Found 12 collections related to African American women authors

Fashion model, writer. Sims was one of the top African-American fashion models of the 1960s and 1970s. Typescripts and research materials for books written by Sims, including ALL ABOUT HEALTH AND BEAUTY FOR THE BLACK WOMAN (1976), HOW TO BE A TOP MODEL (1979), and ALL ABOUT BLACK HAIR FOR THE BLACK WOMAN. Also, some personal and business files including contracts for television shows, the Ford Agency, material on speeches and panel discussions, news clippings, and fan mail. less

Author. Collection comprises Ashe's work in developing VIEWFINDERS, a historiographic photoessay project for publication. The manuscript and research materials are about African-American women photographers in America from 1839 to 1985. While numerous professionals are cited, extensive interview materials are available on the Camera Girls (WACs), Hazel Shumate, Gladys Allen, Eslanda Goode Robeson, Mary Flenoy, Phillda Ragland-Njau, Wilhelmina Roberts, Elsie Forrest Harelson, Vera Jackson, Louise Martin, Louise Jefferson, Mary Warren, Colis Davis, Winifred Hall, and Elizabeth Williams. Transcribed interviews of these photographers are supplemented with interview tapes for Martin, Allen, Roberts, Robeson, Flenoy, and Williams through dialogue either with the individual or an acquaintance. Also included are various pre-publication manuscript and photoprint galleys and proofs, correspondence, and miscellanea. less

Geraldyn "Gerri" Hodges Major, journalist and writer, was raised and educated in Chicago. Known then as Geraldyn Dismond, she pursued a professional career as a writer, journalist and editor for several African-American newspapers including the "New York Amsterdam News." Black society was Major's primary journalistic interest, and she wrote about society fashion, food and style, frequently traveling around the globe as she covered social events. From 1934-1946 Major worked for the New York City Health Department's Bureau of Public Health Information and Education as an administrative assistant. In 1953, then known as Gerri Major, she began a 25 year career at the New York office of the Johnson Publishing Company where she served as society editor and associate editor for "Ebony" Magazine, and later, "Jet" Magazine. She became senior staff editor for "Ebony" in 1967 and briefly was a European correspondent. She wrote and lectured on aspects of black society, and co-authored a book, "Black Society," published in 1976. Major died in New York City in 1984. The Gerri Major Papers reflect some aspects of the career of this journalist and writer. Much of the collection consists of biographical information in the form of news clippings about her worldwide travels, her achievements, and other activities. Major's writings include her columns for the "New York Amsterdam News," 1939-1944, a couple of issues of "Jet" Magazine, reports and articles written during her employment with the New York City Health Department, Bureau of Public Health Information and Education, and early submissions to "Opportunity" and other journals. The balance of the collection consists of materials relating to her 80th and 85th birthday celebrations, in 1974 and 1979, respectively. Her 80th birthday is acknowledged with news clippings, and for her 85th, celebrating sixty years in the writing field, there are news clippings describing the festivities, and two scrapbooks containing numerous letters, telegrams, and greeting cards. less

Zora Neale Hurston (1901?-1960) author of several novels, short stories, poetry and an autobiography, was a trained anthropologist who also wrote ethnographic studies. Writings consisting of nine poems and one short story entitled "The Conversion of Man", and correspondence with William Clifford and Lawrence Jordan. less

Deborah Willis (b. 1948) is an African American photographer, curator, historian of photography, author, and educator. The Deborah Willis professional files date from 1944 to 2011 (bulk dates 1980s-1990s), and document her work on photographic publications and exhibitions. less

The Ann Petry papers document the professional, social, and family life of writer Ann Petry (1908-1997). With the publication of her 1946 debut novel titled, The Street, Petry became the first US black woman author to sell over a million copies. The collection consists of personal and professional correspondence, manuscripts, clippings and printed matter, and personal memorabilia. less

Myran E. Haley (My Haley) is the third wife of the well-known writer Alex Haley. They were married in 1977 although they were legally separated at the time of his death in 1992. Myran Haley claimed she assisted Alex Haley in finishing "Roots," published in 1976. She also stated in court documents that she was a collaborator on at least three of his unpublished works: "Queen," (the story of his Caucasian ancestry), "Madame C. J. Walker," and "Henning," a collection of stories about Haley's boyhood summers at his grandmother's home in western Tennessee. The Myran E. Haley Legal Documents relate to the suit filed by Myran Haley against George Haley (Alex Haley's brother), and the Haley Estate regarding ownership of three literary works Haley was working on at the time of his death: "Merging" aka "Queen," "Madam C. J. Walker," and "Henning." She claimed co-ownership of these works and the right to complete the manuscripts. A compromise judgment was rendered giving her partial (15%) ownership rights. Documents include photocopies of Mryan Haley's complaint, her affidavit, Alex Haley's will, their prenuptial agreement, and the partial compromise judgment. less

African-American attorney who practiced law in Harlem and later served as an assistant attorney general for the State of New York, Philip Watson was a member of the Alpha Chapter of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and the Golden Fleece Lodge 7887 in Manhattan. The Philip Watson Papers consists of letters (1929-1931) primarily from Elise Johnson prior to her marriage to Watson, and legal papers. Included is a completed questionnaire for his admission to the New York State Bar in 1932 and several affidavits in support of the application. The questionnaire provides biographical information about Watson such as schools attended and his employment record. Of interest is a legal brief for a case Watson argued regarding the refusal of the owner of a bathhouse at Playland in Rye, New York to admit a black person in 1935. The collection also contains an agreement settling a lawsuit between a local chapter and the national Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, with Watson as the attorney for one of the defendants, his membership certificate for the Alpha Chapter, and a handbook of the constitution and by-laws of the Golden Fleece Lodge. less

The Donna Allegra Papers, 1981-2002, contain twenty-five published essays, short stories and poems spanning across Allegra's writing career. Prominent subjects include race and anti-black racism, feminism, social class, and butch gender identity. Allegra draws on her experiences as a construction electrician and a dancer in her fictional work, and her memoir writing explores her strained relationship with her mother and her travels in Guinea studying dance. less

Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was one of the most renowned and celebrated voices in American literature. The Maya Angelou papers consist of original manuscripts, computer generated typescripts, galleys, and proofs of published work as well as manuscripts for unpublished work and dozens of poems. Additionally, there is personal and professional correspondence, teaching files, printed matter, and materials from public and academic appearances and engagements. less