Found 29 collections related to African Americans -- Social conditions

The W.E.B Du Bois collection consists of a small body of speeches, articles, correspondence, and related material primarily authored by Du Bois. Of special interest is a typescript, with editorial comments, of the first two chapters of Du Bois's autobiography Dusk of Dawn: An Essay Toward an Autobiography of a Race Concept (1940-1942). The collection also includes a typescript of an article entitled "Miscegenation" (1935). There are thirteen speeches and a book review, ranging in subject matter from "The Talented Tenth", a tribute to Dr. Carter F. Woodson, race relations, labor issues, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Mahatma Gandhi. One of the speeches, "What the Negro Wants in 1948", was delivered at a meeting of the NAACP. less

The National Research Council Committee on the Status of Black Americans working papers consist of thirty-three essays prepared by prominent scholars in several fields as background for the publication, A Common Destiny: Blacks and American Society (National Academy Press, 1989). less

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

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

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

James Reese Europe, Jr., son of the well-known African-American musician James Reese Europe (1881-1919) and dancer Bessie Simms, was a seaman in the Merchant Marines during World War II. In 1942 the Marine Firemen's, Oilers, Watertenders and Wipers Association attempted to have Europe discharged in direct violation of Presidential Order 8802 of the Fair Employment Act. With the support of the War Manpower Commission and many on board the ship, Europe was permitted to continue in his position. Over time he moved up from wiper (entry-level position) to deck engineer, and with his captain's recommendation he attended officer's candidate school and returned to sea as an ensign in the U.S. Maritime Service. By the time of his discharge in 1946, Europe had been promoted to lieutenant and had received recognition for his work in the Middle East, Pacific and Atlantic war zones. The James Reese Europe, Jr. Papers consists primarily of photocopies of documents related to a case of discrimination during World War II in direct violation of Executive Order 8802, involving James Reese Europe, Jr. and the Marine Firemen, Oilers, Watertenders and Wipers Association in San Francisco (1942). Several documents provide the details of the case from the perspective of the Bay Area Council Against Discrimination, which assisted Europe in presenting his case to the Committee on Fair Employment Practices and to the War Manpower Commission. The union's viewpoint is also represented. Included are originals and copies of certificates, awards, and discharge papers, in addition to letters and documents dealing with his termination from the New York City Police Department on charges of alleged subversive activities related to the aforementioned discrimination case. 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

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

The Hosea Hudson Papers document this labor leader and communist organizer's political activities in Alabama and the Communist Party's attitude toward labor and the rights of African Americans. The bulk of the collection, dating from 1952 to 1958, consists mainly of Communist Party material: reports, memoranda, resolutions and printed matter. Subjects reflected in these papers are labor-unions, farm labor, unemployment, industrial workers, segregation, and the right of African Americans to vote. Hudson's writings are represented by drafts of two books: "Black Worker in the Deep South: A Personal Record" Written by Hudson (1972) and "The Narrative of Hosea Hudson: His Life as a Negro Communist in the South" written by Nell Irvin Painter (1979), and of several unpublished works, in addition to book reviews, notes and some correspondence. Hudson's intensive trade-union involvement at the Wallwork Foundry of the Tennessee Coal and Railroad Company and the Jackson Foundry in the 1930's and 1940's are sparsely documented. less

The Cyril D. Tyson Papers consist of documents Tyson compiled for the publication of his three monographs. The first of the books is "The 'Unconditional War' on Poverty and the Use of Computer Technology by Community Action Agencies, 1965-1972. As this book covers the use of computer technology by community action agencies between 1965 and 1972 in New York City, Boston, Hartford, St. Louis, Missouri, Harris County in Texas, the Ozarks in Missouri, and Wisconsin, the files pertain to these geographic localities. Included are interviews, many case study drafts, correspondence with administrators from other agencies during the period Tyson served as the deputy administrator of Community Relations in New York City's Human Resources Administration, reports he prepared, and office memoranda, 1970-1972. 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

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

The Walter White Papers consists of writings, letters, contracts, printed matter, reports and financial records. The bulk of the collection consists of White's writings, including two published articles "Negro Segregation Comes North" (1925) and the "Negro and the Supreme Court" (1931), and two manuscripts entitled "Crossing the Color Line" and "Over the Color Line," which focus on "passing." There is also an unpublished manuscript, research material, notes and character sketches for "Blackjack" a work of fiction that deals with African Americans in the sport of boxing; and a description of the tableaux scenes for "Batoula", possibly based on the novel by René Maran, which was cast in Dahomey. There are also poems written by White's friend, Grace Mott Johnson (1928-1929). less

