Where have all the Black square dancers gone?

We out here but not like we were.

My takeaways from the resources mentioned below are that Black folks (with some exceptions like the Mahogany Spin Tips) lost interest in square dancing due to segregated media and the exploitation of Black callers and musicians.

As square dance historian Phil Jamison details in his important book Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance and elsewhere, although Black musicians and callers taught whites and others the crafts of square dance calling, playing the fiddle and banjo, and the like, few opportunities existed for these artists to record, sell, or broadcast their own compositions because of racist laws and business practices. These insults left talented and enterprising professionals on the sidelines while others were able to profit and evangelize the art form in the mainstream. This legacy of exclusion makes re-engaging Black folks difficult to this day. We are optimistic, however, and pleased to play a part in repatriating our foundational community.

Please enjoy learning from these resources:

Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance by Phil Jamison

African Influences On American Square Dance interview with Phil Jamison

Written Out of History: Black Square Dance Traditions by Susan Eike Spalding

The Lost Tradition of Black String Bands on No Depression: The Journal of Roots Music

African American Old-Time String Band Music: A Selective Discography by Chris LH Durman