- unitid
-
{"value"=>"21030", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc MG 34", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b11848343", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1929-1977", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1929/1977"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Middleton \"Spike\" Harris papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"43 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"19.04 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Middleton Alexander \"Spike\" Harris (1908-1977) was an author, historian, collector, and dealer of African Americana. In addition, he was the founder of the Negro History Associates (NHA), an organization which collected and disseminated information about African Americans. His papers primarily consist of research files created by Harris and the NHA."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Harris, M. A., 1908-1977", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Middleton A. \"Spike\" Harris was born January 22, 1908, in Brooklyn, New York. He attended local schools where he earned the nicknamed \"Spike\" from participating in track and field events. He graduated from Howard University with a B.A. in Sociology in 1931, and in 1965, he earned a master's degree in social work from Fordham University. From 1931 until July 1935, Harris worked for the Boys Club, YMCA, and the Emergency Welfare Administration of New York City. In 1937, he was employed by the New York State Executive Department, Division of Parole, as a parole officer and supervisor, and retired in 1972. During World War II, Harris served as an American Red Cross Field Director in the Southwest Pacific.</p> <p>Harris's interest in African American history was stimulated by his family's history, which dated to the colonial period. Propelled by his discoveries, Harris began to research the African presence in North America and began collecting original documents, books, prints, and newspapers. Over the years, Harris put together a substantial collection documenting the contributions of peoples of African descent to American history. Using these original materials and photocopies of original documents gathered from his research at the National Archives, historical societies, and libraries, he created exhibitions, slide shows, manuals, and monographs, primarily under the auspices of the Negro History Associates, an organization that he helped to establish.</p> <p>Negro History Associates</p> <p>In 1963, Harris and fellow-collectors of Afro-Americana founded the Negro History Associates (NHA). Among those present at that meeting were Glenn Carrington, Thomas Feagens, Clarence Holte, Levi Hubert, and Marvin Warren. Like Harris, they wanted to include the contributions of African Americans into American history books and hoped that by creating the NHA they would be able to disseminate the information.</p> <p>Harris was the driving force of the organization, and he persuaded the other associates that the best approach was to use an audiovisual format to teach young people about the history of African Americans. He presented his idea to the Human Relations Bureau of the New York City Department of Education, and encouraged by the Bureau and his fellow collectors, he produced, at his own expense, a pilot filmstrip entitled <span class=\"title\">Meet Some Great Americans</span>. After receiving positive commentary from the Bureau, Harris began work on the <span class=\"title\">Great American Series</span>, which would eventually include filmstrips and booklets on scientist Lewis Latimer, inventor Granville Woods, and physician Dorothy L. Brown.</p> <p>Harris and Levi Hubert incorporated the NHA in 1964, via a partnership agreement, with Harris as the principal stockholder. The NHA Board consisted of the founding members and others, including Jean Blackwell Hutson, chief of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature, History and Prints; Martin Jacobwitz, a collector of anti-slavery coins; and author/actress Gertrude McBrown. Each member brought his/her knowledge of Afro-Americana and/or technical skills to the enterprise, which included research; consulting; and artistic, photographic, and printing skills.</p> <p>From 1964 to 1969, its most active period, the NHA produced filmstrips; erected commemorative plaques on city buildings (most of which are no longer there); produced exhibitions; published books; and sold photographic prints of persons, places, events, documents, and newspapers. Income was generated by the sales of the filmstrips and photographs, which together with Harris's financial contributions (from his savings and salary) kept the NHA afloat.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Middleton A. \"Spike\" Harris papers consist of original documents, newspapers, and periodicals; books and pamphlets; programs and broadsides; and research files covering his many years of research in black history, as well as the records of the Negro History Associates. Although a substantial part of the material documents black contributions to the American Revolution, the scope of the collection spans over two centuries of American history. In addition there is genealogical research and some personal papers. The collection is arranged in the following series: Family history, Correspondence, Personal papers, Negro History Associates, and Printed material.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Middleton \"Spike\" Harris papers are arranged in five series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/21030#c1587771'>Family history</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1775-1972</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Family history series contains research files, copies of documents (such as manumission documents, property deeds, and records of land sales from 1775 and 1819-1834), and speeches and manuscripts by Harris detailing his family's story from the colonial era through the twentieth century. The series also contains his correspondence with libraries and individuals regarding his research.