The Notable Folklorists of Color: Expanding the Frames exhibition extends the examination of the contributions of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) ancestor scholars to folklore studies that was begun in the AFS Notable Folklorists of Color: Remembering Our Ancestral Legacies exhibition in 2019. Remembering Our Ancestral Legacies marked the 25^th anniversary of AFS’s Cultural Diversity Committee by honoring 25 BIPOC ancestor scholars of color and their contributions to folklore studies. Our 2022 exhibition, Expanding the Frames, highlights the scholarship of approximately another 135 African American, Indigenous, Latino and Hispano, Asian American and Native Hawaiian ancestors scholars whose work, in what is now the United States and its territories, spans the 19^th century through 2021, bringing the combined total number of BIPOC ancestors featured in these two exhibitions to more than160.

Ancestors have significance in BIPOC cultures–usually as venerated deceased relatives–and are recognized for having lived exemplary lives that can inform our values and knowledge in the present and future by connecting us to rich traditional insights, spiritualities, and cultural practices.  In that vein, we honor the lives and scholarship of these BIPOC ancestors for the perspectives they offer to folklore studies and their call to reclaim their myriad contributions to our field.

We invite you to explore these online exhibitions, peruse the linked bibliographies, and acquaint yourself with the multifarious ancestral voices, conversations, and knowledge offered in the scholarship of these ancestors.

Read the Introduction to the 2022 Exhibit | View the 2022 Notable Folklorists of Color | Learn More About the 2022 Exhibit

Read the Introduction to the 2019 Exhibit | View the 2019 Notable Folklorists of Color | Learn More About the 2019 Exhibit