Folk hero

High John de Conqueror’s Freedom Tales

by Elizabeth Fabowale

February 12, 2026

African American Folktales·American Folktales

In the deep South, during a time when the land was fraught with hardship and oppression, stories of a clever and unyielding folk hero traveled from house to house, whispered along riverbanks, and passed from elders to children. His name was John the Conqueror, or High John, as people called him, a figure of strength, wit, and resilience whose adventures

A strong African American woman steering a keelboat on the Mississippi River with her crew observing.

African American Folktales·American Folktales

Annie Christmas, the Keelboat Captain

In the bustling river ports of 19th-century Louisiana, where the Mississippi’s waters carried goods, stories, and dreams, one figure stood taller than all the rest: Annie Christmas, the fearless keelboat captain. Unlike any other captain, Annie was known not only for her extraordinary strength but for her sharp mind, courage,

Parchment-style illustration of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in snowy woods, American folktale.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Strength, Teamwork, and the Power of Legend

Long ago, in the rugged northern forests of America, where towering pines whispered to the wind and the snow stretched farther than

Parchment-style artwork of Davy Crockett firing into the sunrise on a frosty Tennessee hill, American folktale scene.

Davy Crockett and the Frozen Dawn: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Boasting and Humor

In the early days of the American frontier, when the land stretched wild and untamed across Tennessee, there lived a man whose

A realistic painting of an American alligator resting on a muddy riverbank at dawn, surrounded by misty wetlands and tall grasses under soft golden light.

The American Alligator Legend

In the vast marshes and slow-moving rivers of the southern United States, where the air hangs heavy with mist and the reeds

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