By Katy Clune
I met Father Michael Imperial at Saint Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Olney, Virginia. My university colleagues, their students, and I were there to complete oral history interviews related to food and agriculture. Father Mike, as he asked us to call him, helps lead the Eastern Shore Migrant Ministry.
Each year, about 1500 H2-A workers live temporarily in labor camps near Father Mike’s parish. We wanted to include these people’s experiences in our story of evolving food traditions on the Eastern Shore. Their labor is essential but often misunderstood, even invisible.
As we wrapped up, Father Mike expressed gratitude, saying, “I would like to thank you guys for coming to the Shore, for putting us on the map, for upholding the life story of the people here, for being cultural workers, for capturing the sentiments.” We were all deeply moved and I saw tears in more than one student’s eyes.
The Virginia Folklife Program of Virginia Humanities connects our state’s residents to the past through the voices and traditions of fellow Virginians. The latest episode of With Good Reason includes “Root Down to Move Forward,” an audio documentary produced from the three dozen interviews we recorded in 2023 and 2024 on the Eastern Shore.
Our ability to record and share conversations like these is now at risk.
I recently tried to describe to a Virginia Public Media reporter how budget cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced on April 2 will impact Virginians: “We stand to lose access to the multitude of voices past and present that make Virginia what it is today.” (Read full story.)
Massive reductions made by the Department of Government Efficiency to the NEH, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences, and the National Park Service mean painful cuts are already underway at your local museum, library, historic site or arts organization. All of these organizations, staffed by your neighbors, serve you and your community. They are the places you make family memories and learn about the people around you, past and present.
With Good Reason’s Lauren Frances interviews Thelonius Cook at his sustainable farm on the Eastern Shore. Photo by Pat Jarrett/Virginia Humanities. Graduate students Mason Keyser and Lincoln Lewis interview James “Ooker” Eskridge, mayor of Tangier, Virginia. Photo by Katy Clune/Virginia Humanities.
Virginia Humanities will survive losing NEH funds, which made up about 20% of our budget. But our organization, staff and programs will look different by necessity.
For example, Virginia Folklife will not receive an anticipated $50,000 in NEH funds to help make our archive of 36-years and counting of cultural documentation (interviews, photographs and performance recordings) fully catalogued and accessible online.
But traditions persist. So will we. We’ve served as sentinels for our state’s culture and history for nearly a century.
When I teach oral history workshops, I like to quote New York Times columnist David Brooks, who wrote in October 2023: “I’ve concluded that in these bitter and hard, and sometimes, cruel times, the right thing to do is to double down on being a defiant humanist. . . You should be listening so actively to people, you’re burning calories.”
On April 10, a week after losing federal support, Virginia Humanities celebrated its 50th anniversary by presenting the inaugural Commonwealth Humanities Awards. We commissioned longtime collaborator Clyde Jenkins of Stanley, VA, to weave exquisite baskets to present the honorees. The evening felt both heavier and more important.
Janine Bell, founder and director of the Elegba Folklore Society in Richmond received the Community Partner Commonwealth Humanities Award. Photo by Pat Jarrett/Virginia Humanities Virginia Humanities board chair Larissa Smith and executive director Matthew Gibson presented the award, a basket made by Clyde Jenkins. Photo by Pat Jarrett/Virginia Humanities Katy Clune with Janine Bell, parter in presenting “Textile Origin Stories” for the Virginia Folklife Area at the 2024 Richmond Folk Festival. Photo by Pat Jarrett/Virginia Humanities
Brooks delivered a lecture that night, where he repeated the need for us all to be better listeners. He spoke of the need for a national spiritual rebuilding, a civic repair, and that in this moment, our full attention is the most generous thing we have to give each other.
The work we do is deep listening. We approach all the people we interview with humble respect for their expertise. We do our best to share their insights and experiences with you in ways that broaden our understanding of this state we call home.
We also face fewer resources for the Folklife Apprenticeship Program, $5000 grants to teams dedicated to passing on cultural traditions. (We are still accepting applications through May 5.) We have awarded apprenticeships to nearly 350 people since 2002, 9 mentor artists went on to receive National Heritage Fellowships.
Virginia Humanities has been a cornerstone of my craft journey… Without their support, none of what I have accomplished over the past two years would have been possible.”
Erin Simons
Folklife Apprenticeships gives resources and a platform to people like Erin Simons of Wytheville, Virginia, to innovate traditions for the future. Erin is apprenticing with John Alexander in Appalachian broom making. Her small business, Laurel Ridge Studios, is doing well.
After the NEH cuts, Erin messaged me:
“Virginia Humanities has been a cornerstone of my craft journey. Through the Central Appalachian Living Tradition Bearers Fellowship and the broom making apprenticeship, I’ve not only been able to continue and share my craft with others but have grown in ways I never imagined. They provided funding that allows this wife and mother of four—and so many other craftspeople—the opportunity to carry on the rich cultural heritage of Central Appalachia. Without their support, none of what I have accomplished over the past two years would have been possible.”
As we finished interviewing Father Mike two years ago, he told us, “Thank you for your efforts in educating the people, raising the social awareness of the people, about the life of the people.”
And as we respond and adjust to our new reality, we also invite you to tell us the impact our work has had on your life and community.
Your words will help us advocate for the humanities for all Virginians.
