Florida Folklife Program Receives Florida Historical Society Award

Recognized for Drop on Down in Florida: Field Recordings of African American Traditional Music

Tallahassee, Florida –

Secretary of State Ken Detzner today announced that the Florida Folklife Program, Division of Historical Resources, was presented with the 2013 Stetson Kennedy Award from the Florida Historical Society (FHS) for, Drop on Down in Florida: Field Recordings of African American Traditional Music 1977-1980, co-edited by State Folklorist Blaine Waide and project coordinator Dwight DeVane.  Presented during the Society’s recent Annual Meeting & Symposium, the Stetson Kennedy Award recognizes a book based on investigative research which casts light on historic Florida events in a manner that is supportive of human rights, traditional cultures, or the natural environment.

"This award recognizes the important role that the Florida Folklife Program plays in documenting and presenting the heritage of traditional arts in our state" said Secretary Detzner.

Released in late 2012 in partnership with Grammy® award-winning record label Dust-to-Digital, the book and 2-CD set is an expanded reissue of a double-LP produced by the Florida Folklife Program in 1981, and represents an exciting partnership between the Florida Folklife Program, the State Archives of Florida, and Dust-to-Digital. The set includes a 224-page hardbound book that consists of expanded and revised essays and liner notes from the 1981 double-LP; new track notes from respected music scholars David Evans and Doris J. Dyen; reflective essays from past and present folklorists with the Florida Folklife Program, including Peggy A. Bulger, Dwight DeVane, and current State Folklorist Blaine Waide; and an extensive essay on African American one-string instrument traditions by David Evans. In addition, the book features 60 black-and-white photographs from the State Archives of Florida, most of which are being published for the first time. The images present the folk artists and communities that perpetuated the musical traditions documented through Florida Folklife Program fieldwork. This expanded reissue highlights the significance of the previously unreleased material, calls attention to the importance of Florida’s African American traditional music, and once again makes the recordings from the original LP available to the public.

For more information, listen to the State of Florida Archives’ FloridaMemory.com podcast, featuring tracks from the original double-LP and the expanded reissue, as well as field recordings not included on either the LP or book/CD set.

To purchase a copy of Drop on Down in Florida: Field Recordings of African American Traditional Music, 1977–1980, call the Florida’s History Shop located in the R. A. Gray Building in Tallahassee, Florida at 850.245.6396 or visit dust-digital.com/florida. For more information, contact State Folklorist Blaine Waide at [email protected] or 800.847.PAST.

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About the Florida Historical Society
Established in 1856, the Florida Historical Society is the oldest existing cultural organization in the state. The FHS maintains an extensive archive at the Library of Florida History in Cocoa Village, operates the Florida Historical Society Press which publishes a wide variety of books, hosts the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) East Central Region, and manages the Historic Rossetter House Museum and Gardens in Eau Gallie. The FHS publishes scholarly research in our academic journal the Florida Historical Quarterly, produces Florida Frontiers: The Weekly Radio Magazine of the Florida Historical Society heard on public radio stations throughout the state, and occasionally creates documentaries such as The Lost Years of Zora Neale Hurston which is currently airing on public television stations nationwide.

About the Florida Folklife Program
The Florida Folklife Program, a component of the Florida Department of State's Division of Historical Resources, documents and presents Florida’s folklife, folklore and folk arts. The program coordinates a wide range of activities and projects designed to increase the awareness of Floridians and visitors alike about Florida’s traditional culture. Established in 1979 by the legislature to document and present Florida folklife, this program is one of the oldest state folk arts programs in the nation. The Florida Folklife Program is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Folk and Traditional Arts Program. For more information about Florida folklife, visit flheritage.com/preservation/folklife/.