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African American Folktales
African-American folktales are a storytelling tradition which started in Africa. They are a rich oral tradition which has grown and expanded as Africans were brought to the Americas as slaves.

Overview
In general, most African-American Folktales fall into one of seven categories: tales of origin, tales of trickery and trouble, tales of triumph over natural or supernatural evils, comical heart warming tales, tales teaching life lessons, tales of ghosts and spirits, and tales of slaves and their slave-owners. Many revolve around animals that have human characteristics with the same morals and short comings that human do making the moral of the stories relatable. Many new tales were born our of the experiences of Africans in the Americas, but many of the tales have endured. Although many of the original stories have changed being added to and evolving, since African Americans were brought to the Americas as slaves, their meaning and moral life lessons have remained the same.

Examples

 * Gullah storytelling
 * Br'er Rabbit
 * Signifying monkey
 * The Midnight Goat Thief
 * Woe and Happiness
 * The Value of a Person
 * The Baby Mouse and the Baby Snake
 * Afiong the Proud Princess
 * No King as God
 * The Calabash Kids - from Tanzania
 * The Cheetah and the Lazy Hunter - from the Zulu
 * The King's Daughters - from Nigeria
 * The Tortoise and the Hare - from Nigeria
 * The Tortoise, the Dog and the Farmer - from Nigeria
 * A Story, A Story - by Gale E. Hayley
 * Anansi the Spider - by Gerald McDermott
 * Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters - by John Steptoe
 * Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears - Verna Aardema
 * Why the Sky is Far Away - by Mary-Joan Gerson
 * Sukey and the Mermaid - by Robert D. San Souci
 * Finding the Green Stone - by Alice Walker
 * The Talking Eggs - by Robert D. San Souci
 * Mirandy and Brother Wind
 * Big Liz
 * Boo Hag
 * Br'er Bear's House
 * Hold Him, Tabb
 * I Know Moon Rise
 * I'm Coming Down Now
 * John Henry the Steel Driving Man
 * Never Mind Them Watermelons
 * The Black Cat's Message
 * The Shrouded Horseman
 * Wait Until Emmet Comes
 * Why Dogs Chase Cats
 * Why Lizards Don't Sit