In celebration of Labor Day 2023, the American Folklife Center wanted to honor the work of women in both the past and the present. What better way to do that than through song? We combed through our Homegrown Concert videos, our Archive Challenge videos, and other performances sponsored by the Center over the years for appropriate songs. The result is this compilation of performances by Thea Hopkins, Ialoni, Martha Gonzales, Piper Hayes, Windborne, and Rachel Sumner and Traveling Light. It features the voices of women, with the support of their male colleagues.

These songs explore different dimensions of women’s work. The first two are from the point of view of traditional roles women have played in community, from child rearing in the home to leading healing in a community after a tragedy that has affected everyone. These activities constitute work, but often aren't recognized as such. Other songs consider such labor issues as poverty, poor working conditions, and fair pay.

Online Homegrown Concerts premiere with enhanced contextual information and links on the Folklife Today Blog.

The videos alone premiere on both the Library’s YouTube channel and website. They remain available for viewing in all three locations.
Here are the links:

https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/

https://www.youtube.com/loc
https://loc.gov/collections/event-videos/