The NEH Awards Grants to Two Projects by AFS Members

On August 12, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced that it is awarding $29 million in awards for 214 humanities projects across the country. Two of these grants, totaling $210,000, is being awarded to three fellow AFS members’ projects—Kiran Sirah’s “Freedom Stories: Unearthing the African-American Heritage of Appalachia” and Lynne Swanson’s and Marsha MacDowell’s “Michigan State University Museum Cultural Collections Rehousing Project.” The American Folklore Society offers sincere congratulations for the scholars working on these projects and to all NEH grant winners.

Recipient: International Storytelling Center (Jonesborough, TN)
[Humanities Discussions]
Project Director: Kiran Sirah
Project Title: Freedom Stories: Unearthing the African-American Heritage of Appalachia Project Description: Implementation of a series of public discussions and an accompanying podcast and website that engage professional storytellers with humanities scholars to explore the history of African Americans in Appalachia.  Outright: $200,000

Recipient: Michigan State University (East Lansing, Michigan)
[Preservation Assistance Grants]
Project Director: Lynne Swanson
Project Title: Michigan State University Museum Cultural Collections Rehousing Project Project Description: The purchase of cabinets and preservation supplies to rehouse the university’s History, Folklife, and Anthropology collections, totaling some 100,000 objects and representing local Michigan history, along with cultures from around the world.  Outright: $10,000