I did read your first post, Aziz, and found it both interesting and credible, but I had nothing much to say about it because I know comparatively little about the origins of barbershop. Much of American popular music has origins and links with music of black origin, and although what you said surprised me at first, it made perfect sense when I thought about it. So there you are - you've made one person stop and think a bit more.

So there's no need to sulk or get paranoid. How do you know that blacks are under-represented here? I have no idea what colour most of the posters in Mudcat are - the main issue for me is working out which side of the Atlantic they're from, which often has a bearing on the discussions here. I think most members will, like me, have found your post interesting but only of slight relevance to the original question of why "folkies" tend to ignore barbershop, and that's the most likely explanation for the lack of follow-up.

Marje