African American Folktales
(from left to right): Anansi the Spider, High John de Conqueror, Bre'r Rabbit (Brother Rabbit), John Henry, "The Annotated African American Folktales" book cover
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How African American Folklore Saved the Cultural Memory and History of Slaves
By: Jennifer Dos Reis Dos Santos Enslaved Africans in America preserved their culture and parts of their language through folk tales. These stories were retold in secret, with elements adapted to their enslaved situation, adding in elements of freedom and hope. |
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The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales
By: Virginia Hamilton The People Could Fly is a collection of twenty-four folktales that encompass animal tales, fairy tales, supernatural tales, and tales of the enslaved Africans. |
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Mules and Men
By: Zora Neale Hurston For the student of cultural history, Mules and Men is a treasury of Black America’s folklore as collected by Zora Neale Hurston, the storyteller and anthropologist who grew up hearing the songs and sermons, sayings and tall tales that have formed and oral history of the South since the time of slavery. Set intimately within the social context of Black life, the stories, “big old lies,” songs, voodoo customs, and superstitions recorded in these pages capture the imagination and bring back to life the humor and wisdom that is the unique heritage of Black Americans. |
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The Legend of John Henry
John Henry is the tale of an African American man who worked on the railroads, driving steel through rock. When a salesman introduces a machine who can do the same work, John Henry must prove he can work faster than the machine. |
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