Photo from The Veterans of Hope Project African American, Autoethnography, Spirituality, Activism Rosemarie Freeney Harding (1931-2004) Rosemarie Freeney Harding offers a detailed autoethnographic memoir of African American women’s beliefs and traditions during the Great Migration from Georgia to Chicago and about her spiritual journey as she engaged study through interfaith traditions. As a Mennonite, she …
Father-and-son mariachi musicians Roberto and Lorenzo Martinez. Arlington, Virginia, 2003. photograph by Alan Govenar Nuevo Mexicano, Music, Activism Roberto Martínez, Sr. (1929-2013) Roberto Martínez influenced generations of musicians through his songwriting, performances, and recordings, offering constant support and encouragement to younger musicians. Surrounded by traditional northern Nuevo Mexicano music, Martínez went on to form the …
Photographer unknown. Photo credit from thehindubusinessline.com, “Scanned in Chennai R.K.Sridharan” South Asian American, Literature, Linguistics, Folklore A.K. Ramanujan (1929-1993) Dr. Attipat Krishnaswami Ramanujan, widely known as A.K. Ramanujan, was a renowned scholar whose research spanned multiple disciplines including linguistics, poetry, mythology, translation, and folklore. Born in Mysore, India, in 1929, he pursued his education in …
Photo by Alan Govenar, 2006 Native Hawaiian, Dance, Cultural Activism George Na‘ope (1928-2009) Born in Kalihi, Hawaiʻi in 1928 and raised in Hilo, George Lanakilakeikiahialiʻi Naʻope was a foundational figure in the perpetuation, visibility, and celebration of Hawaiian culture. Affectionately and respectfully known as “Uncle George,” he was a revered kumu hula—a title that translates …
book cover Filipina American, Folklore, Journalism Mellie Leandicho Lopez (ca 1928-2017) Dr. Mellie Leandicho Lopez was a pioneer Filipina American folklorist whose influence extended beyond the academic world to the arts, journalism, and museum spheres. She was the first Asian to be enrolled in the interdisciplinary folklore program in the anthropology department of the University …
Photographer unknown; photo sourced from prabook.com African American, Ethnography, Anthropology John Gwaltney (1928-1998) John Langston Gwaltney was a native anthropologist and folklorist whose scholarship chronicled the everyday lives of marginalized communities. Gwaltney was born in 1928 in Orange, New Jersey, as one of five children, to John Stanley Gwaltney, a merchant seaman, and Mabel Harper …
Photo courtesy of Susan J. Ross Cultural historian, Educator, Curator, Festival Organizer, Public Intellectual Richard A. Long (1927–2013) Richard A. Long was a public intellectual and a founder of an African Americans Studies program, who organized pan African festivals and conferences across the African Diaspora. Richard A. Long was born in Philadelphia in 1927, to …
Photo courtesy of SHI. Photo by Brian Wallace. Native American (Tlingit), Linguistics, Literature Nora Marks Dauenhauer (Keixwnéi) (1927-2017) Nora Marks Dauenhauer (Ḵeixwnéi) was a Tlingit Clan Mother of the Raven moiety, Lukaax̱.ádi clan, and of the Shaka Hít or Canoe Prow House, from Alsek River, an author, and a culture-bearer whose scholarship documents and shares …
Left: Lane Ryo Hirabayashi. Photo from the Los Angeles Times, by Jake Fabricius Photography. Right: James Hirabayashi. Photo from Nichi Bei Weekly Report Japanese American, Ethnic Studies, Activism, Museum Work James Hirabayashi, Lane Ryo Hirabayashi (1926-2012), (1952-2020) Father and son, James Hirabayashi and Lane Hirabayashi were anthropologists who often collaborated, but also pursued distinct areas …
Photo courtesy of Chinese Historical Society of America Historian, Master Archivist, “Dean of Chinese American Studies” Him Mark Lai (1925-2009) Born in San Francisco Chinatown in 1925, Him Mark Lai was a pioneering self-taught scholar, whose extensive research and archives have been a taproot for generations of students and researchers of Chinese American history. With …