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Seminole Tribe and Florida Folk Festival promotional video recordings, circa 1990s.
Amount:
37 video tapes
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement:
Unarranged.
Restrictions:
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
Peter Gallagher is a journalist, freelance photographer, and producer. In his work with Florida folk artists and the Seminole Tribe and as a special event producer, Gallagher collected numerous video recordings that include raw footage and finished documentaries.
Tommy Walton (1930-1997) was born in South Carolina and moved to St. Petersburg, Florida as a child. He began his career as a hot dog vendor for baseball games at Al Lang Stadium; he garnered national attention for his singing salesmanship, appearing on the news and talk shows, such as the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Before his vending career, Walton served in the Army for seven years and was a traveling musician, playing guitar and singing gospel and blues all across the eastern United States. He received a Florida Folk Heritage Award in 1994 for his mastery of the crier art.
Blind Willie James (b. 1933) was born in Columbia County, Florida and attended the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. James, a gospel and blues musician and pianist, performed in churches and bars and played alongside fellow blues musician Diamond Teeth Mary. He toured as a duo with drummer Allen Moffat, who ultimately nominated him for the Florida Folk Heritage Award, an honor James received in 1999.
"Diamond Teeth" Mary McClain (1902-2000) was born in West Virginia; at 13 years old she ran away from home and an abusive father. Shortly after, she joined a circus as a singer and aerial performer, eventually leaving to perform in various minstrel shows. She earned the moniker "Diamond Teeth" after having diamonds set into her front teeth around 1940. Two decades later, McClain moved to Bradenton, Florida and transitioned to performing in church gospel choirs until the 1980s, when she returned to blues at the behest of Smithsonian Institution folklorist Steve Zeitlin. She performed for audiences at the Florida Folk Festival, the Smithsonian, and the White House, among others. She received a Florida Folk Heritage Award in 1986 and was posthumously inducted into the West Virginia Hall of Fame in 2011.
"Chief" Jim Billie (b. 1944) is a member of the Bird Clan and a former Chairman (Chief) of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, serving in that position from 1979 to 2001, and again from 2011 to 2016. He is also a Vietnam War veteran, alligator wrestler, and businessman, on top of a successful country and folk music career. He received a Florida Folk Heritage Award in 2019 for his contributions to the preservation of Seminole culture and history.
Betty Mae (Tiger) Jumper (1923-2011) was the first Chairwoman (Chief) of the Seminole Tribe, serving from 1967 to 1971; ran the Seminole Tribune newspaper; and spent 40 years as a nurse. In 1994, she received a Florida Folk Heritage Award and was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame.
Angela Maria Dias Crocitti, known professionally as Angela Patua, is an Afro-Brazilian musician and folksinger. She moved to the United States from Brazil in 1991, settling in Miami around 1995. Because of her background, Patua's singing includes Yoruba and Portuguese language, as well as some English and indigenous Brazilian dialects. She was named Miami's Best Latin Singer in Miami New Times newspaper's "Best of Miami" in 1999.
Ajamu Mutima (1952-2019) was born Malcolm Meeks in Neptune Beach, Florida. Before starting his music career, Mutima became one of the first Black members of the basketball team at the University of Florida. He was a poet, publishing his first work at 10 years old, and in 1980 founded the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre. Mutima used his artistic and musical talents as a musical therapist with UF Shands Arts and Medicine Program and served as a resident artist with Jacksonville's Art with a Heart in Healthcare program for 18 years.
Onabamiero Osunlade Ogunleye (1954-2017) was born Joshua Davis in Nashville, Georgia. He began his journey of discovery into Yoruba culture in college, traveling to Nigeria and living in a Yoruba neighborhood in South Carolina, before settling in Alachua County, Florida. Ogunleye established the Ifalola Compound as his residence in Archer, dedicating the space to art and cultural expression. He carved wooden figures of Yoruba religious figures and performed as a storyteller, including sharing two fables for a TedxUF presentation in 2011.
Liliane Nerette Louis was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and moved to New York in 1964 before settling in Miami, Florida in 1977. She is a Haitian folk storyteller, author, and specialist in traditional Haitian cooking and medicine, performing at cultural events and teaching courses at Miami-Dade College. She received a Florida Folk Heritage Award in 2006, and is a two-time winner of the Florida Individual Artist Fellowship in Folk Arts.
Summary:
This collection consists of video recordings documenting Seminole, Black, and Latina/Latino history and traditions and Florida Folk Festival performers. The videos include interviews, musical performances, speeches, and discussions regarding various cultural and musical traditions. Participants include, but are not limited to, Tommy Walton, Blind Willie James, Diamond Teeth Mary (McClain), "Chief" Jim Billie, Betty Mae Jumper, Angela Patua, Ajamu Mutima, Onabamiero Osunlade Ogunleye, and Lilian Nerette Louis.
Finding Aids:
Item listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Originals in possession of donor.
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General Note:
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Clements, Vassar Wise, Chubby
African American women. African Americans Folklore. Florida Arts Florida Bands (Music) Florida. Disabled persons. Folk music Florida Folklife. Folklore Florida Seminole Indians History
Video recordings. aat
Leon County (Fla.) Jefferson County (Fla.)
Florida Folk Festival
for detailed listing.