Amplifying 300+ years of resistance in the archives, preserving records of today's acts of resistance
What does Louise tell us about herself in what appears to be the only existing professional photo of her? What clues are there in her attire, her make-up, her facial expression, her stance, or in her inscription to dancer Ludie …
On Sunday, May 23, 2021 NPR published a piece on Shuffle Along, the 1921 production by an all-Black creative team, including Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, and performed by an all-Black company, that took Broadway by storm. By bringing …
“Spidering” is how Nadine George-Grave describes the dynamics of her research approach—“some lines of the webs…will break through other lines of wisdom and memory; some will be dead ends….” Since Louise didn’t leave us much to know her by, I’ve …
I’ll be honest. As I’ve learned more about the research some of my CR cohort colleagues are up to, I’ve sometimes felt that my research topic is a little light on significance. Fellows are researching the history of abolitionism in …
At the time of my last blog post, I was anticipating doing an oral history interview with Louise Madison’s granddaughter, Carol. Carol and I have been in contact off and on for about the past 15 years as each of …
“…promiscuous, reckless, wild and wayward…”
I’ve been thinking a lot about ways to approach the oral history interview I have scheduled with Louise’s granddaughter at the end of January. I’ve known Carol for maybe 15 years, since her first email …
In 2005 I wrote an article for the journal of the Philadelphia Folklore Project, Works In Progress, that captured some of the history and lore about Louise Madison (1911-1970), a Philadelphia tap artist who is the centerpiece of my …