In recent weeks, a plan has been announced to spray 300 tonnes of dry ice in Bangkok to combat a problem the city is having with dust particles. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration […]

from The National Pulse: The European Union (EU) has demanded that tech billionaire Elon Musk reveal the secrets of social media platform X’s algorithm amid an investigation into the company. European regulators announced on Friday—following Musk’s endorsement of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party—that they are intensifying an investigation into X over potential violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The […]

  Alan Lomax stands as the greatest collector of American folk and blues songs of all time. For around 70 years he worked tirelessly to gather oral history and preserve songs that might never have been recorded. Together with his father John, he is credited with contributing thousands of songs to the Library Of Congress Archive of American Folksong.   Lomax is revered as a pioneering folklorist and ethnomusicologist for his documentation of the birth of the blues and the “discovery” of the likes of Lead Belly, Muddy Waters, and Mississippi Fred Mcdowell. Yet he has also been criticized as a morally questionable character, who romanticized Black culture and manipulated copyright ownership of the material he collected, for personal gain.   Discovering Lead Belly  Lead Belly, self-styled “king of the 12-string guitar players of the world,” pictured sometime between 1938 and 1948. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Alan Lomax was born in Austin Texas in 1915, he spent a year at Harvard before joining the University of Texas, where he graduated with a philosophy degree. Aged 18, he took to the road with his father, John A. Lomax, to collect American folk music for the first time. Their trip took place during the Great Depression, a period when the foundations of American identity were in turmoil.   In 1933, armed with a 500-pound portable recording machine, they set out to discover isolated communities and retrieve their traditions of song for the Library of Congress Archive of American Folksong. One of the first people they came across was Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter.   Lead Belly was “discovered” by Alan and his father at Angola State Prison, Louisiana, where he was serving time for murder. His vast repertoire of songs and his mastery of the 12-string guitar astonished the Lomaxes, who saw him as a living time capsule of old-time music. Lead Belly was released early in 1934 on good behavior (though the Lomaxes claimed he sang for his freedom).   Alan Lomax. Source: Wilkes Heritage Museum   Following Lead Belly’s release, John Lomax hired him as a personal servant and driver, managing his career at the same time. Despite a spate of publicity, performances, and recordings their relationship quickly soured. Lead Belly claimed that he was financially exploited and treated with the condescension typical of the Jim Crow South.   Alan, who had a different take on race relations, continued to work with Lead Belly. He helped him land a recording contract with RCA-Victor and conducted interviews with him for the Library of Congress. Unlike his father, Alan claimed to see folk music as a potential catalyst for democratic ideals that could promote equality for all. The promotion of Lead Belly and his music marked the beginning of a mission to record the culture of working people that transcended the color line of segregation.   Song Hunter in the South African American convicts working with axes and singing in a woodyard camp, Reed Camp, South Carolina, photograph by Alan Lomax, 1934. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Alan Lomax’s mission to record America’s folk musicians, especially in the South, aimed at the preservation of what he saw as the rapidly vanishing music heritage of rural America. The Land Where The Blues Began (1995), offers nostalgic reflections on his field trips in the South and the challenges he faced as a white collector of Black songs.   His field recordings introduced iconic bluesmen such as Son House, Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters, and Mississippi Fred McDowell to the world. Through his work at the Library of Congress (1937-1942), he became an early pioneer of oral history following his interviews with Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, and Jelly Roll Morton.   The vast archive of music he amassed remains a cornerstone of American cultural identity, yet aspects of this legacy remain controversial. His critics have described him as arrogant and self-serving, on the basis that he listed himself as a co-composer on his recordings to gain royalties. The charge is that he often placed his own interests over the interests of the musicians he recorded.   