African Diaspora
odd: label: Introduction
content: 1975 was the second year of the Festival's African Diaspora program, which emphasized the strengths of black American cultural traditions. The organizing principle was to document those aspects of culture that link black Americans to Africa, via the Caribbean Islands and Latin America. Artists and craftspeople were invited to the 1975 Festival from the African nation of Ghana and the Caribbean nations of Jamaica and Haiti, and from across the United States. Musicians, dancers, cooks, woodcarvers, hairdressers, basket weavers and fishnet makers from three continents represented urban and rural, secular and sacred, home and community activities of black people of the Diaspora.

Presentations represented basic societal activities: worship, family, and trade. Worship activities took place on an altar setting that was a prototype of a rural U.S. church. Trade activities took place in a typical Caribbean marketplace. An African house, the traditional center of family activities, was the setting for small group presentations allowing for interchange between participants and Festival visitors.

Craft presentations demonstrated a link between traditions in the U.S., the Caribbean and Africa. Hair preparations have carried over without change from Africa. Cornrowing or hairbraiding and hair threading, part of a rich revival sweeping black American communities, were demonstrated by a black American and a Ghanaian hairdresser. Basket weavers from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, working with sea grass and split palmetto in woven coils, sat beside craftspeople from Ghana and Jamaica as they used comparable materials and techniques to produce similar baskets. In the garden behind the African house, foodstuffs common to the black community such as okra, turnips, and root vegetables were grown. In the food demonstration area many of these foodstuffs were used in versions of recipes prepared by cooks from Chicago, Accra, and Kingston. Similarly, musical performances sought to emphasize the family relations among cultural experiences linked by common origins, demonstrating the continuum of vocal and instrumental styles across communities separated by oceans and centuries.

The African Diaspora program was led by Rosie Lee Horn (Program Coordinator, later Rosie Lee H. Hooks) and Bernice Johnson Reagon (Folklore Specialist). It was organized with guidance from the African Diaspora Advisory Group, whose members included Roy Bryce-Laporte, James Early, Leonard Goines, Pearl Williams Jones, Worth Long, Fela Sowande, A. B. Spellman, Ron Smith, Carol Maillard, and Jane Sapp.
label: Participants
content: United States

Juliet Amoah, Ghanaian cook

Elizabeth and Beatrice Coakley, basket weavers

Ardoin Brothers, Cajun musicians  -- Ardoin Brothers, Cajun musiciansAlphonse Ardoin, 1915-2007, accordionist, singer, Eunice, LouisianaLaurence Ardoin, 1946-, drummer, Kinder, LouisianaMorris Ardoin, 1935-, guitarist, Eunice, LouisianaRussell Ardoin, 1957-, bassist, Eunice, LouisianaCanray Fontenot, 1922-1995, fiddler, singer, Welsh, Louisiana

BibleWay Church World Wide Congregation, gospel singers

D.C. Black Repertory Vocal Workshop

Sonny Diggs, arabber (fruit vendor)

Rev. William E. Faulkner, storyteller

George Ferrell, Jr., metal sculptor, woodcarver

George Ferrell, Sr., woodcarver

Charles Freeney, cook

Anna Fuller, hair braider

Linda Goss, storyteller

William Hines, street singer

Walter Kelly, arabber (fruit vendor)

Flora Molton, 1908-1990, street singer

Rufus Pinckney, fishnet maker

Rev. Leon Pinson, 1919-1998, gospel singer, guitarist

Rising Star Fife and Drum Band:  -- Rising Star Fife and Drum Band:Napoleon Strickland, 1919-2001, fife playerBernice Turner, drummerOtha Turner, drummerG. D. Young, drummer

Charles Sayles, 1948-, street singer, blues harpist

Sweet Honey in the Rock, a cappella female vocal group  -- Sweet Honey in the Rock, a cappella female vocal groupEvelyn Harris, singerPat Johnson, singerCarol Lynn Maillard, 1941-, singerBernice Johnson Reagon, 1942-, singerLouise Robinson, singer

