Found 56 collections related to Black author

Lyonel C. Florant, an African American economist, was employed by the Carnegie Corporation's "Study of the Negro in America" project. Florant authored several documents for the project, and he, along with others, completed the report, "Negro Population Movements, 1860 to 1940: In Relation to Social and Economic Factors". The Lyonel C. Florant papers consist of reports and some research files Florant prepared and gathered primarily regarding African American migration and population studies across the country, mostly for the Negro in America study. 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original manuscripts, computer generated typescripts, galleys, and proofs of published work as well as manuscripts for unpublished work and dozens of poems.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

The New Heritage Theatre Group records consists of playbills, broadsides, flyers, playscripts, correspondence and printed matter relating to the organization's productions and events from 1965-2015. Of particular note are original playscripts and production materials for the South African musical "Sarafina!" (1988-1991) and flyers and announcements for a play reading series entitled "Voices of Griots" (1991-1996). There is also a biographical file for Roger Furman. less

The Maxine Sullivan Papers document her career as a jazz performer. The papers contain correspondence from both professional and personal contacts, legal contracts, newspaper clippings, performance flyers, posters, and programs, sheet music, and some financial and organizational membership records. Some materials pertain to her third husband, Cliff Jackson. less

Guichard Parris was director of public relations of the National Urban League from 1944-1968. The bulk of the Guichard Parris Collection is comprised of photocopies of research material and biographical information Parris compiled for a translation of nineteenth century French abolitionist Bishop Henri Gregoire's De la litterature des Nègres. In addition, there is a scrapbook and printed matter from the New York Urban League (1950s) as well as some personal papers. less

Albert John Luthuli, 1898-1967, African leader in the Republic of South Africa and former Zulu chief; president of the African National Congress (ANC); first African to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 1960, for his role in the non-violent struggle against apartheid. The Albert J. Luthuli papers document Chief Luthuli's leadership in the struggle against the apartheid system in South Africa and the growth of the ANC after 1949 into a mass based and increasingly militant freedom organization. Included are materials from the 1952 Defiance Campaign; the 1955 Congress of the People which gave birth to the Freedom Charter; the Treason Trials of ANC leaders; the Rivonia Trial; the struggle against the pass laws and other discriminatory legislation; and the international movement against the apartheid system. Other documents pertain to the Federation of South African Women, the Bantu Education Act, A.G.W. Champion, the Pan Africanist Congress, the Non-European Unity Movement, the ANC Youth League, the campaign against the Coloured Affairs Department (Anti-CAD), the South African labor movement, and Swaziland and the Bantustan system. less

Lawrence D. Reddick served as curator of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature, 1939-1948. An African-American historian, Reddick was interested in the role of the black soldier in U.S. wars and published on this topic. Concerned that the role of black soldiers during World War II would not be portrayed accurately by the government, the mainstream or black press, Reddick initiated a campaign to document the experiences of blacks in the military using their first hand accounts. He placed an ad in newspapers served by the Associated Negro Press, requesting that letters written by black soldiers to their families be sent to the Schomburg Collection. In addition, he conducted interviews with black servicemen and women from 1944 to 1946, and collected memorabilia and other World War II related items. The Lawrence D. Reddick World War II Project Collection, 1943-1953 (bulk 1943-1945) consists of correspondence with black servicemen and women, summaries of interviews Reddick conducted, as well as research files maintained by him. The series Letters and Interviews, 1943-1945 consists of more than a hundred letters that black servicemen and officers, and a few black servicewomen, wrote principally to their families and friends relating the individuals' experiences. The servicemen were stationed in all of the theaters of operation, and some were stateside at various training camps throughout the United States. Of note is a letter Dwight Eisenhower wrote in 1947 in response to a letter from Reddick, stating his opposition to discrimination of American soldiers based upon color or race. Also included in the collection are summaries of interviews Reddick conducted between 1944 and 1946 in Harlem with former servicemen and officers. The interviewees were forthright in their discussions about their experiences with both black and white soldiers and officers, and the people in the countries where they served. There are also summaries of interviews with several black servicewomen and one white serviceman, as well as civilians. Individuals interviewed include William E. Artis (artist), Warren Cuney (writer), Benjamin O. Davis (Air Force General), Ewart Guinier (who later headed the first African-American Studies Department at Harvard University), William H. Hastie (civil rights attorney), Roi Ottley (author and journalist) Leigh Whipper (actor). less

Arthur (originally Arturo) Alfonso Schomburg was a collector of books and manuscripts pertaining to black history and culture, whose collection formed the basis for the Schomburg Center for Black Culture. This collection includes typewritten manuscripts written by Schomburg, a memorial tribute by Alain Locke, and genealogical research conducted by his descendants. less