Furthermore, his methods and attitudes have sparked significant debate. He is said to have traveled around the South disguised in Blackface and once boasted that his father “was a f*king genius at getting blacks to sing” —  before excitedly describing the dangers of recording in the Jim Crow South.   His contradictions aside, as a song hunter in the American South, Lomax’s pursuit of authentic folk culture led to the recording of multiple legendary artists and the promotion and preservation of some of America’s best-loved musical traditions.   His belief that folk songs were to be found in “dammed up” self-contained communities—remote plantations, cowboy ranches, and southern segregated prisons—cut off from popular culture, shaped this legacy.   Comrade of the World  Alan Lomax listening to playback with Raphael Hurtault. La Plaine, Dominica, 1962. Source: Library of Congress   After being listed on the infamous anti-communist FBI blacklist, Red Channels, on September 24, 1950, amid the intensifying Red Scare, Alan Lomax boarded the SS Mauretania and headed for England. He wrote in his diary that he was setting off to become “a comrade of the world.”   Using London as his base, Lomax conducted extensive field recordings across the British Isles, Italy, and Spain between 1950 and 1958. In Britain, he worked alongside Peter Kennedy of the BBC Folk Music and Dialect Recording Scheme. Together, they recorded traditional singers such as Harry Cox of Gt. Yarmouth, folk revival singers like Ewan MacColl and A.L Lloyd, Welsh miners in Treorchy, and the ballad singers of The Ship Inn pub, Blaxhall, Suffolk.   In 1952, he wrote that “the vigor and charm of these living English folk songs may surprise most listeners, perhaps most of all the British.” He recorded ballads, Gaelic songs, and contemporary folk music all over Scotland. Between 1951 and 1953, supported by the Irish Folklore Commission and the BBC, he recorded a wide range of Irish traditional singers, storytellers, and fiddle players in both English and Irish.   In Spain, from 1952 to 1953, Lomax captured folk music hailing from all over the country, from Asturias in the north and Andalucia in the south to the islands of Ibiza and Mallorca. For the first time, he took over 700 photographs to document his observations. Similarly, during a six-month field trip across Italy, accompanied by Italian ethnomusicologist Diego Carpitella, he took over 1,300 photographs of local life to accompany their recordings.   In 1958, Lomax returned to the United States. Throughout his life he continued to travel extensively, making pioneering recordings in the Caribbean (Cuba, Dominica, and Puerto Rico), as well as France, Romania, and Morocco.   Lomax’s Theory of Folk  Stavin’ Chain and Wayne Perry performing Lafayette, Louisiana, photograph by Alan Lomax, 1934-1950. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Lomax’s approach to folk cultures mirrored the view of culture popularized by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803), and imported into the study of folk song by James Francis Child (1825-1896), an American folklorist and scholar. The crux of Child’s work was the belief that folk ballads originated from a period untainted by modern class relations and captured the “true” essence of the people.   Lomax, like Child before him, took Herder’s distinction between the learned culture (“Kultur der Gelehrten”) of civilization and the people’s culture (“Kultur des Volkes”) of isolated peasant communities to be highly instructive. Folk music was the music of the common people, untouched by the corrupting influences of commercial society.   He was critical of the alienating dimensions of modern society — cultural imperialism and unchecked capitalism. Against the “standardization” of everyday life, he saw the resilience of folk cultures as a wellspring of resistance. Consequently, in American Ballads and Folksongs (1934), he stated the purpose of his work: “[to] find the Negro who had the least contact with jazz, the radio, and with the white man.” The result was that songs were collected on remote plantations, in lumber yards, and in segregated prisons, while Black churches, colleges, and schools were ignored.   Page from The Folk Songs of North America, by Alan Lomax, 1960. Source: Get Archive   Lomax’s drive to preserve what he saw as the “authentic” aspects of Black folk music was in many ways progressive. He spoke passionately about protecting and celebrating folk cultures’ unique, grounded characteristics. He believed that the Black folk music of the South offered a “pure” alternative to the decadence and disaffection of mass culture.   