John Fenn: The American Folklife Center was established in 1976 by the American Folklife Preservation Act, signed into law by President Ford, and we've been doing our work for that long, even longer, I would say. Our collections really represent all communities that live in the United States right now and communities that lived here before it was the United States. Right, so we work to be really inclusive. And I think having it at the Library of Congress, which is the nation's public library, really sort of anchors our work in stewarding a collection of wisdom and knowledge, as we like to say, a universal collection of wisdom and knowledge. And I think the Folklife Center has both the wisdom and the knowledge. We have documentation of all sorts of traditions that I think really sort of form a foundation of what it means to be present in the country right now.
JF: The library's mission is to inspire, engage, and inform, and I think we do that really well at the Folklife Center with our collections and getting people to recognize themselves in the library. The living cultural traditions that we steward in our collections and we promote through our public programs are kind of amplifying what might be in a book, right? But also making it human, making it alive in front of you. And I think that's something that is really important to know about the Folklife Center.
JF: We have collections from Louisiana that go back to the '30s with the Lomaxes and whatnot, and we have a long relationship with our friends at the National Park Service, but we're here celebrating our fiftieth anniversary, and so I feel just very welcomed by everyone. It's always inspiring to be down here. I get to eat some really good food and hear some amazing music!
Nick Spitzer: Let’s hear some of that amazing music, starting with accordionist Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys. Jeffery has been carrying the French Creole musical tradition forward since he started playing drums with his late father, Delton Broussard, and band, the Lawtell Playboys. Jeffery played once at age eleven, almost fifty years ago now at the Library of Congress. But here he is now onstage at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park in the French Quarter to kick it off with his own band, the Creole Cowboys. Jeffery Broussard on American Routes.
No More Tears/Ain’t Coming Back No More Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys
American Routes live recording
To hear the full program, tune in Saturdays at 5 and Sundays at 6 on WWNO, or listen at americanroutes.org.