Community life, Community organization, Delta (Miss. : Region), Gospel music, Interviews, Levees, Mississippi, Mississippi River, Oral history, Oral tradition, Railroads Songs and Music, Railroad Employees, Religious life, Sermons, Singing games, Southern States, Southern States Social Conditions 1865-1945, Speeches, addresses, etc., Spirituals (Songs), Square dance music, Tales, Tall Tales, United States Race Relations, Wit and humor, Work songs.

Other Key Subjects: Clarksdale, Coahoma County, field hollers, levee camps, lying contests, testimonials. Researchers: Alan Lomax, Charles Johnson, Lewis Jones, John W. Work III. Informants: Charles Berry, William Brown, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Sidney Hemphill, Eddie James House Junior "Son House," Turner Junior Johnson, O.C. King, Henry Simms "Son Simms," Tubby Ford Smith, Will Starks, Asa Ware, Mackinley Morganfield "Muddy Waters."

Primary Language: English.

Note from Tony: I'm posting this so that you have the link itself--and also as a suggestive/extensive list of the kinds of headings you can search under in looking for images. The Lomax material, of course, is primary. Also available on line is this link, which will give you samples of his field recordings, including filed hollers, farm calls, childrens songs, fiddle tunes, prayers... http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/lohtml/lomaxstategenre.html.