African-American folkloric form and function in segregated one-room schools

Graduation date: 1986Maintenance of one's self and one's people in a free\ud society requires educational, cultural, and economic\ud literacy. This is fully as imperative in a democracy as the\ud maintenance of ignorance of slaves is required in an\ud oppressive society. The requisite skills needed both to\ud sustain one's self and become a contributor to one's society\ud are learned from the home, school, and community. For the\ud African-American, there have been many detours along the\ud educational road.\ud This study examined one aspect of teaching by African-\ud American women whose classrooms were one-room, rural,\ud segregated Southern schools in the early 1900's. The\ud research questions were:\ud (1) What is the West African Oral Tradition in\ud Folklore?\ud (2) Was there a transfer to and rebirth of that\ud tradition among African slaves in the southern United\ud States?\ud (3) Were there any educational applications of a West\ud African derived folkloric oral tradition by African-American\ud female teachers in one-room, segregated schools in the rural\ud South?\ud The ethnographic research technique was used because it\ud enabled the researcher to take a culture oriented approach\ud based in anthropology. The informants were interviewed\ud using an open-ended question format. Other sources were\ud archival materials, newspapers, periodicals, books, records,\ud and telephone contacts.\ud This research was undertaken because of a personal\ud interest by the researcher and the literature was devoid of\ud any previous studies making the link between a West African\ud Oral Tradition in Folklore, and African-American women\ud teachers in rural, one-room, segregated Southern schools.\ud This study is not predictive, but rather an ethnographic\ud exploration to uncover the previously unstudied\ud educational applications of a West African Folkloric Oral\ud Tradition. Folklore was used in a significant way by the\ud informants in their classes. In addition, this folklore had\ud its roots in the African-American slave experience, thereby\ud leading to the conclusion that it has a West African foundation.\ud The similarities of motifs and usage demonstrate the\ud links between the African-American and his West African\ud ancestor