Association of African and African American Folklorists (AAAAF)
In 1974, a group of 25 African American scholars, seeking to create a forum for Black scholars studying African and African traditional cultures to present and promote scholarship on the traditional cultures of the African Diaspora gathered at Howard University, to establish the Association of African and African American Folklorists. Initiated by Gerald L. Davis (Smithsonian Institution) and developed at a time when many Black folklorists were isolated and working in sometimes hostile environments, this organization has provided collegial mentorship, networking opportunities and professional support for Black scholars in all stages of their careers. Envisioned to be an international and multidisciplinary organization that would meet annually, Stephen E. Henderson initially hosted the meetings through Howard University’s Institute of the Arts and Humanities, to bring Black scholars together to increase public awareness of African and African American folklore from the perspectives of people of African descent.
Beginning in 1975, the organization held four national conferences. The first two were held at Howard University. At the first conference in 1975, delegates selected the Akan Adinkra symbol (above), Nkonsonkonson, symbolizing the links of a chain, which stands for the strength of unity and community, to represent the organization and adopted their constitution, pledging “to foster and facilitate the definition, exploration, dissemination, presentation and preservation of folklore and folklife of peoples of the African Diaspora.” The membership has included academic and public sector folklorists, anthropologists, ethnomusicologists, sociologists, cultural photographers, documentary filmmakers, historians, linguists, storytellers, museum directors and educators, community scholars and members of the general public.
Officers for the second annual conference at Howard University were: William H. Wiggins (Indiana University), president; Gladys-Marie Fry (University of Maryland, College Park), vice president; Gerald L. Davis (Rutgers), secretary-treasurer and executive committee members Stephen Henderson (Howard University), Bernice Johnson Reagon (Smithsonian Institution), and Roland Freeman (Mississippi Folklife Project), and James Early (Antioch College).
The 3rd conference was held at Indiana University in 1977 with the theme, “The Role of Afro-American Folklore in the Teaching of the Arts and the Humanities”. The 4th conference was held at University of Maryland, College Park in 1978 around the topic, “Folktalk: The Dynamics of African American Expressive Culture.”
Since 1979, AAAAF has continued to nurture its members by meeting in conjunction with the American Folklore Society (AFS) to minimize expenses for its members. AAAAF sponsors sessions at AFS and hosts a dinner for Black AFS attendees at a local Black business in the meeting site community. AAAAF has also met jointly with the New York Folklore Society to present conferences on the African American Folklorists & the Public Sector (1988). The meeting in 1988 produced a publication in 1991, The Arts of Black Folk, edited by Diedre Bibby and Diana N’Diaye.
Beyond nurturing new publications and exhibitions in African American and African Diaspora folklore, the spaces AAAAF created to present paper sessions at AAAAF and at AFS, has generated deep discussions of African American folklore and supported its members in creating public programs, films, exhibitions, and syllabi for African American and African Diaspora folklore courses, and additionally, laid the groundwork for the consciousness and work of the Cultural Diversity Committee within AFS.
Among its publications were:
- Seward, Adrienne, ed. The Role of Afro-American Folklore in the Teaching of the Arts and Humanities (1979)