Randy Weston, 1926-, jazz pianist

Wiregrass Sacred Harp Singers, Black American sacred harp musicians

Freelows Express, Black American dancers  -- Freelows Express, Black American dancersTheodric ErskineLester BrooksMorris HardyJoseph LewisMichael McKinstryHulie Reynolds

Big Walter Horton and his Blues Band, Chicago urban blues band  -- Big Walter Horton and his Blues Band, Chicago urban blues bandWalter Horton, 1921-1981, harmonica playerS. P. Levy, drummerRichard Molina, bass playerBo Tunestam, guitarist

St. Helena's Island Community Center Singers, Black American traditional sacred musicians  -- St. Helena's Island Community Center Singers, Black American traditional sacred musiciansHarold LawrenceEzekial CohenRoberta SimmonsHenry SimmonsCarol BowlesJoe BosticElsie HamiltonCaroline Bowles

Johnny Shines, 1915-1992, blues guitarist

Jamaica

Kumina Group  -- Kumina GroupElizabeth AlexanderBeatrice BonnerDonald CartyMaureen EllisClifford FlemmingsRoy FrancisBertram Kelly, 1921-Clinton Kennedy, 1931-Imogene Kennedy, 1928-

Maroons  -- MaroonsGeorge SterlingMarie HarrisCharles Aarons, 1929-Josephine DaCosta

Mento Band  -- Mento BandTheodore Miller, violinistGerald Miller, thumb pianoJocelyn Power, drummerAdam Roach, banjo player, guitaristJoseph Salmon, drummer, cow horn player

Craftspeople

Claudia Nelson, basket weaver

Una Griffith, cook

Celeste Robinson, cook

Zachaeus Powell, woodcarver

Peggy Warmington, chaperone

Ghana

Wulomei  -- WulomeiNii Ashitey, leader, drummer, flutistNii Adu, bass drummerNii Acquah, assistant leader, guitaristNii Yarboi, conga drummerNii Annoh, marakash playerNii Namale, dancerNii Nortey, singerNii LacLai, singerNaa Adei, dancer, vocalistNaa Amanua, lead vocalist

Kwaa Mensah and Group  -- Kwaa Mensah and GroupKwaa Mensah, leader, vocalist, guitaristKwaku Moses, roso roso player, singerKwaku Abebrese, clappers, singerKodro Andam, conga drummerKwaku Benyin, donno (hour-glass) drummerAbronpa K., drummer

Salisu Mahama and Group  -- Salisu Mahama and GroupSalisu Mahama, leader, gonje player, singerM. D. Sulley, dancer, interpreterAsumanu Iddrisu, gonje playerIddrisu Salisu, rattle playerAmadu Iddrisu, rattle playerSalifu Alhassan, dancer

Saka Acquaye, cultural representative

Haiti

Yvonne Dorlette, dancer

Marie Helene Gerbier, dancer

Jean Edner Guerrier, dancer

Helene Jeanis, dancer

Andre Jeanty, dancer

Fritz Jolicoeur, dancer

Aline Jules, dancer

Herve Maxi, dancer

Anne Alourdes Murat, dancer

Jean Alphonse, drummer

Edner Cherisme, drummer

Andre Duplan, drummer

Julien Nemorin, drummer

Altemat Ulysse, drummer

Marie Bastianie LaGuerre, singer

Marie Ernicia LaGuerre, singer

Antalcidas Murat, singer

Claudette Pierre-Louis, singer

Ensemble Meringue  -- Ensemble MeringueDieujuste Dorlette, contrabassEddy Dorlette, saxophoneLehem Biral Felican, saxophoneAdonys Joseph, trompetteRoland C. Montreuil, accordion

Dr. Michael Lamartiniere Honorat, cultural representative

Andre Narcisse, group leader
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1975 Festival of American Folklife
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.1975, Series 2
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials