McIntosh County Shouters

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The McIntosh County Shouters are a group of traditional Gullah musical performers from the community of Briar Patch in Bolden, Georgia (located in McIntosh County). They have kept the ring shout, one of the oldest continuously practiced African-American traditions, alive. [1]

Contents

Background

Music folklorists discovered a group performing Watch Night shouts in 1980. Centered around the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, these people were descended from former slaves London and Amy Jenkins, who passed down the ring shout tradition. [2]

Smithsonian Folkways released recordings of their performances in 1984 on Slave Shout Songs from the Coast of Georgia, and again in 2017 on Spirituals and Shout Songs from the Georgia Coast. [3] [4]

Founding member Lawrence McKiver (born April 1915) died in 2013. He is credited as a major factor in maintaining the ring shout tradition's continuity. [5] [6]

In 1993, the Shouters received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. [7]

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References

  1. Alexander, Andrew (1 March 2024). "Tiny community of Bolden, Ga., keeps ancient tradition of ring shout alive". Knox News. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  2. "About Us". McIntosh County Shouters. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  3. Rosenbaum, Art (1998). Shout Because You're Free: The African American Ring Shout Tradition in Coastal Georgia. University of Georgia Press. ISBN   9780820319346.
  4. Calemine, James. "The McIntosh County Shouters". Bitter Southerner. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  5. Fox, Margalit (1 April 2013). "Lawrence McKiver, a Singer in Long Tradition, Dies at 97". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  6. Emerson, Bo (2 Feb 2015). "McIntosh County Shouters bring slave songs to life". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  7. "McIntosh County Shouters". National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved 18 March 2024.