Step Afrika! Drumfolk

Inspired by the freedom movement known as the Stono Rebellion of 1739, Step Afrika!’s Drumfolk explores this little-known event in history that would forever transform African American life and culture. The largest slave insurrection in British North America, the Stono Rebellion resulted in the passing of the South Carolina Negro Act of 1740. The Negro Act prohibited enslaved Africans from growing their own food, earning money, and learning to read. It also prevented them from gathering and using drums, horns, or other loud instruments. The provisions of the Negro Act, including the ban on drums, quickly spread across the United States.  When Africans lost the right to use their drums, the beats found their way into the body of the people, the Drumfolk. New percussive forms took root leading to the development of some of our country’s most distinct performance traditions like ring shout, tap, and stepping.

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