What does it mean to become a folklorist? How do stories, rumors, family traditions, and everyday objects become archives of Black history? In this special episode of Jack Dappa Blues, host Lamont Jack Pearley sits down with one of the most influential voices in African American folklore, Dr. Patricia A. Turner, for an inspiring conversation about scholarship, mentorship, and the enduring power of Black cultural expression.

From her earliest encounters with folklore as a student to her groundbreaking contributions to the field, Dr. Turner reflects on the people, experiences, and questions that shaped her remarkable career. She shares how folklore became a lens for understanding Black life—not simply through songs and stories, but through the rumors we circulate, the objects we treasure, the quilts we stitch, the sayings we repeat, and the traditions we pass from one generation to the next.

Together, Lamont and Dr. Turner explore the rich terrain of African American folklore, discussing the cultural significance of rumor and legend, the social realities behind some of America's most recognizable urban legends, the importance of material culture, and the ways Black communities have long used narrative as a form of protection, resilience, and collective memory. Their conversation also examines representation in scholarship, the responsibilities of public folklorists, and the importance of documenting Black life on Black communities' own terms.

Beyond her celebrated books—including I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Whispers on the Color Line, Ceramic Uncles and Celluloid Mammies, Crafted Lives, and Trash Talk—Dr. Turner offers deeply personal reflections on teaching, mentoring, overcoming self-doubt, and creating opportunities for future generations of folklorists. Her insights remind us that folklore is not confined to archives or classrooms; it lives wherever people gather, remember, create, and share their experiences.

This episode is more than an interview—it is a masterclass in African American folklore and an invitation to rethink the stories that shape our communities. Whether you are a student, educator, cultural worker, artist, historian, or simply someone who values Black history and cultural heritage, this conversation offers a profound appreciation for the knowledge embedded in everyday life.

Join us as we celebrate Dr. Patricia A. Turner, our African American Folklorist of the Month, and honor a lifetime dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and elevating the richness of Black folklore. Through her scholarship and mentorship, Dr. Turner continues to open doors, inspire new generations, and remind us that our stories are among our greatest cultural treasures.

https://www.patriciaaturner.com/

Jack Dappa Blues Radio honors Libby Rae Watson—an authentic Blues woman, guitarist, songwriter, cultural witness, and keeper of Mississippi Blues memory.Since the early 1970s, Libby Rae has built deep relationships with some of the most important figures in traditional Blues, including Big Joe Williams, Furry Lewis, Eugene Powell, Houston Stackhouse, Stonewall Mays, and her close friend and mentor, Sam Chatmon.In 1978, she helped organize the talent for the very first Delta Blues Festival in Greenville, Mississippi, bringing together elders whose music carried the memory of Black Southern life, labor, survival, humor, migration, and resistance.This special broadcast explores Libby Rae’s journey into the Mississippi Delta, the musicians who trusted and taught her, and the responsibility that comes with carrying tradition forward. Through music, memories, photographs, and personal stories, we look beyond the stage to honor the friendships and cultural relationships that shaped her life.Libby Rae Watson’s story reminds us that the Blues is more than a sound. It is a breathing Black cultural inheritance rooted in people, place, memory, and community.Join us as we give flowers to a woman who listened, learned, showed up, remembered the elders, and continued to speak their names.The Blues Found Her: Libby Rae Watson and the Keepers of the Delta Flamehttps://www.libbyrae.com/Presented by Jack Dappa Blues RadioPreserving the Blues People, one voice and one story at a time.

WHAT’S HAPPENING, BLUES PEOPLE?If you don’t know me from nothing, you know me from that statement. Every month we celebrate our African American Folklorist of the Month—lifting up culture-keepers whose work sits at the crossroads of tradition, scholarship, and community.This episode honors Brandi Waller-Pace (they/she)—Fort Worth–based musician, educator, scholar-activist, Founder/Executive Director of Decolonizing the Music Room (DTMR), organizer of the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival (FWAAMFest), and Program Manager for the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music’s Black Banjo & Fiddle Fellowship. Born in Atlanta and trained in Jazz Studies at Howard University (Afro Blue alum), Brandi bridges jazz, old-time, and Black American roots music on banjo, piano, guitar, and ‘ukulele—reclaiming ancestral soundscapes while building new spaces for equity and cultural memory.Across the conversation, we dig into:Decolonizing & antiracist approaches in music education (and why it’s forever work)Language, code-switching, and who gets to “name” the canonBanjo, Blackness, and rooting jazz within Black traditionsGatekeeping, tokenism, and creating space (not just “diversity optics”)Paying culture bearers fairly & building coalitionsBlack feminist thought, patriarchy, and accountability within our own communitiesBrandi’s origin story, neurodivergence, and finding grounded confidencePractical ways DTMR supports educators, artists, and organizers“Music is not only performance—it is memory, resistance, healing, and a roadmap to the future.”Guest: Brandi Waller-PaceDTMR: decolonizingthemusicroom.comFWAAMFest: https://www.fwaamfest.com/IG: / brandipacemusic Contact for bookings/collabs: brandipacemusic@gmail.comHost / PlatformJack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation FoundationThe African American Folklorist — preserving the Blues People, one voice at a time.Website:JackDappabluesradio.tv • Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/jackdappabluesradi... • Patreon/YouTube Membership: / jackdappablues