Above all, he believed folk music was a vibrant grassroots force that could become a collective “voice of the people.” Yet, in his quest for authenticity, he failed to see Black southern culture as a dynamic phenomenon — akin to his own. Instead, he viewed the struggle “against the centralized control of culture as an issue of center vs. periphery” (Baron, 2012).   The Legacy of Alan Lomax  Alan Lomax playing guitar on stage at the Mountain Music Festival, Asheville, North Carolina, early 1940s. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Legendary folk artists, from Pete Seeger to Bob Dylan have argued that Alan Lomax deserves the lion’s share of credit for the folk song revivals of the 1950s and 1960s.   His work inspired artists from Lonnie Donovan and The Beatles, to Nick Drake. Alan Lomax helped shape the way that the Western world understands and relates to its musical heritage.   In addition to his seminal work in the United States, Lomax spent seven years living in London and using it as a base to hunt for songs in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the Balkans. His recordings captured a wide range of musical styles, and through his popular programs on radio and television, he brought folk music and culture to a bigger audience than ever before.   Yet, according to his critics, he too often viewed folk culture as a static object to be preserved and he romanticized the isolation and struggle of the communities he documented. His was an essentialist understanding of “folk” culture, marked by an emphasis on difference, and blindness to the dynamics between local culture and wider society.   Bob Dylan performing in Rotterdam, photo by Chris Hakkens, June 23, 1978. Source: Flickr   Curiously, despite his fame as a song hunter, archivist, broadcaster, and writer, the major preoccupation of Alan Lomax’s later life was his controversial “Cantometrics” project. Drawing on the Italian word for song “canto” and “metrics,” indicating measurement, Cantometrics represented his attempt to quantify and analyze the characteristics of world music.   His belief that different singing styles and song metrics could be codified, statistically analyzed, and then correlated with broader patterns of human behavior and social organization was met with mixed reactions. At best Cantometrics has been described as limited, and at worst dangerously ethnocentric and flat-out pseudo-scientific.   All together, Alan Lomax was a man of great contradictions. Yet his influence on popular music was colossal. Though his methods and motivations remain subjects of fierce debate, his belief that the essence of national culture lies in the localized cultures of everyday people remains an inspiring vision of collective national heritage and identity in turbulent times.

  The 1861-1865 American Civil War quickly showed both sides the costs of war. Each year proved a drain as the human toll became apparent. Thus the creation of the 54th Regiment. By 1863, the Union realized it had a manpower pool of free African Americans and ex-slaves. But would these men fight for the Union cause?   Why Were Black Regiments Needed? A mural of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment during the Civil War, via the National Park Service   War sadly needs one essential resource: manpower. By 1863, the Civil War was two years old, with costly Union losses. With conscription not a thing for several months, the pool of white volunteers had dropped quickly. Letting African Americans enlist would help alleviate the problems. Many blacks wanted to fight despite whites doubting their ability or political fears.    Two moves by the U.S. government kickstarted the process. First, on July 17, 1862, the Militia and Confiscation Act allowed African Americans to work for the federal government. Next came the Emancipation Proclamation. This Presidential January 1, 1863, executive order let African Americans enlist in the Union Army. This paved the way for the creation of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment on March 13, 1863.   Who Pushed for or Against African Americans Serving? Colonel Robert Shaw Source: Boston Atheneum   Voices hollered for and against African Americans serving. Prominent abolitionists like Frederick Douglas pressured Lincoln for blacks to serve and get equal treatment. He met multiple times with Lincoln. Many politicians, like New York Mayor Fernando Wood, believed black troops disrupted the social order and would create future problems. People feared border states would flee the Union for the Confederacy. Fortunately, this did not happen; African Americans would prove their bravery to the Union cause.    Who Commanded the 54th Massachusetts Regiment? 1863 Attack on Fort Wagner Source: New York Public Library   The 54th formed outside Boston in February 1863. The Massachusetts governor appointed Harvard-educated native son Robert Gould Shaw as its commander in May. Already a combat veteran, Shaw had been wounded at the Battle of Antietam.   