In the mid-1990s, a novel wedding tradition became popular among African Americans: ‘jumping the broom’. As the couple is pronounced legally wed, they turn to the crowd, clasp hands and jump over a broomstick placed on the floor. One couple explained the ritual’s attraction. ‘It’s traditional,’ they said, ‘and we need to bring it back to our culture. Every Black person should do it.’ For them, as for many, culture and tradition were intimately linked to group identity, and jumping the broom symbolised racial and ethnic unity among those descended from enslaved people in the United States. Indeed, couples who did not jump the broom prior to its widespread revival often expressed regret that they were unaware of the custom when planning their wedding.

One evening in the winter of 1970, an NBA rookie named Fred Carter showed up for a game, bounced around the Baltimore Bullets locker room, and then did something unexpected: He strolled up to Wes Unseld, the Bullets’ 6-foot-7 center, and extended his fist.

In the first decades of the 20th century, desegregation seemed like a distant dream. Bombings, lynchings, and other acts of brutal racist violence were all too common, and schools and other public spaces were largely segregated by race. Yet deep in the coal mines of West Virginia, an integrated militia of coal miners was forming, and they had little in common except for their enemy: oppressive coal barons. White hill folk, European immigrants, and African Americans were fed up with life-threatening working conditions, terrible wages, crushing debt, and corrupt mine operators. They were the original rednecks, and their interracial coalition was ahead of its time.

In this episode of The African American Folklorist, I speak with Dr. Tyler Parry, author of the book "Jumping The Broom - The Surprising Multicultural Origins of a Black Wedding Ritual."

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak recently issued a request that Nevadans stay home and read books. OK, he really just asked us all to stay home to combat the surging coronavirus. But we might as well make the best of it by reading some great new books. Here’s the latest batch of Nevada-related selection, ready to carry you through the lockdown. What else were you gonna do, make sourdough bread?

8 News Now is taking a look at the civil unrest in Las Vegas, from after the Rodney King verdict in 1992, to the 2020 protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

In Part 1, diverse experts and students discuss the history and root causes of racial disparities in education.

Race does play a role in health care.