Pearl Primus, Rock Daniel, 1944, Barbara Morgan Archives African American, Dance, Ethnography, Theater Pearl Eileen Primus (1919-1994) Dr. Pearl Primus was a dancer, choreographer, educator, and anthropologist whose pioneering work not only explored and celebrated African, Caribbean, and African American dance forms and folkways, but also called attention to social issues faced by people of […]
Pearl Eileen Primus Read More »
Photo courtesy of Wendy Makoons Geniusz, with permission from the Miniss Kitigan Drum. Native American (Anishinaabe), Ethnobotany Keewaydinoquay Pakawakuk Peschel (1919-1999) The Aadizookaanag, our ancient stories and teaching spirits, are living beings. Keewaydinoquay’s storytelling clearly demonstrated the veracity of this Anishinaabe teaching. As she told stories, deep, “booming” voices of the Aadizookaanag echoed through the
Keewaydinoquay Pakawakuk Peschel Read More »
Self-portrait by Robert McNeill African American, Documentary Photography, Federal Writers’ Project Robert H. McNeill (1917-2005) Robert H. McNeill was a renowned photographer of Black life and culture from the 1930s through the 1970s. Born in 1917 in Washington, DC, to Dr. William C. McNeill, a physician and medical educator and Mary A. McNeill, a DC
Photo from 2007 NEA National Heritage Fellow announcement, photograph by Michael G. Stewart Japanese American, Literature, Activism, Ethnography Violet Kazue de Cristoforo (1917-2007) Violet Kazue de Cristoforo was a 2007 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow, recognized as a writer, translator, and editor of poetry, specifically the Japanese forms of haiku and tanka.
Violet Kazue de Cristoforo Read More »
Portrait of John O. Killens. 1954 June 8. Carl Van Vechten Photographs, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LOT 12735, no. 622, LC-USZ62-117468. African American, Literature John Oliver Killens (1916-1987) John Oliver Killens infused the structures, tone, and style of Southern African American folklore into his acclaimed novels which particularly depicted and commented on
John Oliver Killens Read More »
Image from Dozier’s obituary in American Anthropologist, June 1972 Native American (Tewa Pueblo), Ethnography, Anthropology, Linguistics Edward Pasqual Dozier (Eduardo de Pascua Dozier), PhD (1916-1971) Edward P. Dozier is recognized as the first Native American anthropologist to establish a career as an academic anthropologist. As a linguist and anthropologist, he studied Pueblo communities in Arizona
Edward Pasqual Dozier Read More »
Photo from Georgia Center for the Book African American, Federal Writers’ Project, Literature Frank Yerby (1916-1991) Dr. Frank Yerby wrote 33 popular historical romance novels that challenged white conceptions of Southern history and culture. He was the first African American to have one of his novels adapted into a commercial movie. Earlier in his career,
Photograph of Albert Murray, taken in his home in Harlem in the mid 90’s. Courtesy of John Abbott, www.johnabbottphoto.com African American, Cultural Theory, Literature Albert Murray (1916-2013) Albert Murray was a writer whose nonfiction addresses African Americans as essential Americans and whose novels synthesize original representations of African American folklore and oral history. He both
Photo from the Boggs Center Chinese American, Cultural Theory, Philosophy, Activism Grace Lee Boggs (1915-2015) Dr. Grace Lee Boggs was a community builder, activist, and philosopher, whose actions and writings have been widely influential for organizers, academics, and artists invested in work and forging practices that transform society. Grace Chin Lee was given the name
Images from The University of Texas at Austin Development Office, Dr. Lee-hsia Hsu Ting Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Information Studies Chinese American, Folklore, Narrative, Library Science Nai-tung Ting (1915-1989) Lee-hsia Hsu Ting (1923-2005) Dr. Nai-tung Ting and Dr. Lee-hsia Hsu Ting, were born and raised in China and their professional careers were based in the
Lee-hsia Hsu Ting and Nai-tung Ting Read More »