Preserving the Stories of America

The Performed Word is African American folklorist Gerald L. Davis’ guided tour of African American expressive culture. Although he claimed to be “unchurched,” Davis explores with great depth and...

Ray Lum (1891--1977) was a mule skinner, a livestock trader, an auctioneer, and an American original.

This film explores the deep tradition of quilting in the U.S. with a focus on contemporary quilting. In doing so, the film considers both the tension between conservatism and dynamic change in quilt...

LaVaughn Robinson, a National Heritage Fellowship award winner, was a tap-dance virtuoso on the big-band circuit in the 1940s and ’50s who became a master teacher and a major force in...

TWO BLACK CHURCHES" is based on fieldwork Bill Ferris conducted at a church in Vicksburg, Mississippi and at a church in New Haven, Conn. Footage includes a full immersion baptism, congregation...