Though initially reluctant, the 25-year-old Shaw’s mother convinced him. Shaw’s family were Abolitionists, believing slavery immoral. To her, the regiment was important, and Shaw’s commanding would prove it. To his fellow Abolitionists, Shaw was the best choice.    Where Did the 54th Massachusetts Regiment Fight? The Gallant Charge of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts by Currier Ives Lithography Company. Source: The Mitchell Collection of African American History   The Regiment’s first fight happened at the Battle of Grimball’s Landing on July 16, 1863. This diversionary attack occurred to lure Confederate forces away from Charleston, South Carolina, the real objective. The lure worked as the Confederates attacked ferociously. The 54th helped repel the attack, which improved their reputation with white Union soldiers.    The 54th Regiment faced their finest but horrendous hour two days later- the Battle of Fort Wagner. This strong point controlled the strategic port of Charleston’s southern approaches. Capturing the fort would help to block the port, a crucial Southern city. At 7:45 PM, the 54th Regiment led the attack after a heavy bombardment.   The Regiment attacked via a narrow strip right under Fort Wagner’s walls, facing withering fire. All scaling attempts got thrown back. The 54th tried bayonets fighting hand to hand but suffered too many losses. They eventually withdrew and were replaced by other units. Sadly, Colonel Robert Shaw perished in the fighting.    How Did Sergeant William Harvey Carney Win the Medal of Honor? Sergeant William Harvey Carney. Source: US Army   The fight for Fort Wagner went badly for the 54th Regiment but not for Master Sergeant William Harvey Carney won the Medal of Honor. Born into slavery in 1840, he escaped to Massachusetts. He enlisted in March 1863, joining the 54th. His Medal of Honor came during the battle when the flag bear carrying the American flag was killed. Carney snatched up Old Glory and marched forward. Despite hits to the chest, arm, and leg, Carney planted the flag at the base of Fort Wagner. Congress honored Carney’s heroic effort in 1900 with their highest award.   Where Else Did the 54th Regiment Fight? Colonel Shaw’s Lost and Found Saber Source: Massachusetts Historical Society   The Battle for Fort Wagner wasn’t the only battle for the 54th. The Regiment continued to be deployed. With an established reputation, these experienced African American soldiers fought in the battles of Olustee in Florida, the Battle of Honey Mill, and the Battle of Boykin’s Mill.   Why Is the 54th Massachusetts Regiment Remembered? Memorial to the 54th Massachussetts Infantry Regiment on the Boston Common. Source: Tufts University   These African American soldiers helped break many racial biases. They displayed their bravery and competence to their white comrades, something that always had been doubted. The 1863 Battle of Fort Wagner became the turning point for that doubt, though the 54th lacked a win. Black soldiers got mowed down like the rest, yet they kept fighting.   An overlooked part of the 54th‘s history is African American enlistment. The 54th‘s actions caused 180,000 African Americans to enlist. This huge surge in manpower helped the Union even as conscription began. 

  There has been a gross misconception since the Enlightenment, that the 8th to the 15th centuries saw no development—there was a “Middle Age” if you will. This teleology is ill-founded. Like us, they went through technological advancements, so much so that—like us—the peoples of the Middle Ages had to deal with air and water pollution, and deforestation. In fact, many people who think about climate issues limit their thinking to the late 20th and early 21st centuries.   Pollution in the Medieval World The Saint Elizabeth’s Day Flood, by the Master of the Saint Elizabeth Panels, c. 1490-5. Source: the Rijksmuseum   While the issues of today’s climate are severe and require attention, it is important to understand that today’s societies are not the first to ponder climate change; in fact, people in the High Medieval Era (1100-1400 CE) dealt with similar issues.   To run farms, trees were cut down and turned into firewood, ships, and watermills. Clean drinking water was used to remove feces from the streets, and coal, charcoal, and wood were burned in cities, forcing people to breathe in hazardous material.   It is important to take a look at the problems of the Medieval Era using primary sources, as well as secondary sources where needed, and to discuss what these stories from history can tell us about current predicaments in modern society.   The Medieval Warm Period: 800 CE to 1300 CE Monthly Calendar of Tasks, by Master of the Geneva Boccaccio, 1470-5. