Dena Epstein

She worked as a cataloguer at the latter institution while completing her degree, and upon graduation was appointed the Senior Music Librarian at Newark Public Library.

[4] After spending a period as a homemaker, she returned to the University of Chicago in 1964 as the Assistant Music Librarian, in which position she served for 22 years.

[8] Among other findings, Epstein demonstrated that the banjo emerged from the African slave tradition rather than rural white culture, a revelation that "shattered myths and sparked a remarkable revival of black string band music".

[6] Epstein's papers and correspondence are held by Columbia College Chicago's Center for Black Music Research.

"[9] Her interview regarding her mother and conditions in the Near West Side Neighborhood at the turn of the 19th century appears on Disc 3: Battle for Chicago.