Kathryn Lawson Morgan, 91, folklorist and historian

Kathryn Lawson Morgan, 91, a pioneering folklorist and historian at Swarthmore College who believed that the folk stories passed down by African Americans offered a rich vein for scholars to mine, died Sunday, Nov. 28, of natural causes at Sterling Health Care, a nursing facility in Media.

In 1970, Dr. Morgan became the first African American professor hired by the college. Later, she was the first African American woman to receive tenure there.

She taught history at Swarthmore for 25 years, retiring in 1995 as Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot Professor Emerita of History.

Dr. Morgan's colleagues recalled a charismatic woman who bridged the gap from the work of W.E.B. DuBois to that of Malcolm X, and who listened carefully to family history.

"One of the first things I tell my students," Dr. Morgan once remarked to colleagues, "is to go home, look to your families, to the stories we were told as children. They're the most important stories in the world."

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Dr. Morgan earned a bachelor's degree from Howard University in 1952, a master's degree in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, and a doctorate in folklore from Penn in 1970.

In her dissertation, "The Ex-Slave Narrative as a Source for Folk History," she posited that the personal stories of blacks formed the crux of legitimate folklore, foreshadowing its acceptance by many years.

But it wasn't easy. When she taught folklore and folklife studies, history through folklore and literature, black women in historical perspective, and black culture and consciousness, fellow faculty considered her interest outside the mainstream.

She described tensions in her department in a 2000 Swarthmore CollegeBulletin interview, as well as the resulting fallout, when she was initially denied tenure. But through persuasion, a brilliant smile, and the strength of her personality, she prevailed.

"To know Kathryn Morgan was to be energized by her," said professor of studio art Syd Carpenter.

She acted as mentor to many. That guidance, said associate history professor Allison Dorsey, included teaching her students, "by example, the power of truth-telling and the value of standing one's ground."

Students loved her. In 1991, Dr. Morgan received an award from the college's Black Alumni Association in recognition of her contributions to the lives of African Americans at the college.