‘Alive in Many Hands’ – Library of Congress

DrWeb

September 22, 2026

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Black-and-white graphic of dancers inside a large red number 50 with "TH" text beside the U.S. Capitol dome.

‘Alive in
Many Hands’

New exhibit explores the legacy of the American Folklife Center on its 50th anniversary.

By Stephen Winick

Album cover titled "American Sea Songs and Shanties" shown below carved wooden interlocking puzzle pieces. — From article… From top: Raymond Nichols carved this small wooden puzzle with a pocketknife. Assembled, the pieces nest into a perfect ball. Sea Shanties evoke an earlier era of shipboard life. *American Folklife Center; photo by Shawn Miller*

The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress turns 50 in 2026, marking a half century of preserving, presenting and supporting folk culture. The celebration culminates in mid-September with the opening of a major exhibition, “Alive in Many Hands: The American Folklife Center at 50.”

The center owes its existence to the American Folklife Preservation Act of 1976. Congress charged it with safeguarding the nation’s living cultural traditions — everything from fiddle tunes and quilt patterns to holiday rituals, occupational skills and family recipes. These expressions belong to families, ethnic communities, work groups, religious congregations and regions, stretching from the mainland to the Caribbean and Pacific Islands.

Today, the center maintains one of the largest folklife archives anywhere. It exchanges knowledge and expertise with scholars and communities and produces public programs that bring these traditions to life.

“Alive in Many Hands,” part of the Library’s America 250 celebrations, pulls from the best of those collections to show how tradition thrives in countless hands across the country. The exhibit runs through early 2028.

Step into the exhibition, and the collections begin speaking.

A “crossing the line” certificate marks a rowdy rite of passage for World War II sailors crossing the equator for the first time. They were forced to perform silly tasks, subjected to teasing and trials and finally presented to King Neptune and his court — other sailors in disguise. Survivors earned the title “shellback” and a certificate to prove it.

Rough stone fragment featuring the carved capital letters "KISOR" in an indented rectangular frame. — From article: A brick fragment from Luboml, whose Jewish inhabitants were executed en masse by the Nazis during World War II. *American Folklife Center; photo by Shawn Miller*

Nearby in the exhibit, recorded sea shanties recall an earlier age of shipboard life, when songs kept crews working in rhythm aboard sailing vessels — massive machines of wood, canvas and rope.

A few feet away sits a small wooden puzzle from Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Raymond Nichols carved its pieces with a pocketknife so that, when assembled, they nest into a perfect ball. When Nichols gave it to AFC fieldworkers in 1978, he couldn’t remember when or where he learned to cut and shape the pieces into precise dimensions. “Must have seen it somewhere when I was a boy,” he said.

A skilled woodworker, Nichols built much of his own house and furniture, including a barn raised in the traditional Blue Ridge style used by generations of farmers. A modern building inspector wasn’t impressed, though — he rejected the poplar beams and the fieldstone foundation. Nichols chuckled as he recounted the story to AFC fieldworkers: “Boys, I’ll tell you — the pioneers wouldn’t stand a chance!”

Other objects carry a heavier weight, tell stories of vanished communities.

Collage featuring two women posing together overlaid above a vintage "Travelers' Green Book" guide cover. — From article: Documentarian Candacy Taylor (left) with New Orleans chef Leah Chase, whose restaurant appeared in the Green Book. *Courtesy of Candacy Taylor; American Folklife Center*

A weathered directional sign and a single brick fragment come from Luboml, a once-thriving Jewish shtetl then in Poland, now part of Ukraine.

The sign stood on a corner just outside the Jewish Ghetto — a witness to the community’s destruction. On Oct. 1, 1942, Nazis marched residents of the ghetto to that very corner, then directed them on to a place where they would be executed en masse.

AFC holds dozens of oral histories of Americans who once called Luboml home, along with thousands of pages of manuscripts and photos. Together, they preserve the memory of a Jewish community erased by the Holocaust — as does that street sign, the only one of the Nazi era known to still exist.

“Alive in Many Hands” also traces stories of struggle and progress in the United States.

Published between 1936 and 1967, The Negro Motorist Green Book guided Black travelers to safe places to eat, sleep, shop and get gas — a vital resource during the segregation era.

Through oral histories collected by documentarian Candacy Taylor and held by AFC, exhibition goers meet some of the business owners like New Orleans chefs Dooky and Leah Chase who made the book — and safe travel — possible. When segregation ended, the Green Book disappeared, but its legacy of service to the Black community remains.

A dedicated section of the exhibit explores foodways — the rich cultures and traditions surrounding food.

Continue/Read Original Article: https://lcm.loc.gov/issue/september-october-2026/