Drumfolk at the Cullen Theater (Houston, TX)

In 1739, Africans enslaved in South Carolina used their drums to start a revolt—a little-known event that forever transformed African American life and culture. When the Stono Rebellion cost Africans the right to use their drums, the beats found their way into the body of the people—the Drumfolk. This led to some of our country’s most distinctive traditions like tap, the ring shout, and stepping. Journey with Step Afrika! as they share histories too often left in the margins with this movement-filled celebration of the human spirit.

They took the drums away…but they could not stop the beat.