Lillian Wise Ross married World War I veteran, Ira Eugene Ross, in 1919. Their daughter, Dorothy Eleanor Ross, was married to Walter Franklin Anderson, an accomplished musician and the grandson of freed slaves. The Lillian Ross Letters consist of a few personal letters between Ross and her daughter, Dorothy, and son-in-law, Walter Franklin Anderson. Written in 1946, they concern shortages of household items in the village of Yellow Springs, Ohio, during the post-war period. There is a letter written by Anderson to his future mother-in-law explaining that he is the director of music at Karamu House; a flyer advertising his performance in 1942; and correspondence regarding Ross's claims for financial compensation as a veteran's widow. less

These interviews consist of six oral history interviews conducted by Theodore Kornweibel in 1970-1972, to provide firsthand accounts for his book No Crystal Stair: Black Life and the "Messenger," 1917-1928, published in 1975. The book examines the political, economic, and social alternatives available to Black people in the 1920s, including Garveyism, socialism, and trade union movements. Interviewees are: Arna Bontemps, James Ivy, Theophilus Lewis, Ernest Rice McKinney, A. Philip Randolph, and George S. Schuyler, all of whom either contributed articles to the Messenger or were on its board. less

Chester Higgins (born 1946 in Lexington, Kentucky) has worked as a New York Times staff photographer since 1975 and has exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the world. Higgins is the author of several books including Black Women (1970), Drums of Life (1974), Some Time Ago: A Historical Portrait of Black America from 1850 to 1950 (1980), Feeling the Spirit: Searching the World for the People of Africa (1994), Elder Grace: The Nobility of Aging (2000), Ancient Nubia: African Kingdoms on the Nile (2012), and his memoir, Echo of the Spirit (2004). The Chester Higgins artist file consists of an extensive curriculum vitae (2008), postcards of selected photographs, announcements and invitations to his solo exhibitions (1974, 1990-2012), and a press kit for the exhibition "Invoking the Spirit: Worship Traditions in the African World", which was on view at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Also in the file are announcements to his lectures; copies of his weekly column, "Lens", which was published in The New York Times (1992, 2006); reviews of two of his books; a sales blad for Feeling the Spirit; and a calendar and teacher's resource manual for his book Elder Grace. Articles featuring his photographs in The New York Times Magazine" and a variety of other magazines complete the collection (1990-2007). less

Joan Ross Sorkin is a playwright, opera librettist, musical theater bookwriter, lyricist, and screenwriter. Sorkin was born in New York City and attended the University of Rochester, as well as the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she studied history and politics. She went on to work as a research analyst in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she gained interest in race relations, a theme which has influenced several of her theatrical works. After earning a law degree and practicing law on Wall Street, Sorkin began writing plays and musical theater including the opera Strange Fruit and the play (mis)UNDERSTANDING MAMMY: The Hattie McDaniel Story. . Her plays, operas, musicals, and cabarets have been presented off-Broadway and at regional theaters, earning her national acclaim. Sorkin is currently a member of The Dramatist Guild, BMI Musical Theater Workshop, and New Vic Collaboratory. The Joan Ross Sorkin collection, 2003-2010, is comprised of materials documenting two of her works, the opera Strange Fruit and the play (mis)UNDERSTANDING MAMMY: The Hattie McDaniel Story, which are based on race relations and events from American history. The collection contains libretti, a piano score, programs, press releases, and reviews pertaining to the two works. less

Robert E. Penn, Jr. (1948- ) is an African-American LGBT activist, a writer, and a producer. The Robert E. Penn papers, dating from 1971 to 2003, reflect Penn's work as an activist; his work as Assistant Director of Education, HIV Prevention for the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC); his work as the author of the The Gay Men's Wellness Guide for the National Lesbian and Gay Health Association (NLGHA); his family and personal life; and writings. The collection holds clippings, correspondence, manuscript drafts, notes, posters, printed matter, and audio and visual materials. less

The Abyssinian Baptist Church Oral History Project consists of transcripts of interviews with ten African-American women—all Abyssinian members—about their recollections of Abyssinian Baptist Church as well as their Southern roots, their spiritual experiences and their political and Christian education. All of the women interviewed were more than seventy years old, and one was over ninety, at the time the interviews were conducted in 1992. The interviewees are: Helen Brown, Robbie Clarke, Susan Craig, Gwendolyn Jones, Esther McCall, Estelle Noble, Fannie Pennington, Olivia Pearl Stokes, Amy Terry, and Laura B. Thomas. Their remembrances date to the late 1920s, but the primary time period under discussion is from 1940 to 1970. Located in Harlem, Abyssinian was the first black Baptist church established in New York State (1808) and the fifth in the United States. The interviewer was Martia G. Goodson, an assistant professor at Baruch College at the time of the project. less

The Schomburg Public Programs at the Countee Cullen Library collection consists of 208 sound recordings created from 1941 to 1979. These recordings largely document programs held at the home libraries of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature, History and Prints, the precursor to the Schomburg Center. The collection was first housed in New York Public Library's 135th St. Branch Library, which was renamed the Countee Cullen Library in 1951. less