Library of Congress and Fisk University Mississippi Delta collection, 1941-1943

Title Page | Collection Summary | Arrangement | Scope and Content

Collection Summary

Title	Library of Congress and Fisk University Mississippi Delta collection, 1941-1943
Inclusive Dates	1941-1943
Call No.	AFC 1941/002
Creator	Archive of American Folk Song
Creator	Fisk University
Extent	493 items ; 1 container plus 1 oversize ; 4 linear feet.
Extent (manuscripts)	350 manuscript items.
Extent (sound recordings)	10 sound discs : analog, 78 rpm, mono. ; 12 in.
Extent (sound recordings)	87 sound discs : analog, 78 rpm, mono. ; 16 in.
Extent (graphic images)	46 negative prints : black and white ; 54 x 37 cm and smaller.
Language	Collection material in English.
Location	American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Finding Aid Permalink	Cite or bookmark this finding aid as: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/eadafc.af013010
LCCN Permalink	LC Catalog record: https://lccn.loc.gov/2002522628
Summary	The collection consists of a portion of the materials generated by a joint field project -- the Coahoma County, Mississippi, field project, 1941-1942 -- undertaken by Alan Lomax, Assistant in Charge of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress, and Fisk University faculty members including Charles S. Johnson, John Wesley Work, and Lewis Wade Jones. Field recordings were made of secular and religious music, sermons, children's games, jokes, folktales, interviews, and dances documenting the expressive culture of an African American community in Coahoma County, Mississippi. Some audio recordings were made by Alan Lomax and John W. Work at Work's home in Nashville, Tennessee; and a few were recorded by Lomax in Arkansas. The collection includes recording logs, reports, and correspondence related to the project. Also included are negative photostats of song transcriptions by John W. Work (1943), including some songs that were recorded on this project.
Online Content	Interview with former slave George Johnson, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, September 1941 is available in the online presentation, Voices from the Days of Slavery. Interview with former slave George Johnson, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, September 1941 is available in the online presentation, Voices from the Days of Slavery. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/collafc.af000006
Online Content	Related online content is found in the Alan Lomax Collection (AFC 2004/004) including Alan Lomax’s field notes: http://www.loc.gov/collections/alan-lomax-manuscripts/about-this-collection/ See these folders: Alan Lomax Collection, Manuscripts, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas, 1941-1942, field notes http://www.loc.gov/item/afc2004004.ms070309/ Alan Lomax Collection, Manuscripts, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas, 1941-1942, field notes http://www.loc.gov/item/afc2004004.ms070315/ Alan Lomax Collection, Manuscripts, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas, 1941-1942, song lyrics http://www.loc.gov/item/afc2004004.ms070353/ See also Alan Lomax’s manuscripts for his book, The Land Where the Blues Began, 1993.