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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 1.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1980 items) |
| Abstract | The collection of Barbara Lau (1958- ), a white folklorist and program coordinator based in North Carolina, contains materials, 1979-1984, related to Lau's folklife projects on African American shape-note singing in the Midwest, as well as materials, 1993-2008, connected to her fieldwork with Cambodian American communities in North Carolina. Documentation of Lau's work with African American shape-note singing groups in the early 1980s includes her senior thesis, "Black Shape-Note Singing: A Beginning," along with surveys on which she based her writing. Also included are photographs, audio recordings, and slides from the 1983 Shape-Note Singing Reunion in Saint Louis, Mo., and the Ohio-Indiana-Michigan Vocal Singing Convention, 1983-1984. Materials documenting Cambodian American communities of North Carolina include color slides and prints by Lau and photographer Cedric Chatterley of the 1995 Cambodian New Year celebration, photographs of New Year celebrations in Lexington, N.C., and Charlotte, N.C., and videotapes by Jim White and photographs by Lau of a 1995 Cambodian wedding in Greensboro, N.C. Lau also interviewed two Cambodian dancers, Chea Khan and Chaa Moly Sam, while they were in residence at the Greensboro Buddhist Center and photographed their classes. The majority of photographs and interviews have extensive logs with commentary and field note summaries by Lau. Additions to the collection include interviews and supporting documentation created by Lau in preparation for a 2003 exhibit at the Greensboro Historical Museum entitled From Cambodia to Greensboro: Tracing the Journeys of New North Carolinians; a children's book with text, 2004, by Barbara Lau and photographs by Cedric Chatterley entitled Sokita Celebrates the New Year; and additional audio and video recordings, photographs, and research materials, 1996-2006, related to Barbara Lau's fieldwork documenting Cambodian American communities of Greensboro, N.C. and Charlotte, N.C. |
| Creator | Lau, Barbara (Barbara A.) |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. |
| Language | English ; Khmer |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Amy Davis, May 2000
Encoded by: Amy Davis, May 2000
Updated by: Anne Wells and Alia Kempton, August 2021; Dawne Howard Lucas, January 2022
Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Related Collections
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Biographical Information
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1958, Barbara Lau grew up in Ohio and attended Washington University in Saint Louis, Mo., 1976-1980, graduating with a degree in urban studies and sociology. While in Saint Louis, Lau became interested in African American shape-note singing groups in the region and surveyed several singing groups for her undergraduate senior thesis. While on staff at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in Saint Louis, Mo., Lau continued working with these groups and presented them at a Shape-Note Singing Reunion in February 1983. She also documented the larger regional Ohio-Indiana-Michigan Vocal Singing Convention from 1983 to 1984. Lau worked as a backstage manager at the Fox Theatre in Saint Louis, Mo., and coordinated program areas for the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife in Washington, D.C., 1986-1991. She attended the masters program in folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1991-1993, and was program coordinator for the Southern Arts Federation in Atlanta, Ga., from 1993 to 1995.
While at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lau became acquainted with the Cambodian community in Greensboro, N.C., and began fieldwork with them for her masters thesis. Working with the Greensboro Buddhist Center, she received a grant and several contracts through the North Carolina Arts Council to document folklife traditions of this new immigrant community in 1995. Lau continued work as a freelance folklorist and consultant through the late 1990s. In 1999, she became the community-based documentary programs coordinator at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.
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Scope and Content
Materials include audiovisual materials, photographs, slides, logs, and manuscripts from two of Barbara Lau's folklife projects. Documentation of Lau's work with African American shape-note singing groups in the early 1980s includes her senior thesis, "Black Shape-Note Singing: A Beginning," along with surveys on which she based her writing. Also included are photographs, audio recordings, and slides from the 1983 Shape-Note Singing Reunion in Saint Louis, Mo., and the Ohio-Indiana-Michigan Vocal Singing Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. in 1983 and Detroit, Mich. in 1984.
Materials documenting the Cambodian American communities in North Carolina, include nearly 1,200 color slides and prints by Lau and photographer Cedric Chatterley of the 1995 Cambodian New Year celebration in Greensboro, N.C. There are also photographs of New Year celebrations in Lexington, N.C. and Charlotte, N.C. The 1995 Cambodian wedding of Yi Kong and Sengdoeun Chhum was videotaped by Jim White, with photographs by Lau. Lau also interviewed two Cambodian dancers, Chea Khan and Chaa Moly Sam, while they were in residence at the Greensboro Buddhist Center and photographed their classes. The majority of photographs and interviews have extensive logs with commentary and field note summaries by Lau.
