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Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

Smithsonian Voices

Black Banjo Reclamation Project founders Hannah Mayree and Carlton “Seemore Love” Dorsey, with banjos made by Brooks Masten of Brooks Banjos in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Avé-Ameenah Long)

A Quest to Return the Banjo to Its African Roots

The Black Banjo Reclamation Project aims to put banjos into the hands of everyday people.

Paul Ruta | February 16, 2021

Jim McDowell holds his jug, “Emmett Till.” (Photo By Rimas Zailskas, courtesy of Asheville Made Magazine)

Facing History: Lessons from the Potter’s Wheel

Jim McDowell, known to many simply as “the Black Potter,” is a ceramicist who specializes in stoneware face jugs.

Tommy Gartman | February 9, 2021

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