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In order to better understand the environmental difficulties of this period, one must look at the advancements that led to these problems. To do that, we must investigate what is called the Medieval Warm Period by historians.   This period began around 800 CE and ended around 1300 CE. During it, Europe and Northern Africa saw a drastic increase in crop output, better living standards due to the increase in temperature, and small-scale colonization by the Scandinavians and later Normans. The importance of this period need not be understated, this climactic period allowed for a drastic increase in population, and during this time, cities would grow, and new settlements would be marked on the map. Cities such as Paris, London, Edinburgh, Antioch, and many more would flourish during this period.   Some have tried comparing the Medieval Warm Period to today’s climate change. In 1995, Climatologist Hubert Lamb published Climate, History, and the Modern World, claiming that the Warm Period of today is just another Warm Period in history—he was, of course, mistaken. The differences between the Medieval Warm Period and today’s climate crisis are numerous, but the reactions were similar. During this period people felt that the world would end, despite the increase in living standards, and the people of Europe and Northern Africa harvested the Earth’s resources to the point of near collapse.   Deforestation Men cutting wood from The Book of Hours, Belgium, Bruges, 1525-1530. Source: The Morgan Library   The removal of forests, or wildwood as it was called, began most notably during the Roman Empire. The Romans used wood for a variety of reasons including for buildings, siege engines, farming, and heating. While the actual number of acres cleared remains unknown, these permanent forest clearings are still seen to this day. This is an important event to consider because it means that even during the early Middle Ages, forests were already beginning to disappear.   It is likely that during the Early Medieval Period, forests were seen as an intersection between wildlife and civilization, with small towns situated between two sections of forest so that wildlife could continue to flourish. Evidence for this comes from the reign of King William I of England (r. 1066-87 CE) and his Domesday Book. In most western and northern towns in England, the book mentions great distances between them, filled with forests.   Page from the Domesday Book, 11th Century. Source: Domesdaymap.co.uk   The Domesday Book was made to catalog all of England, in order to improve towns, cities, and the economy. One could hypothesize that—like today—the removal of forests would have been beneficial to the overall economy and to the expansion of towns, so it comes as no surprise that this is what led to deforestation in kingdoms like England, France, and the kingdoms inside the Holy Roman Empire.   Forest removal in England began as early as the 8th century, with most of the work being done by private landowners and the king. Evidence for this comes from books like the aforementioned Domesday Book, but also other books called the Asserts which detail the amount of money paid for acres of forests removed for farms.   By the early 14th century, it is estimated that at least 70% of forests in France, England, and eastern Germany had been removed for farm expansion, waterwheel technology, or the expansion of cities (Aberth, 2013). This not only created an imbalance in local ecosystems but also likely led to air pollution through the use of coal.   Air Pollution and “Sea Coal” Medieval London, from a manuscript of poems by Charles, Duke of Orléans, 15th century. Source: The British Library   While not widely used, there is evidence that suggests coal had been used in large parts of Western Europe as early as the 13th century. The use of what was at the time called “Sea Coal” in London, was likely due to the diminishing tree count. As a result, England turned to a different energy source to provide heat.   The term Sea Coal comes from the fact that coal in England mainly came from Mainland Europe (likely France and the Kingdom of Poland). Coal at this time seems to have been the major heat source for cities in England because by 1285 the public was protesting and asking the king to stop using coal.   A letter to the king’s court reads: “Commission to Roger de Northwode, John de Cobbeham and Henry le Galeys to enquire touching certain litne-kilns (rogis calcis) constructed in the city and suburb of London and at Suthwerk, of which it is complained that whereas formerly the lime used to be burnt with wood, it is now burnt with sea-coal, whereby the air is infected and corrupted to the peril of those frequenting and dwelling in those parts.”   