As remembered by Sharlene Kranz
5/8 & 5/9, 2025
I am sorry to report the passing today of SNCC veteran Worth Long in Atlanta GA. He was 89 years old.
Worth was a leader in the Arkansas SNCC project and then was the Selma Project Director. Later in life he was a world class folklorist, working with the Smithsonian on events like the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Born and raised in Durham, NC, Worth served two years in the U.S. Air Force in Korea amd Japan and then enrolled in Philander Smith College in Little Rock, ARK where he became a leader in the SNCC-affiliate. He became SNCC's Selma Project director in 1963.
Later, Worth worked with the Smithsonian and became a world-reknowned folklorist. His projects included the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and other Smithsonian projects, including the Mississippi Folklife Project with Roland Freeman. Formal name: Folkroots: Images of Mississippi Black Folklife (1977).
He also helped found the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival and worked on many festivals, including cultural festivals for things like the Knoxville World's Fair and the Olympics in Atlanta.
Worth is survived by his children Ramona and Will.
Read more about Worth Long at:
Worth Long, SNCC Digital Gateway.Worth Long, SNCC Legacy Project.
Woth Long Interview transcript, Video. By Emilye Crosby, 2015
As remembered by Joyce Ladner
5/8
Worth was a stalwart. He came into the movement early and he was an organizer in Arkansas. May Worth's good works be a part of our history, and may his memory be a blessing.
As remembered by Judy Richardson
5/8
Emilye [Crosby] said that Worthb's son, Will, was holding his hand as he left us. Worth was a good man and he lived a really good and consequential life. You can't do better than that!
As remembered by Jennifer Lawson
5/8
I'm so sorry to hear of Worth's passing. He taught us so much about the culture of our communities and he had tremendous insights into the importance of the music, the sermons and the poetry at multiple levels.
As remembered by Gwendolyn Simmons
5/8
Thanks for letting us all know. Courtland, you are right, Worth will be missed. He was such a lovely and talented person.
As remembered by Josh Myers
5/9
May he rest in peace. I carried the tribute volume that the Smithsonian put together for him for a couple days this week as I put the finishing touches on the music of the movement course. I also recently learned that his work with Lomax on Land Where the Blues Began for free online.
As remembered by Charles Cobb
5/9
A big loss! I wrote these words about Worth some years ago and they come to my mind in the midst of my own sense of pain and loss.
As remembered by Maria
Varela
June 7, 2025
A hard one for me as Worth and I met in Selma in 1963 and together we designed an approach to a literacy project. I took his lead because he framed the conversation in what is needed and how the need is met. We stayed close over these decades and the loss is truly deep.
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