DIGITAL HERITAGE REPATRIATION WORKSHOP IN S. AFRICA 12/08

In December 2008, Bertram Lyons presented ACE's Caribbean Dissemination project as a model for the dissemination of digital cultural heritage. MORE

VOICES OF THE PEOPLE: THE LOMAX LEGACY 11/2008
Sheila McKenna from CUNY's Newsmaker program interviews Anna Lomax Wood about the history and current mission of ACE. Listen to podcast

JFR TO PUBLISH LOMAX SYMPOSIUM PAPERS ˜ WINTER 2008-09
Papers from the 2006 Library of Congress symposium, The Lomax Legacy: Folklore in a Globalizing Century, will appear in The Journal of Folklore Research. MORE

ITALIAN ETHNOGRAPHIC PHOTOS PUBLISHED ˜ 11/2008 L'anno piú felice della mia vita, a book of Alan Lomax's photos of his 1954–55 fieldwork in Italy, was published by Il Saggiatore last November. MORE

ACE DISSEMINATION PROGRAM FEATURED AT IASA ˜9/2008
Bert Lyons will give paper at the IASA Conference in Sidney, Australia about the dissemination of ACE's collections. MORE

CHOREOMETRICS FILMS ON DVD ˜ FALL/2008
Rhythms of Earth, a DVD edition of the four original Choreometrics films, is available. It includes 3 new films about the Choreometrics project. MORE

NEW CIVIL RIGHTS SONG BOOK BY THE CARAWANS ˜ 8/2008
Sing For Freedom: The Story of The Civil Rights Movement Through Its Songs is hailed by Coretta Scott King as "a major contribution to our heritage." MORE

BARTON NAMED CURATOR OF RECORDED SOUND ˜ 7/2008
Matthew Barton has been named Curator of Recorded Sound at the Library of Congress. MORE

"SCUOLA LOMAX" FOUNDED IN CATANIA ˜ 08/2008
The Alan Lomax Cultural Association school of folk traditions opened in Catania, Sicily. MORE

LOMAX'S 1952 SPANISH RECORDINGS REVIEWED ˜ 06/2008
"Una caza canciones en la España de los 50" is the title of an extensive review of Alan Lomax's work in Spain in La Revista,. MORE Download the article (.pdf)

The dimension of cultural equity needs to be added to the humane continuum of liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and social justice. — Alan Lomax, 1972

On Nov. 2, 2001 the principle of cultural equity as a human right was affirmed in UNESCO's Universal Declaration of Cultural Diversity, which put defense of culture on a par with protection of the environment and individual rights. That cultural diversity is as essential for human survival as biodiversity was first stated by Alan Lomax, who was dismayed that mass communications and centralized education systems were crushing local cultural expressions and languages. Against objections that scholars shouldn't act as cultural arbiters, he maintained that folklorists and anthropologists could not ethically stand by while local ways of living and the world's splendid variety of expressive cultures were "grayed out" by standardization, economies of scale, and powerful entertainment industries.

Lomax was not alone in observing that the loss of cultures went hand in hand with social pathologies. Echoing Malinowski's dictum that "The role of the ethnologist is that of the advocate of primitive man," he stated in 1950, "The role of the folklorist is that of the advocate of the folk." While acknowledging potential problems, he maintained that outside intervention and advocacy can be invaluable in helping to safeguard and revitalize local traditions.

Cultural equity was anticipated in the 1930s and 40s by folklorists Benjamin Botkin, Harold W. Thompson, and Louis C. Jones, who believed that folklore studied by folklorists should be returned to its home communities to enable it to thrive anew. Their ideas bore fruit in the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival; in the National Heritage Awards honoring great American folk artists; in organizations such as Survival International, and, increasingly in national and regional initiatives by public folklorists and local activists who provide recognition for traditions locally and to broad audiences.

Lomax called on folklorists with their specialized training to help those they studied ensure the continuance of their cultural practices and self-representation on their own cultural terms — and for educators to ensure that children learn about the oral traditions of their families and localities.

View the Global Jukebox video