- unitid
-
{"value"=>"3153418", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1944 - 1978", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1944/1978"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Cook, Mercer"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Educator, diplomat, and author. Born in Washington, D.C., Cook was the son of composer Will Marion Cook and actress/singer Abbie Mitchell. He was an American ambassador to the African nations Niger and Senegal in the mid-1960s. In accepting the diplomatic posts, he interrupted his work at Howard University, where he had taught Romance languages since 1945. He resumed his career there in 1966, and retired in 1970. In addition to his duties as a professor and diplomat, Cook was director of Africa's Congress for Cultural Freedom in the early 1960s, and he was an alternate delegate to the United Nations General Assembly in 1963. Cook wrote such works as <span class=\"title\">Five French Negro Authors</span> and <span class=\"title\">The Haitian Novel</span>, and he collaborated with Stephen Henderson on <span class=\"title\">The Militant Black Writer in Africa and the United States</span>. In addition, Cook produced English translations and collections of works by West Indian and African writers, including Leopold Senghor. He also wrote songs.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The files contain biographical information, correspondence with Armstead-Johnson, Will Marion Cook's obituary, letters and articles, and a speech by Cook, \"From 'Clorindy' to 'Red Moon' and Beyond.\"</p>"}
- container
-
{"type"=>"box", "value"=>"4"}
{"type"=>"folder", "value"=>"12"}
- date_start
-
1944
- keydate
-
1944
- date_end
-
1978
- date_inclusive_start
-
1944
- date_inclusive_end
-
1978