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/21030#c1587802'>Correspondence</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1950-1977</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Correspondence series contains correspondence with genealogists, authors, historians, and librarians with whom Harris discussed black history, historical personalities, places, and events. There is also correspondence with publishers, particularly Random House, which published <span class=\"title\">The Black Book</span> (1975), a resource book of documents and images edited by Harris, Morris Levitt, and Roger Furman. Among Harris's correspondents are the bibliographer James de T. Abajian; founder of the Amistad Research Center, Clifton Johnson; author and historian Dorothy Sterling; and his editor at Random House, Toni Morrison, who also wrote the foreword to <span class=\"title\">The Black Book</span>.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/21030#c1587822'>Personal papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1932-1977</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Personal papers contain material related to Harris's position with the New York State Division of Parole, certificates, awards, clippings, and resumes. Other personal papers can be found in the Correspondence series (see correspondence with Douglas McQueen, his stepson).</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/21030#c1587829'>Negro History Associates (NHA)</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1959-1975</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p> The Negro History Associates is the largest series and it is organized into three subseries: Correspondence; the Great American Series, and Research files. The Great American Series refers to the umbrella organization under which Harris produced several exhibitions, slide narratives, accompanying guides, and manuals as well as <span class=\"title\">A Negro History Tour of Manhattan</span> (1969), <span class=\"title\">Uncle Spike: The Negro History Detective</span> (1967), <span class=\"title\">The Story of Lewis Latimer</span> (1964), and <span class=\"title\">The Doctor Is a Lady</span> (1967).</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/21030#c1588320'>Printed material</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1802-1971</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The final series, Printed material, consists of publications, possibly used as research tools by Harris; an index card file of newspapers and books; and bibliographic references compiled by Harris and the NHA for their research. The index cards are primarily arranged by subject.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>Arranged into five series: (1) Family history; (2) Correspondence; (3) Personal papers; (4) Negro History Associates; and (5) Printed material.</p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Purchased from Middleton A. Harris in 1976.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Transferred to the Art and Artifacts Division: various drawings, posters, prints, medals, ribbons, buttons, stamps, and pins.</p> <p>Transferred to the General Research and Reference Division: various pamphlets, periodicals, books, newsletters, conference papers, and maps.</p> <p>Transferred to the Moving Image and Record Sound Division: moving image materials. For more information, please contact the division at schomburgaudiovisual@nypl.org or 212-491-2270.</p> <p>Transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division: various photographs, negatives, slides, and contact sheets.</p> <p>Transferred to Miscellaneous American Letters and Papers, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division: rare books, sheet music, programs, broadsides, and documents.</p> <p>Transferred to National Afro-American Museum in Wilberforce, Ohio: eighty-six decoupage plaques of illustrations from <span class=\"title\">Harper's Weekly</span> and <span class=\"title\">Frank Leslie's Illustrated</span> newspapers.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>In addition, several groups of materials were removed from this collection and organized as separate collections for ease of research use (see Related Materials): 19th-century newspapers (cataloged by title); collections of original documents on slavery and abolition; the Civil War and Reconstruction era; and copies and transcriptions of documents belonging to Lewis Latimer.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Mary Greene-Cohen in 1979. Reprocessed in part by Susan Davis in 1979, and Diana Lachatanere in 2015. Finding aid revised by Diana Lachatanere in 2015.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Collections housed in the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture:</p> <p>Middleton A. Harris Newspaper collection</p> <p>Middleton \"Spike\" Harris Slavery and Abolition collection</p> <p>Middleton \"Spike\" Harris Civil War and Reconstruction collection</p> <p>Middleton \"Spike\" Harris letters</p> <p> Lewis H. Latimer collection</p> <p>Clarence L. Holte papers</p> <p>Levi C. Hubert papers</p> <p>Glenn Carrington papers</p> <p>Morris Levitt research collection</p>"}
- date_start
-
1929
- keydate
-
1929
- date_end
-
1977
- date_inclusive_start
-
1929
- date_inclusive_end
-
1977
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"[Item], Middleton \"Spike\" Harris papers, Sc MG 34, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library"}