Kariamu Welsh in the 1970s, when she became a choreographer of Afrocentric dance. Photo provided by estate for Welsh’s obituary. African American, Dance, Ethnography Kariamu Welsh (Asante) (1949-2021) Kariamu Welsh was a contemporary dancer and dance choreographer whose scholarship incorporated African and Diasporic aesthetics, sensibilities, and sensitivities, and was built on the belief that African …
Self portrait. Courtesy of Wendy Makoons Geniusz Native American (Cree/Metis), Ethnobotany Mary Siisip Geniusz (1948-2016) Mary Siisip Geniusz, born in 1948, was an Oshkaabewis (ceremonial apprentice), and teaching assistant to Keewaydinoquay Peschel, an Anishinaabe medicine woman from Michigan. Geniusz’s heritage was Cree and Métis; her mother was born at the Pas in Manitoba. Because she …
Photo courtesy of Chinese American, Documentary Photography, Activism Young Kwok (Corky) Lee (1947-2021) Young Kwok “Corky” Lee jokingly referred to himself as the “Undisputed, Unofficial Asian American Photographer Laureate.” In a career that spanned half a century, he indeed did do much to not only document the Asian American community but also helped shape it …
Courtesy of daughter, Brie Jackson. African American, Linguistics Patricia Jones-Jackson (1946-1986) Dr. Patricia Jones-Jackson was a linguist and scholar of Gullah folkways and language traditions. Hailing from a large and rural family, Patricia Jones was the seventh of eight children born to Haller Reed Jones and Curtis Lucious Jones in Schaal, Arkansas. Her siblings include …
Photo courtesy of Musician and Community Activist Joaquín Rivera (1946- 2009) Joaquín Rivera was a musician and activist who revitalized Puertorriqueño traditions in his local Philadelphia community and shared them on national stages. Joaquin Rivera was born in the Puerto Rican mountain town of Cayey in 1946. The youngest of eleven children, he experienced hardship …
Edward J. Cabbell at Concord College, Athens, WVA Collection Number: A&M 217. Identifier: 038004. Image courtesy of West Virginia and Regional History Center, WVU Libraries African American, History, Cultural Activism, Literature Edward J. Cabbell (1946-2018) Ed Cabbell was a historian and folklorist of the traditions of Black Appalachia (Affrilachia) and brought the stories and history …
Photograph by Patrick Heagney. African American, Storytelling, Cultural Activism Cornelia Bailey (1945-2017) In her own words, Cornelia Bailey was a Saltwater Geechee and a storyteller. Her research, writing, cultural, and environmental activism in her birthplace in Belle Marsh on Sapelo Island, part of the Georgia Sea Islands, defined her contribution to the folklore field. Bailey …
Photograph by Francine Price, from the UC Berkeley News Center African American, Diaspora Studies VèVè Amasasa Clark (1944-2007) VèVè Clark was born in Queens, New York in 1944 as the only child to Alonzo Clark, an African American from North Carolina, and Pauline Kirton, from the Caribbean. Raised in Queens, she attended Queens College at …
Photo courtesy of Craftsperson, Community Organizer, Folklorist Pang Xiong Sirirathasuk Sikoun (1944–2020) Pang Xiong Sirirathasuk Sikoun, a path-breaking Hmong craftsperson and community organizer, introduced her community’s traditions to the nation while strongly sustaining culture for generations of Hmong Americans. Born in the mountains of northeast Laos in Xieng Khouang Province, Pang’s earliest memories and first …
Albert J. Raboteau in his office at Princeton University in 2013. Photo credit Kyle Christy/Loyola Marymount University African American, Religion, History Albert Jordy Raboteau II (1943-2021) Albert J. Raboteau II was a founder of African American religious studies. His meticulous research and publications, anchored in the voices and historical documents of African Americans, dispel negative …