Born in Topeka, Kansas in 1898, Aaron Douglas became the most celebrated artist-illustrator to emerge from the Harlem Renaissance. He attended the University of Nebraska (F.B.A.), Columbia University Teachers College (M.A.) and l'Academie Scandinave in Paris. Douglas' career spanned sixty years of painting, drawing and illustrating. He created numerous murals, usually of allegorical scenes on the historical life or cultural background of African Americans. In 1937 Douglas became a professor of art and chairman of the Art Department at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he remained until 1966, when he retired as professor emeritus. Fisk University bestowed an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts upon him in 1973. Douglas died in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1979. The Aaron Douglas papers consist of personal correspondence, letters of introduction, invitations, programs, and printed material. Of particular interest are the eighty-three undated letters, which make up the bulk of the collection, that Douglas wrote to his future wife, Alta Sawyer. Most of the letters were written during an approximate two-year period while she was still married to her first husband and before she and Douglas were married in 1926. Douglas wrote Sawyer endearing letters that were also philosophical in tone and discussed his artwork, aspirations, and the social scene in Harlem. Included are two letters to Douglas from writer Arna Bontemps and an open letter from Douglas on the letterhead of the short-lived magazine "Fire!!.". less

Rietta Hines Herbert (1940-1969) (also Rietta May Herbert) was an African American social worker in New York City from 1935-1965. She spent most of her career as a social investigator and supervisor of child welfare in the Harlem offices of the Department of Welfare. less

Robert H. Beecher was a Panamanian-born educator who worked as a high school teacher, administrator, and community liason in the Bronx, then as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Education Foundations at Hunter College. The Robert H. Beecher papers contain personal papers, correspondence, writings and research materials relating to education in the Panama Canal Zone and the education of minorities in the United States. less

The J. Alfred Smith, Sr. Papers primarily document Smith's roles as author, pastor of the Allen Baptist Temple Church (ATBC) and his activities with the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc (PNBC) as well as other church organizations. Over half of the papers document Smith's career during the 1970s and '80s as pastor of ATBC and president of the PNBC. Smith's papers include very little documentation on his career and professional activities during the 1950s and '60s, his vice presidency and presidency of the Progressive State Baptist Convention of California and Nevada headquartered in Los Angeles, or his first and second vice presidencies of the PNBC. less

Ted Poston was the first full-time African-American reporter for the New York Post, where he worked from 1936 covering many major black-oriented news stories, until his retirement in 1972. The Ted Poston Research Collection consists of biographical information about Poston and a transcript of an interview that Professor Luther P. Jackson did with Ted Poston on "interracial reporting" in October 1968. Most of the collection consists of typescripts of articles and columns written by Poston (1927-1971) collected and prepared by the donor, Kathleen Hauke. less

The Frederick O'Neal Papers document the theatrical, labor, and civic activities of this actor and labor leader, mostly from the 1940s through the 1990s. The collection consists primarily of personal papers, correspondence, speeches and addresses, writing, and information about the theatrical productions in which he appeared. There are also research materials about the 19th century African-American actor, Ira Aldridge, and files pertaining to the many organizations with which O'Neal was associated. less

Emmett "Babe" Wallace is a singer, composer, actor and writer. He has performed in cabarets, musical revues, films and the theater. As a composer and writer, he has produced a voluminous body of musical compositions, poetry essays and journals. Music, songs, poetry, prose, daybooks, scripts, personal papers, printed material, and other papers, relating to Wallace's career in cabarets, musical revues, films, and theater in the United States, Canada, France, and Israel. Themes in his creative work include personal life, civil rights, religion, and politics. less

The T. Thomas Fortune Scrapbook consists primarily of clippings of Fortune's articles from the "New York Age," 1890-1898, in which he discussed events and issues affecting African Americans nationwide as well as overseas. There are also articles from other newspapers such as the "Evening Telegram, the "New York Sun," the "Texas Morning News, the "Galveston Daily" and the "Brooklyn Daily Eagle," some of which he authored, and articles written about him by fellow journalists, 1889-1904. less

Alphonso H. Johnson, a Harlem resident, was a sleeping car porter with the Pullman Company and a member of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The Alphonso H. Johnson Papers contain personal letters primarily from female friends who lived in Montreal and along the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S., and correspondence relating to his employment with the Pullman Company. There is also some documentation for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. less

Personal papers, family and general correspondence, writings, field notes and research materials, working papers, office files and printed matter documenting Ralph Bunche's personal life and professional career, from his enrollment at the University of California to his retirement in 1971. less

