{"value"=>"<p>For the Fair's 1940 season, themes of patriotism and national unity replaced 1939's emphasis on international interdependence and harmony. Under the chairmanship of Robert Kohn, the concept for the American Common, a Fair-generated project celebrating the diverse backgrounds of American citizens, emerged in concert with this dramatic shift in focus. (The American Jubilee extravaganza and Typical American Family contest were also conceived in part as a response to the new thematic mandate.) The Fair built the Common --essentially consisting of a band shell and an open area called the \"Green\"-- on the site left vacant by the massive Soviet Pavilion after the USSR declined to return for the second season. There, cultural and ethnic community groups were invited to mount events and programs, among which American-Italian Week and Negro Week were the longest and most elaborate. A highlight of American-Italian Week was a cross-country radio broadcast between the mayors of New York and San Francisco. Negro Week, hosted by Willie Bryant, featured exhibitions, recitals, religious services, speeches and a children's program. Speakers included W.E.B. Du Bois and L.D. Reddick, and musical talent included Benny Carter, Juanita Hall, Dean Dixon and Maxine Sullivan. The Green held dances and celebrations with multi-ethnic themes. Weekly square dances were especially popular. A Wall of Fame honoring notable American citizens of foreign birth wrapped around the Common perimeter. The records contain the correspondence of director Harvey W. Anderson with participating groups, as well as event schedules, program descriptions, research on Wall of Fame candidates, schemes to boost attendance, and Anderson's end-of-Fair report analyzing the Common's successes and failures. The American Common was sponsored in part by Sears, Roebuck, and Company.</p> <p>Related collections: Records of the Negro Week organizers are located in the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center, Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division.</p> <p>A book of Wall of Fame honorees is located in the New York Public Library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library (Wall of Fame of the American Common, World's Fair of 1940 in New York).</p>"}