author
Thomas Washington Talley
A pioneering teacher and folklorist, he spent decades at Fisk University and helped preserve African American folk rhymes and songs that might otherwise have been lost. His work bridges science, literature, and Black cultural history in a way that still feels remarkable today.
1 Audiobook
Negro Folk Rhymes Wise and Otherwise: With a Study
by Thomas Washington Talley
About the author
Born in Tennessee to parents who had been enslaved, Thomas Washington Talley studied at Fisk University, earning both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree there before joining the faculty. He went on to teach chemistry and biology at Fisk for many years and served as head of the chemistry department, building a career that made him notable both as a scientist and as an educator.
Talley is also remembered for his work as a collector of African American folklore. His best-known book, Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise and Otherwise (1922), gathered hundreds of rhymes, songs, and sayings from Black communities in the South, preserving voices and traditions that were often ignored by mainstream scholars of the time.
That combination of scientific training and cultural preservation makes his legacy especially distinctive. He stands out as someone who helped shape Fisk's academic life while also leaving behind an important record of African American expressive culture.