African American Folklore: Its Role in Reconstructing African American History Notes

African American Folklore: Reconstructing African American History

• African American folklore provides a framework for understanding the history and worldview of African Americans.

• Folklore includes myths, storytelling, recollections, ballads, songs, rap, and other orally transmitted lore (orature).

• Zora Neale Hurston describes folklore as the "boiled-down juice of human living," an art of self-discovery that shapes and rationalizes the natural laws people observe.

The Significance of Orature

• Molefi K. Asante argues that scholars analyzing the African American past must recognize the role of orature; otherwise, they are on