Roots and Routes: African American Narratives, Folklore, and Cultural Memory

Dear Colleagues,

Beginning at the Beginning: Identity, Community, and Memory

“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”—Toni Morrison, Nobel Lecture 1993

“But where, when, how, and where shall we begin?” Those who create and respond to stories know that every story has three discernible parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end.  Such an assertion reveals a host of assumptions about when, where, how, and why beginnings begin. Arguably, every beginning begins in medias res, in the middle of things.  A decision is made about where, when, and how to begin and about where, when, and how to end. Any such story, though, existed well before a storyteller decides to grab hold of it. That storyteller then has to determine and construct the story’s end. Such is the case even in human constructions and understandings of birth and death, two notions that exist on a continuum of consciousness. Any story, then, exists on a continuum with a teller’s arbitrary and elusive starts and stops which punctuate and document ideas, thoughts, actions and experiences.

In her Nobel Lecture in 1993, author Toni Morrison contends that one of the most common story beginnings is the phrase "Once upon a time." Such words establish for storytellers and story hearers an agreed-upon context for starts and beginnings.  Such a phrase further establishes an oral, aural, mental, and psychological rhythm and a rhyme that signal a narrative destination, a closure, or a closing. These rituals of mean-making center beginnings and origins as critical parts for individual and communal identities. These narrative and rhetorical performances thereby document and validate experiences that amplify humanity at its creative best.

Filmmaker Spike Lee’s film Bamboozled (2000) explores the dangers and trappings of US racial and racist stereotypes that take on a life of their own in the psyches of Black and white people. What portends to be satire—pointing out and critiquing social ills of systemic racism and sexism—falls apart because of the many Truths that belie the caricatures and exaggerations. Such stereotypes live on past their creations and past their creators. While the film ends with credits that show the exhaustive and exhausting range of gross and grotesque racial misrepresentations of Black folks in the “New World,” two songs on the film’s soundtrack align with the necessity of understanding the present by peeling away the layers of the past. The question the film raises, though, is where that past—albeit any past--begins. Lee constructs a marked racial and racist past as a US History 101 lesson in Stevie Wonder’s crooning:

     In 1492, you came upon these shores.
     Seven hundred years, educated by the Moors.
     Seventeenth century: Genocide and the gun
     Middle Passage blessed … to market the Africans.
     In the so-called “Lands of God,”
     My kind was treated hard.
     From back then until now,
     I see, and you agree.
     We have been a misrepresented people. (“Misrepresented People”)

Lee’s construction of a past has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The film, then, is a commentary on the critical nuances between these temporal punctuations that reveal the extent to which those who subscribe to and thereby perpetuate illusory white supremacy cling to these illusions. Such illusions also come with various degrees of human, social, and cultural capital.

In another tune from the Bamboozled soundtrack, Stevie Wonder sings these words:

     Once upon the blood of many
     We were cast as less than any
     To so much a point some still believe
     Smaller scene, a world much bigger
     Where it’s okay to play with the word “ni**er
     Yet would we knowing all the grief and death it breed
     But that was some years ago
     When we had more hope than money (“Some Years Ago”)

Lee’s sentiments further underscore the importance of beginnings, histories, and identities—both individual and communal.

This Special Issue of Genealogy centers African American beginnings. Topics about heritage can take various forms, reminding that folklore, tradition and rituals--while just as easily contested--can also be supremely validating and life-affirming.

Topics to consider:

     Family recipes
     Church obituaries
     Preached eulogies
     Song and singing
     Childhood games
     Play rituals
     Miseducation and Misrepresentations
     Gender roles
     Prayers and Sermons
     Fashion
     Hairstyles and Hairstyling
     Memory
     Health and Wellbeing
     Religious trauma
     Humor and Laughter
     Dance and Movement
     Talkin' and Testifyin'
     Words and Language
     Cultural Appropriation

Before submitting a full manuscript of 20–25 pages using standard 12-point Times New Roman/ Arial and 1-inch margins, or between 5000 and 6250 words, interested Contributors are asked to submit a proposed title and Abstract of 200 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor Neal A. Lester (neal.lester@asu.edu) and the Genealogy editorial office (genealogy@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor to determine the fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double anonymous peer review.

Prof. Dr. Neal Lester
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genealogy is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• folklore
• history
• past
• stories
• narrative