William Haywood Burns was a civil rights activist, lawyer, educator and dean of the City University of New York Law School at Queens College. He is the author of The Voices of Negro Protest in America, published in 1963. A graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School, Burns served as legal counsel to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc., from 1967-1969. He was one of the founding members and became the first director (1970-1973) of the National Council of Black Lawyers (NCBL), an organization that helped to acquit Angela Davis of murder and kidnapping charges that also represented other black political activists, including Black Panther members and Vietnam War resisters. Highly recognized for his work with the Attica prison uprising in 1971, Burns spent much of his career working tirelessly to recruit more people of color into the legal field, and was committed to educating lawyers about the complexities of representing underserved communities for the public good. Also active in the anti-apartheid for a quarter of a decade, Burns was a member of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers. During one of his trips to South Africa, he was killed by a speeding lorry. The Haywood Burns Papers is organized into seven series: Personal, Correspondence, Legal, Writings, City University of New York (CUNY), Subject Files and Organizations. The majority of the Papers represent Burns' legal work and the various organizations with which he was connected including the National Council of Black Lawyers, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Community Service Society of New York, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, National Lawyers Guild, ACLU's National Prison Project, New World Foundation, Twenty-First Century Foundation, and the Vera Institute of Justice. less

The Canada Lee Papers document two of the careers of this multi-talented man: his profession as an actor and his career as a boxer. The papers consist principally of personal and professional correspondence; speeches; and contracts, correspondence and other material generated during the production of a play or movie in which he performed. A significant part of the collection is newsclippings and other material housed in a series of scrapbooks. Also included are financial records, and a few artifacts. less

Uriah Gittens was the Executive Secretary of the New York Local of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) during the 1920s. He appears to have assumed this position some time prior to the imprisonment of Marcus Garvey, founder and president of UNIA, in 1925. A collection of 24 letters (1925-1929) primarily written by Uriah Gittens, the Executive Secretary, New York Local of the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). The Gittens' letters detail the factionalism and infighting that plagued the UNIA at all levels and contributed significantly to the demise of the New York Local, as well as the creation of the Garvey Club. The letters are addressed to Marcus Garvey during his imprisonment in the Federal Prison in Atlanta, Georgia and later in Jamaica, West Indies following his deportation. Correspondents include George A. Weston, Vice-President of the New York Local-UNIA and William Sherrill, Acting President General, UNIA-Parent Body, relating to Weston's attempt to remove Gittens from the position of executive secretary of the New York Local. less

Clergyman, author and educator. Steward became a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1861 and served congregations in Macon, Georgia, Brooklyn, New York, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Delaware, Washington, D. C., and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He was also the chaplain for the 25th Infantry where he served in the Philippine Islands and Cuba. In 1907 he joined the faculty of Wilberforce University, with which he was associated until his death, serving as vice-president, chaplain and professor of history, French and logic. Correspondence, writings, deeds, documents related to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and journals. The journals constitute the largest section of the papers and cover his early years in the ministry in Georgia (1868-71), Haiti (1873), where he established a church in Port-au-Prince, and Philadelphia (1880s); his chaplaincy in Ft. Missoula and the Philippine Islands (1890s); and his years at Wilberforce University (1907-24). The journals contain a variety of items and are not arranged chronologically: drafts of sermons, essays, speeches; accounting notes; lecture notes and course notes. Two journals record marriages, baptisms and funerals performed by him in the Philippines. The correspondence includes letters to Steward from his children, Frank, Charles, Theophilus Bolden, Gustavus, his brother William and a letter from John W. Cromwell. less

The Alice Childress papers document Alice Childress's career as a writer and actress, and her activities in the theatre for five decades in New York City. The Personal Papers series includes correspondence, an oral history conducted by Ann Shockley, Childress's FBI file, diaries, calendars, interviews, educational materials, family letters, files for her two husbands, and biographical information about Childress. Significant correspondents include writers Kay Bourne, Harold (Hal) Courlander and Susan Koppleman. less

Curtis Powell, African-American scientist and Black Panther Party member, was born in Orange, New Jersey in 1935, and died in Queens, New York in 2002. After serving in the military, he studied Chemistry, first at Seton Hall University, then abroad before receiving his PhD from the University of Stockholm in 1968. Upon his return to New York, Powell joined the Black Panther Party (BPP). A year later, despite limited evidence, Powell and twenty other BPP members (eventually known as the "Panthers 21") were jailed for over two years before being acquitted. Following his release, Powell moved to Africa and developed a vaccine for Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness). He returned to the United States in 1994 to try to bring his vaccine into production. The Curtis Powell Papers contain letters, research data, scientific reports (most in several drafts), published articles, presentations, and patent documentation for his vaccine, as well as copies of Black Panther Party documents and publications, including organization and planning documents for the BPP's 25th Anniversary Celebration. less

This collection consists of ten letters from George Padmore (1903 - 1959) to his friend and confidant Cryil Ollivierre, MD, a fellow Trinidadian. The letters are informal and warm, summarizing some of the major events taking place in Padmore's life at that time. His views of the world and people are also expressed in his letters. The collection includes a booklet, The Voice of Coloured Labour: The Speeches and Reports of Colonial Delegates to the World Trade Union Conference, 1945. less