The Addition of March 2006 includes audio recordings, 2002-2004, documenting interviews Lau performed in preparation for a 2003 exhibit at the Greensboro Historical Museum entitled From Cambodia to Greensboro: Tracing the Journeys of New North Carolinians, transcriptions of those tapes in digital file and paper formats, and a copy of the catalog issued in conjunction with the exhibit. Interview recordings are on digital audio tape (DAT).
The Addition of February 2008 contains a children's book with text, 1994, by Barbara Lau and photographs by Cedric Chatterley entitled Sokita Celebrates the New Year.
The Addition of June 2021 contains additional materials, 1996-2006, related to Barbara Lau's fieldwork documenting Cambodian American communities of Greensboro, N.C. and Charlotte, N.C. Materials consist of audio and video recordings of interviews, community celebrations, and wedding music; audiocassette releases of Cambodian music by the Sam-Ang Sam Ensemble, founded by Cambodian American ethnomusicologist, Sang-Ang Sam; photographic materials of community celebrations, including slides, snapshot prints, negatives, and contact sheets; born digital materials of interviews, videos, and images connected to Lau's fieldwork; and Lau's research files that are comprised mostly of research books and printed publications.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. African American Shape-Note Singing, 1979-1984.
Arrangement: chronological.
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Subseries 1.1. Research for Senior Thesis, 1980-1981.
Arrangement: chronological.
Research for Lau's senior thesis while she was an undergraduate at Washington University. Fieldwork involved a survey with African American shape-note singing groups, including the Saint Louis Vocal Union, and singers from Mississippi, Ohio, and Indiana.
| Folder 1 |
Senior thesis: "Black Shape-Note Singing: A Beginning." |
| Folder 2 |
Survey completed forms. |
| Folder 3 |
Survey results summary. |
| Folder 4 |
Thesis support materials. |
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Subseries 1.2. Published research, 1982.
Includes a paper that Lau presented at 1982 UCLA conference "Aesthetic Expressions in the City," and published article in "Mid-America Folklore," Fall-Winter 1982.
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Subseries 1.3. Shape-Note Singing Reunion, February 1983.
Lau organized this shape-note singing reunion at the Old Courthouse in Saint Louis when she worked for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The event was part of a Black Heritage Month celebration.
| SFC Audio Cassette FS-20055/1218 |
Shape Note Reunion, 13 February 1983Audiocassette Cassette edited from original reel-to-reel recording, which is at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Gateway Arch) in Saint Louis. |
| SFC Audio Cassette FS-20055/1219 |
Missouri Tradition, interview with Cleophus Worthy, KMU, St. Louis, Mo., 17 August 1979Audiocassette CRadio Show aired 17 August 1979 by KWMU, Saint Louis, an NPR affiliate. From field tapes in the Western Historical Missouri Collection at University of Missouri-Columbia. |
| Folder 6 |
Flier, program, 1983. |
| Folder 7 |
Photographs, 1983. |
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Subseries 1.4. Ohio-Indiana-Michigan Vocal Singing Convention, 1983-1984.
Arrangement: chronological.
Documentation by Lau of two singing regional African American shape-note singing conventions held in Indianapolis in 1983 and Detroit in 1984.
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Series 2. Cambodian American Folklife in North Carolina, 1993-2008.
Arrangement: chronological.
Materials from Barbara Lau's fieldwork documenting Cambodian American communities of Greensboro, N.C. and Charlotte, N.C.
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Subseries 2.1. Cambodian temple music, 1993.
Open reel tape recordings of traditional Cambodian temple music recorded by Barbara Lau at the Greensboro Buddhist Center, Greensboro, N.C., 22 August 1993.
| SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20055/6058 |
Cambodian temple music by Sam Ang Sam, Paul Sum, and Savath So, Greensboro Buddhist Center, Greensboro, N.C., 22 August 1993: tape 1 of 21/4" Open Reel Audio Recorded by Lau |
| SFC Audio Open Reel FT-20055/6059 |
Cambodian temple music by Sam Ang Sam, Paul Sum, and Savath So, Greensboro Buddhist Center, Greensboro, N.C., 22 August 1993: tape 2 of 21/4" Open Reel Audio Recorded by Lau |
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Subseries 2.2. Cambodian New Year Celebration, 1995
Arrangement: chronological.
Photographs, slides, and interview transcriptions from a grant that Lau received from the Folklife Section of the North Carolina Arts Council in 1995 to document the Cambodian New Year celebration in Greensboro, N.C.
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Subseries 2.2.1. Interviews, 1995.
Transcripts of four audio interviews about the preparation and celebration of the Cambodian New Year celebration.
| Folder 11 |
Raleigh Bailey interview, 21 March 1995; Phramaha Samsak Sambimb interviews (three total), 24 March 1995, 13 April 1995, 3 May 1995. |
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Subseries 2.2.2. Photographs, 1995.
