- unitid
-
{"value"=>"188102", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"b22775643", "type"=>"local_b"}
{"value"=>"Sc MIRS Black 1977-70", "type"=>"local_call"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"circa 1969-1972", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1969/1972", "certainty"=>"approximate"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Black Academy of Arts and Letters audio collection"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"3 audio_recordings", "unit"=>"audio_recordings"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The Black Academy of Arts and Letters was founded March 29, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts, by Dr. C. Eric Lincoln, to recognize Black Americans for achievements in arts and literature. The collection consists of three audio recordings of one roundtable discussion and one board meeting dating from circa 1969-1972."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Black Academy of Arts and Letters (New York, NY)", "type"=>"corpname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Black Academy of Arts and Letters was founded March 29, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts, by Dr. C. Eric Lincoln, professor of religion and sociology at Union Theological Seminary. The Academy was established to \"define, preserve, promote, cultivate, foster and develop the arts and letters of black people,\" as stated by Dr. C. Eric Lincoln in his founding address. The founding committee was chaired by Lincoln, with a board of directors comprised of Dr. Charles V. Hamilton; Dr. Vincent Harding; Robert Hooks; John O. Killens, vice president; Lincoln, president; Alvin F. Poussaint, treasurer; Doris Saunders, secretary; Charles White, and John A. Williams. The Academy was incorporated in New York City in 1970, and the Twentieth Century Fund financed initial operating expenses, providing $50,000 each year to hire staff and open a temporary headquarters on Riverside Drive in March 1970. The Academy later received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Johnson Publishing Company.</p> <p>At the first awards banquet in September 1970, the Academy inducted the late W.E.B. DuBois into the Hall of Fame. This resulted in the removal of longstanding visa restrictions by the State Department on Shirley Graham DuBois to enable her to attend the ceremony. Other honorees that year included poet Amiri Baraka, singer Lena Horne, historian C.L.R. James, singer Paul Robeson, and actress Diana Sands for longstanding contributions to arts and letters. Among the first recipients of the Academy's Annual Letters competition were Mari Evans for poetry, George Jackson for nonfiction, William Melvin Kelly for fiction, and Franklin W. Knight for scholastic work.</p> <p>In 1972, the Academy closed their offices. The Board of Directors and committees functioned through 1973, although there were no further annual meetings.</p> <p>Adapted from the biographical note of the finding aid for the Black Academy of Arts and Letters records, Sc Micro R-5916.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection consists of three audio recordings of a board meeting, and an unidentified discussion, dating from circa 1969 to 1972. They are organized alphabetically by title. The board meeting included a reading of the previous meeting's minutes as well as debate about awards, events, fundraising, and membership. The unidentified discussion touched on topics such as politics in Nigeria, and speakers likely included Etta Moten Barnett, radio journalist; Hoyt Fuller, editor of <span class=\"title\">Black World Journal</span>; and Charles White, a member of the Academy's board of directors, among others. The original format of the audio recordings was cassette, with each item containing two parts.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, 1972; Joe Nash, 1984.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>See the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division for the Black Academy of Arts and Letters records, Sc Micro R-5916.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>See the Photographs and Prints Division for the Black Academy of Arts and Letters photograph collection, Sc Photo Black Academy of Arts and Letters Collection.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Collection inventoried by <span class=\"name\">Nathan Evans</span>. Collection processed and described by <span class=\"name\">Lyric Benjamin-Hunter</span>, archivist. Finding aid published in <span class=\"date\">2026</span>.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>See the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division for Black Academy of Arts and Letters. 1st Annual Awards Banquet, September 20, 1970, Sc Audio RE-7987.</p>"}
- sponsor
-
{"value"=>"An anonymous donor funded preliminary processing for this collection. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supported a research library-wide grant for the digitization, and funded the Schomburg for the description and production of the finding aid as part of The Next Century of Black Studies Project."}
- revisiondesc
-
{"value"=>"Item AMI identifiers, titles, scope and content notes, and extent notes updated to facilitate public access by Lyric Benjamin-Hunter.", "date"=>"2026-05-08"}
- date_start
-
1969
- keydate
-
1969
- date_end
-
1972
- date_inclusive_start
-
1969
- date_inclusive_end
-
1972
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Black Academy of Arts and Letters audio collection, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, The New York Public Library"}