The D.C.-based arts organization Black Girls Handgames Project is dedicated to remixing and repurposing classic (pre-electronics) children’s games, many of which originated in communities of color. Cofounder OnRae LaTeal explains:
The children’s handgame “Miss Mary Mack,” for instance, played here by the great folksinger Ella Jenkins (with some assistance from . . . Barney), dates back to the 1800s.
In the book The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop, Kyra D. Gaunt suggests:
R&B singer Rufus Thomas remixed “Mary Mack” into “Walking the Dog” in 1963:
Black Girls Handgames Project’s version:
For more, see the Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s blog, here:
https://festival.si.edu/blog/black-girls-handgames-project
And the BGHP’s Facebook page, here:
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