About Bill Wiggins
William H. Wiggins Jr. (1934-2016) began his doctoral studies in folklore at IU Bloomington in 1969 with an academic background in theology. As a student he served as the first graduate associate instructor in the Department of African American Studies. With the completion of his dissertation in 1974, he was promoted to assistant professor of Afro-American Studies.
In his 1974 IU PhD dissertation,"Free At Last": A Study of Afro-American Emancipation Day Celebrations, Wiggins chronicled the varieties of local Emancipation Day celebrations around the country. It was a pioneering study, using not just written records but also the methods of a folklorist: fieldwork, participant observation, and interviews with and letters from participants. He later published a book -- O freedom! : Afro-American Emancipation celebrations (University of Tennessee Press,1987) -- and numerous other articles on this topic, long before anyone else was paying scholarly attention to this important popular observance.
Wiggins was a beloved professor in the folklore and Afro-American studies departments at IU for more than 34 years. Many people contributed to making Juneteenth a national holiday, but his work as a folklorist of Juneteenth was foundational.
"He was especially drawn to the vernacular of African Americans and coupled his deep interest with his analytical skills to plumb the communal ethos, wisdom, wit, and heroism of African American expression. “O Freedom”, a book-length study of African American Emancipation Celebrations, drew attention to what is widely known as 'Juneteenth.'"
"A colleague and friend of mine named Bill Wiggins wrote a book called O Freedom some 
years back. He was a professor at Indiana University. This is nothing new to my folklore friends, but people have been asking me about this new national holiday, so I thought I'd post this. O Freedom was the first real study and acknowledgement of Juneteenth and Emancipation Day celebrations, and I fully believe it helped set in motion events that would lead, eventually, to today. One thing about nationalizing Juneteenth is that it blurs the fact that Emancipation celebrations have been traditionally held on other dates in different regions of the country (in a similar way, Memorial Day nationalizes the many local Decoration Day events held around the country). Because they are frequently viewed as the African American Fourth of July, they are often held on the Fifth of July as a kind of continuation and contrast to the Fourth. Emancipation celebrations such as Juneteenth often involve barbeques, oratory, singing of hymns, and family reunions."
-Jack Santino, Facebook.com, posted June 17, 2021
More information on Dr. Wiggins:
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Notable Folklorists of ColorA career biography for Dr. Wiggins
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Memorial - William H. Wiggins, Jr.Wiggins' (1934-2016) memorial page, hosted by Indiana University
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Notable Kentucky African Americans Database - Wiggins, William H., Jr.Raised in Kentucky, this database provides a profile of Wiggins' pre-IU years
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University Honors and Awards - William H. Wiggins, Jr.Wiggins, a Guggenheim Fellow (1988) is honored by Indiana University
Select List of Works by William H. Wiggins
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Free At Last: A Study of Afro-American Emancipation Day Celebrations
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Wiggins' 1974 dissertation which examines the various emancipation celebrations of African Americans
Call Number: GR999 .W655Publication Date: 1974 -
Joe Louis: American Folk Hero
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"Throughout his phenomenal boxing career, Joe Louis exemplified the values of hard work, honesty, and patriotism. For middle grades and up, this small book captures the qualities that made Joe Louis a folk hero one to whom all students can look as a role model" --Goodreads
Call Number: GV1132.L6 W54 1991ISBN: 0873674510Publication Date: 1991
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Jubilation! : African American celebrations in the Southeast
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Call Number: E185.92 .J83 1993ISBN: 0938983105Publication Date: 1993
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O Freedom! : Afro-American Emancipation celebrations
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"O Freedom! is a story of pride and of black Americans celebrating who they are, what their heritage has given them, and how they have struggled (and continue to struggle) for freedom in this country." -Peter C. Murray, Indiana Magazine of History
Call Number: E453 .W65 1987ISBN: 0870495208Publication Date: 1987
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'Juneteenth': Afro-American Customs of the EmancipationWiggins, William H., Jr. “‘Juneteenth’: Afro-American Customs of the Emancipation.” IN The Old Traditional Way of Life: Essays in Honor of Warren E. Roberts, edited by Robert E. Walls et al. (Bloomington, Ind.:Trickster Press, 1989), pp. 146–58.
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Reflections on Two Afro-American Narrative CyclesWiggins, William H, Jr. “Reflections on Two Afro-American Narrative Cycles.” Journal of Folklore Research, vol. 32, no. 3, Sept. 1995, pp. 289–95.
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They Closed the Town Up Man!: Reflections on the Civic and Political Dimensions of JuneteenthWiggins, William H., Jr. “‘They Closed the Town Up, Man!’: Reflections on the Civic and Political Dimensions of Juneteenth.” IN Celebration: Studies in Festivity and Ritual, edited by Victor Turner et al., (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Inst., 1982), pp. 284–95.
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Wiggins, William H, Jr. “The Emancipation of Nicodemus.” Natural History, vol. 107, no. 6, July 1998, p. 28.Provides some observations on the 120th Annual Nicodemus Emancipation Celebration in Nicodemus, Kansas. Brief history of Kansas; Highlights of the event;
Documentary Films by William H. Wiggins
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In The Rapture (1978)Depicts a traditional Black church musical drama portraying man's struggle to resist the temptations of Satan and follow Jesus. Focuses on the main characters of Jesus, Satan, the Narrator, and Everyman as they are joined by the Heavenly Choir, two angels, and ten soloists in the congregation. Centers on Satan's efforts to persuade Everyman and members of the congregation to follow him.
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The Rapture Family (1978)Discusses the history and meaning of a traditional Black form of worship known as "In the rapture", which dramatizes man's struggle to resist the temptations of Satan. Features eight members of the "rapture family" discussing the musical religious drama "In the rapture" with Dr. Herman Hudson, Dean for Afro-American Affairs, and Dr. William H. Wiggins, Jr., Professor of Afro-American Studies, Indiana University. Examines the place of the performance as a religious service and the character of the work in terms of its origins, the set, the characters, the narration, the music, and the physical movement of participants. Explores the history and meaning of "the family."