Folklore: Rescuing Black America from Its Erroneous and Stereotypical Depictions in Literature

Folklore: Rescuing Black America from Its Erroneous and Stereotypical Depictions in Literature is a thesis written to reconnect the Black Community’s tether to the foundational truths of the Black American story that were systematically severed. Unfortunately, because of slavery, the deliberate erasing of records that would help identify the origins of persons brought to this country, the selling/separating of parents from children, and Jim Crow laws that prevented blacks from reading, writing, or congregating, vast portions of our story remain missing. SaMantha (SaM)Shields employs newly created folklore based on oral histories, interviews, and other first-hand accounts to tell Black America’s oft-ignored history. She asserts that this new folklore will provide better literary depictions of the Black American Community as well as chip away at the erroneous depictions that deprive black people of their humanity in the eyes of others and negatively impacts their perceptions of self