From My People: 400 Years of African American Folklore (An Anthology) [Hardcover]

Daryl Cumber Dance (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393047989 | ISBN-13: 978-0393047981 | Publication Date: February 2002

A magnificent celebration of --and an essential introduction to--African American life and culture. Within the chapter on folk art, which includes a sixteen-page color insert, guilts, dolls, sculpture, and painting get their due. From the famous to the anonymous, From My people is Dance's gift back to her culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In From My People: 400 Years of African American Folklore, Daryl Cumber Dance (Honey, Hush!: An Anthology of African American Women's Humor) celebrates rumors, riddles, recipes, song lyrics, sermons, art objects and stories. The anthology offers a compendious assortment folklore and commentary on African-American culture by the eminent likes of Frederick Douglass, Jelly Roll Morton and Jacqui Malone. Zora Neale Hurston's fashion sense is assessed by her contemporaries; nursery rhymes and clapping games are recounted by experts; quilts and tramp art are pictured; and superstitions are repeated. Dance, a professor at the University of Richmond, has assembled an impressive, diverse array of African Americana, including 30 b&w photos and 16 pages of color photos.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Comprehensive if not exhaustive, this anthology provides a synthetic overview of African American folk expression, offering an entree into a vast subject. Informative texts introduce each of the 13 major genres covered in this book, which include tales, songs, beliefs, folk arts, proverbs, costume, and sermons. Drawing on both oral and printed sources in addition to original works, Dance (ed., Honey Hush!: An Anthology of African American Women's Humor) reprints familiar materials from such notables as Paul Dunbar, Zora Neale Hurston, Jelly Roll Morton, Ben Botkin, and Langston Hughes and also from songs, proverbs, and recipes. The selections vividly affirm the strength of African American lore as part of American language and culture. Dance has conducted an ambitious search for the identity and essence of African American expression, and she succeeds admirably, capturing what was largely invisible to many generations. Rendered in dialect where possible, these selections reflect an inventive people who speak and sing without embellishment. Recommended for all collections. Richard K. Burns, MSLS, Hatboro, PA

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393047989
• ISBN-13: 978-0393047981
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,245,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Capturing Culture, October 8, 2004

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From My People: 400 Years of African American Folklore: An Anthology (Paperback)

How often have we sat at the feet of our elders and heard stories imparted to us regarding the days gone by? Handed down through the generations, these tales were not only meant for entertainment purposes, they impart wisdom and provide a living lesson. In 400 YEARS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLKLORE, author Daryl Cumber Dance has created a compilation of folktales, folk music - including spirituals and freedom songs - as well as blues and ballads, folk arts and crafts, proverbs and many other pearls of wisdom that breed familiarity in the Black community. The African slave trade tore our early ancestors from their native lands, stripping them of their individual identities and beliefs, yet our strong forefathers were able to maintain some of their culture and the stories that were once told to them.

Ms. Dance does a wonderful job in capturing the vernacular used in some of the stories as well as providing some historical background to set a frame of reference for her readers. Each story and every entry into this collection caught my attention. I was compelled through the pages by my curiosity and to be reminded of days gone by. Each was very well put together, yet I found my favorite folk tale to be "De Ways of De Wimmens" which is a humorous short tale revolving around Adam and Eve's first days together and the establishment of gender roles. This story literally had me laughing out loud because even today, I can relate to the basic truth found in this tale.

400 YEARS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLKLORE is not just a collection of folk tales. Don't get me wrong, Ms. Dance does rightful justice in providing glimpses into our dynamic society. She reaches back into the early days, guides us through the civil rights era by including powerful sermons by Reverend C.L. Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson and many more. She even addresses some of today's disconcerting issues, such as urban gentrification and gang violence.

In summary, the selections included in this book run the gamut throughout the reaches of time. It provides glimpses into the strong traditions held by the Black community and imparts some wisdom as to how these traditions may have taken root. In writing 400 YEARS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLKLORE, Ms. Dance stated, "My goal throughout my career and in this anthology has been to collect, transcribe, preserve and respect the integrity of the folk text." In my humble opinion, she did just that. Ms. Dance should be lauded for her efforts.


Reviewed by Nedine
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing collection!, July 5, 2004

By 

AfroAmericanHeritage (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From My People: 400 Years of African American Folklore: An Anthology (Paperback)

For most people, the term "folklore" probably conjures the image of songs and stories, but as Daryl Cumber Dance illustrates, it's much more than that. It's about quilts and the history they embody. It's about hair styles, dress, food, traditions of marching bands, sermons, speeches...even internet rumors and graffiti. As one chapter is headed, it's about "The Style of Soul."

Start at any topic that piques your interest, and I promise, you'll find it impossible to put this book down. There are surprises around every corner...for example, I was delighted to find a low fat recipe for greens!

This vast, rich book belongs in every library.
Curator, AfroAmericanHeritage dot com

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Black folklore anthologies, October 31, 2006

By 

Andre M. "brnn64" (Mt. Pleasant, SC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From My People: 400 Years of African American Folklore: An Anthology (Paperback)

It is a sad fact of our times that the folklore of Black America is almost a vanishing art. As a folklorist, historian, and story teller, it saddens me that I often ask kids if their parents tell them any stories and they don't have a clue, and our older folks tales of Old John, Anancy, Brer Rabbit, the Signifying Monkey, Shine and the Titanic, Raw Head and Bloody Bones, etc. are unknown to most people of my age and younger.

Fortunately, people like Prof. Daryl C. Dance are doing what they can to rectify this situation by anthologies such as this. She does an excellent job not only in preserving this kind of material but also the classic folk sermons of Rev. C.L. Franklin and lesser known preachers as well as songs and children's games. Material such as this has been done before, especially by Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Dorson, and Roger Abrahams, but not very recently.

So overall, this book is a treasure. However,as much fun as Black folklore is to read, its better if watched or heard orally. Somebody needs to make a CD or DVD documentary of this sort of thing (hint hint to my fellow folklorists and scholars out there).