Photo documentation, mostly of the Cambodian New Year celebration at Greensboro Buddhist Center, 27 March 1995-14 May 1995. There are also photos also of the New Year celebration at the Cambodian Cultural Center, Lexington, N.C., and the Charlotte Buddhist Center, Charlotte, N.C.
| Photograph Album PA-20055/1 |
Color prints by Barbara Lau, with negatives and ten photo logs, in black binder. |
| Photograph Album PA-20055/2 |
Color slides by Cedric Chatterley and Barbara Lau, with sixteen photo logs, in black binder. |
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Subseries 2.3. Cambodian Wedding, 1995
Arrangement: chronological.
Photographs and videos of a traditional Cambodian wedding in Greensboro, N.C., uniting Yi Kong and Sengdoeun Chhum, in July 1995. Lau and videographer Jim White documented this wedding for the Folklife Section of the North Carolina Arts Council.
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Subseries 2.4. Dance Residency, 1995.
Arrangement: by format.
Documentation of traditional Cambodian dancers-in-residence for a week at the Greensboro Buddhist Center, July 1995.
| SFC Audio Cassette FS-20055/4798 |
Interviews by Barbara Lau with Cambodian dancers Chea Khan and Chaa Moly Sam, Greensboro, N.C., 29 June 1995: tape 1 of 2Audiocassette |
| SFC Audio Cassette FS-20055/4799 |
Interviews by Barbara Lau with Cambodian dancers Chea Khan and Chaa Moly Sam, Greensboro, N.C., 29 June 1995: tape 2 of 2Audiocassette |
| Folder 18 |
Summary field notes. |
| Folder 19 |
Photos, negatives, logs, Rolls DR1-DR5. |
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Subseries 2.5A From Cambodia to Greensboro interviews, 2002-2004 (Addition of March 2006)
Acquisitions Information: Accession 100346
Arrangement: chronological.
In 2003, to mark the 20th anniversary of the first Cambodian settlement in Guilford County, N.C., the Greensboro Historical Museum, in cooperation with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and the Greensboro Buddhist Center, mounted an exhibit entititled From Cambodia to Greensboro: Tracing the Journeys of New North Carolinians. Much of the material in the exhibit came from a ten-year collaborative effort by Barbara Lau, then director of the Center for Documentary Studies, and photographer Cedric Chatterley to document the experience of Cambodian immigrants in North Carolina. The Cambodian community of Greensboro, N.C., took an active role in shaping the exhibit, which explored the "culture, religion, technology, generational strife, and personal trauma" of Cambodian Americans living in Guilford County, N.C. This subseries comprises digital audio tapes that document interviews Lau did in preparation for the exhibit, transcriptions of those tapes in digital file and paper formats, and a copy of the catalog issued in conjunction with the exhibit.
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Subseries 2.6A Sokita Celebrates the New Year (Addition of February 2008)
Acquisitions Information: Accession 100867
Children's book incorporating text by Barbara Lau and photographs by Cedric Chatterley and published in 2004 by the Greensboro Historical Museum in connection with the exhibit "From Cambodia to Greensboro." The book illustrates festivities held at the Greensboro Buddhist Center in celebration of Chol Chhnam, Cambodian New Year, from the point of view of Sokita Ksa, a young member of the Greensboro, N.C., Cambodian community.
| Folder 33 |
Sokita Celebrates the New Year. |
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Subseries 2.7A Interviews, music, photographs, and research materials, 1996-2006 (Addition of
June 2021)
Acquisitions Information: Accession 20210604.2
Arrangement: By format.
Additional materials, 1996-2006, related to Barbara Lau's fieldwork documenting the Cambodian American communities of Greensboro, N.C. and Charlotte, N.C. Materials consist of audio and video recordings of interviews, community celebrations, and wedding music; audiocassette releases of Cambodian music by the Sam-Ang Sam Ensemble, founded by Cambodian American ethnomusicologist, Sang-Ang Sam; photographic materials of community celebrations, including slides, snapshot prints, negatives, and contact sheets; born digital materials of interviews, videos, and images connected to Lau's fieldwork; and Lau's research files that are comprised mostly of research books and printed publications.
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Items Separated
Audiocassettes (FS-20055/1218-1228, FS-20055/4798-4799, FS-20055/18190-18196)
Audiotapes (FT-20055/6058-6059)
Digital Audiotapes (DAT-20055/532-552)
Digital Folders (DF-20055/1-16)
MiniDiscs (MD-20055/1-3)
Field notes to sound recordings (Folder 157, Folder 355, Folder 909), Southern Folklife Collection Field Notes #30025
Videotapes (VT-20055/1-/10)
Photographs (P-20055/3600, PA-20055/1-2)
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