BRAHM: African American Contributions to Southern Appalachian Dance

Image Credit: Christian Friedrich Mayr. Kitchen Ball at White Sulphur Springs, Virginia. 1838. Oil on canvas. North Carolina Museum of Art.

The music and dance traditions of southern Appalachia have often been portrayed as a culture that was brought to the U.S. from the British Isles. In fact, they have multicultural roots. They are a blend of earlier European, African, and Native American traditions, and they reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of America. In this presentation, we will identify some of the many contributions of African Americans to these uniquely “American” traditions.

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