Hester,

I consider us sort of friends. I can tell you that racism has very little room to operate in the folk movements that I've been aware of for the last half century. I do suspect (and know) there were certain fairly well publicized vestages of it in certain geogrphical areas of the U.S.A., but those can be traced to feelings left over after slavery was abolished in our bitterly fought Civil War here . They were subdued quickly by more modern thinking people with other more modern views. Racist views have never been welcomed or tolerated within the folk revival here.

Please see the statements you referred to as rare. Look at the posts here and see that the opinions expressed generally go along with you.

Art Thieme