Found 8 collections related to African American businesspeople

Singer and actor Jules Bledsoe created the role of Jo and the interpretation of the song "Old Man River" in the original production of Show Boat (1927). This collection consists of correspondence, contracts, musical compositions, legal documents, financial records, programs, broadsides, and news clippings documenting Bledsoe's professional career, particularly in Europe. less

"Billy" Butler was a musical arranger, conductor, violinist, and travel editor of the Pittsburgh Courier. A graduate of Chicago Musical College, Butler worked with J. Rosamond Johnson, Eubie Blake, and other prominent African American musicians of the period. He also conducted several musical revues, including Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939, Rhapsody in Black, and Sissle and Blake's Shuffle Along. In 1947, Butler started Travelguide, a directory of public accommodations in the United States which catered to people of African descent. The list was later expanded to include foreign countries. Butler was also co-owner of King Travel Organization, Inc., a New York City agency which specifically catered to travelers of African descent. The William H. Butler papers include correspondence and printed material relating to Butler's musical career; articles by Butler on African American music and musicians; a scrapbook containing reviews of the Lew Leslie musicals in which he appeared; orchestral parts for Blackbirds of 1939 and Rhapsody in Black; holograph scores by Butler; a folder of lyrics; and a playscript by Butler entitled "Let's Forget Papa". less

Collection of newspaper clippings, programs, and some correspondence documenting Rudolph J. Thomas' career (1920-1965) at the Harlem Branch of the Young Men's Christian Association at 135th Street in New York City. Also included are certificates, honors, and a scrapbook. less

George Rich Metcalf (born Feb. 5, 1914 in Auburn) was a white American N.Y. State Senator; president of the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing; an activist; businessman; journalist; author; and philanthropist. In 1948, he became chairman of the Auburn Housing Authority before being elected to the New York State Senate in 1950. He authored many bills regarding fair housing, civil rights, and public health. In 1965, he left the Senate to write about racial injustice. He authored four books, including two books on Black history. During the 1970s, he taught Black history at Auburn Community College. He died on May 30, 2002. The George R. Metcalf research files are comprised of research material for Metcalf's two books, Black Profiles (13 biographies of prominent African Americans living and deceased), and Up from Within: Today's Black Leaders (a biographical sequence of emerging Black personalities and their contributions to the "Black revolution" in America). Material consists of clippings, correspondence, typescripts, transcribed interviews, notes, and miscellaneous printed material. The material covers notable figures including Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Roy Wilkins, Shirley Chisolm, W.E.B. Du Bois, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, Medgar Evers, Jackie Robinson, Eldridge Cleaver, Whitney Young, Jr., Harriet Tubman, Edward Brooke, Julian Bond, James H. Meredith, and Andrew Brimmer, among others. less

Henry A. Toppin (1884-1965), born in Barbados, immigrated to the U.S. in 1906. He became a licensed undertaker and established a funeral parlor in Harlem in 1934; his son, Alvin, joined the firm sometime later. Toppin was active in political and civic affairs; he was a member of the N.Y. State Democratic Committee, and a delegate to the National Democratic Convention in 1952. He was a Prince Hall Mason and a Shriner and held various offices in both fraternal organizations. Henry Toppin's other son, Kenneth (1917-1993), was a graduate of the Howard University College of Medicine, 1944, and served as attending physician at Harlem Hospital from 1952-1976. He was also associated with other New York City hospitals. Henry A. Toppin's papers consist of personal letters from relatives and friends, including letters from his wife while he visited Barbados in 1946, and letters from a cousin in Barbados regarding property there; mortgages, leases, receipts, and correspondence for property owned in Barbados and in New York City; letters and other documents concerning his activities with the Democratic Party and his role in the 1952 National Convention; and a few documents related to his membership in the Prince Hall Masonic lodge, M.W. Hiram Grand Lodge. Kenneth L. Toppin's papers consist of personal and professional correspondence (the latter deals primarily with appointments to hospital positions); and material related to his membership in the Guardsmen, a fraternal organization. less

Internationally known cabaret personality Bricktop, was born Ada Beatrice Queen Victoria Louise Virginia Smith in Alderson, West Virginia in 1894. Nicknamed "Bricktop" for her red hair, she began her career as an entertainer at the age of 16, performing on the vaudeville circuit with Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles in McCabe's Georgia Troubadours minstrel show, then later with the Oma Crosby Trio, and the Panama Trio with Florence Mills and Cora Green. She also performed in saloons in Chicago such as the Roy Jones' saloon and Cabaret de Champion, also known as Café Champ owned by boxer Jack Johnson, and in Harlem at Barron's Exclusive Club and Connie's Inn. Bricktop went on to own her own nightclubs in Paris (1920s and 30s), Mexico City (1940s), and Rome (1950s). Towards the end of her career she made appearances on radio broadcasts, performed at various establishments such as The Club Tango in Chicago, and introduced Josephine Baker for her "come-back" engagement at Carnegie Hall in 1973. She co-authored "Bricktop" (1983), her autobiography, with James Haskins. The Ada "Bricktop" Smith DuConge Papers, 1920s-1984, primarily document the latter part of Bricktop's life and career. The Papers consist of letters and cards, daily planners and address books, notes on religious thoughts and other subjects, financial papers, sheet music, and news clippings. The diaries range from the 1920s to 1983 and in some instances serve as daily planners and account books. The volumes hold information pertaining to both her personal and professional life. The earliest letters date from the 1950s, after she moved to Rome. Primarily they are from people Bricktop worked with during her career including Jack Jordan, James Haskins, Hugh Shannon, David Hanna, and Earl Blackwell. Additionally, there are promotional materials that relate to her career as an entertainer, e.g. fliers, programs; invitations, among them two from Bricktop's in Paris in 1937; letters from broadcasting agencies; magazines noting her appearance dates; and news clippings that include featured stories about Bricktop in arts, entertainment and society columns. less

These oral history interviews form part of the Negro Political History series of the Earl Warren Era Project completed by the Regional Oral History Office, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. The interviews were conducted with African Americans who helped shape the history of California in the 20th century. Subjects covered include the importance of the interviewee to California history, both governmental and social. The interviews provide information about the subjects' personal lives; struggles with discrimination; achievements in public service, business, or the professional world; and unique contributions. This collection consists of oral history interviews with Frances Mary Albrier, A. Wayne Amerson, Julian Bagley, Odessa Cox, E. A. Daly, C. L. Dellums, Walter Gordon, Ira deVoyd Hall, Jr., Tarea Hall Pittman, Wilson Riles, and William Byron Rumford. Topics covered include labor, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, education, civil rights, the Virgin Islands, journalists, legislators, and housing. less