The Dance of Death, from the Nuremberg Chronicle, by Hartmann Schedel, 1440-1514. Source: The University of Virginia   England has the most detailed ledgers when it comes to coal, however, it is likely that cities in mainland Europe had a similar crisis around this time. Evidence for this idea comes from coal mining settlements found throughout Central Europe, where archeologists have found old coal mines in remote areas.   What likely happened was that mining towns were settled and then deserted when the Black Death began. As Dr. John Aberth points out, the Black Death allowed for the forests to rapidly regrow, due to towns and cities locking people in and out; moreover, because the idea of “bad air” was linked to sickness, coal was later avoided entirely until the 16th through 17th centuries.   Bad air and coal were not things that caused sickness during the Middle Ages, in fact, water was among the deadliest.   Water Pollution: Examples From the Islamic World Avicenna (Ibn Sina) at a sickbed, by Walenty z Pilzna, 15th century. Source: Jagiellonian Digital Library   In water-adjacent cities, such as Alexandria, Egypt, and Paris, France, water—like wood—was an essential resource for all parts of life. The difference between water and wood, though, was that people believed water was eternal.   In the 9th century, a North African doctor named Quisti ibn Qa wrote a book on illnesses and remedies, interestingly, there are two whole chapters focused on the contamination of the water supply. This is an important fact to consider because it means even in the Early Middle Ages, people were already afraid of dirty water (at least in Northern Africa). This teleology kept growing, with more and more authors writing about the dangers of water. However, contaminated water mostly appeared in large cities like Alexandria, Mecca, and Cairo. In the 12th century, polymath Ibn Sina (Avicenna) even began separating types of water: drinking, cleaning, and cooking.   Through this information, one could infer two things. First, water contamination may have increased throughout the centuries due to rapid population increase and poor hygiene. Second, that medical doctors at the time were able to discern the problem at hand. The reason for the contamination might also be linked to a decrease of clean water. In Egypt, for example, most water was located around Alexandria and along the Nile River. Likewise, with debt becoming more frequent in the 12th century, it is possible that landowners used clean water as a means of payment, forcing peasants to drink unclean water (Duby, 1968).   Pollution and Deforestation in the Medieval World  The Garden of Earthly Delights, by Hieronymous Bosch, 1480-90. Source: Wikimedia Commons   It is not hard to see how similar the 21st century is to the Middle Ages. The removal of forests is something that we are all too familiar with. Of course, the stories about why it is important have changed, but the reality of watching acres of trees disappear is the same. People in the Middle Ages believed that forests protected them, that fairies existed there, and that huntable animals lived inside them—in short—forests were a necessary part of life.   Today, people argue similarly, that animals need them to survive, and that humans need them for oxygen. Air pollution tells a similar story; coal is still used, and people often die from bad air. As for water, many people around the world still do not have drinkable water.   While the Middle Ages seem so distant, the fact of the matter is people from both then and now share a remarkably similar story: a story of the fear of drastic changes to the environment.   Bibliography   Aberth, J. (2013). An Environmental History of the Middle Ages. Routledge. Bauch, M., & Schenk, G. (Eds.). (2020). The Crisis of the Fourteenth Century. Walter de Gruyter GmbH,. Brake, W. (1975). Air Pollution and Fuel Crises in Preindustrial London, 1250-1650. Technology and Culture, 16(3), 337–359. Brimblecombe, P. (2012). Attitudes and Responses Towards Air Pollution in  Medieval England. Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association, 26(10), 941–945. Britain, G. (1281). Calendar of the patent rolls preserved in the Public record office / prepared under the superintendence of the deputy keeper of the records, 1281-1292 Edward I. London H.M.S.O. Duby, G. (1968). Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West (C. Postan, Trans.). Edward Arnold. Gari, L. (2002). Abstract Treatises on Environmental Pollution up to the End of the Thirteenth Century. Environment and History, 8(4), 475–488. Geltner, G. (2023). Ecological Impacts and Environmental Perceptions of Mining in Europe, 1200–1550: Preliminary Notes. Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, 40(1), 157–180. Hoffman, R. (2014). AN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE. Cambridge University Press. Williams, A., & Martin, G. (Eds.). (2003). The Doomsday Book: A Complete Translation. Penguin.

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