Jumping the Broom: A Conversation with Tyler D. Parry

Season 6, Episode 9In this episode, Hettie V. Williams discusses the broomstick wedding ritual with Tyler D. Parry. Williams is Associate Professor of African American history at Monmouth University located in West Long Branch, New Jersey and Parry is Associate Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada in the Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies. Parry’s research focuses on slavery in the Americas, cultures in the African Diaspora, the historical memory of slavery in the Americas, cultures in the African Diaspora and historical memory. This conversation is about his first book Jumping the Broom: The Surprising Multicultural Origins of A Black Wedding Ritual published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2020. In this fascinating history of the broomstick wedding ritual, Parry traverses a series of cultures including African Diaspora communities to trace the long history of this ritual that has become important in the history of African American life.