Found 41 collections related to African Americans -- Education

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

Geraldine Louise Wilson (1931-1986), was an early childhood specialist, poet, writer and civil rights activist. Wilson would begin her educational career in Philadelphia. She moved to New York City and would eventually become Director of the Regional Training Office for the Head Start Program. She also worked as a consultant. During the 1960s Wilson joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and was a co-planner of the Mississippi Institute for Early Childhood Education. The collection, dating from the 1950s to the 1980s, mostly focuses on Wilson's career as an educator, consultant and poet and to a lesser extent the Civil Rights Movement. There are audio and moving image materials that support the collection. less

The Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) was a community action group that developed a Head Start program for low income, primarily Black, preschool children. The records of the Child Development Group of Mississippi consist primarily of reports documenting the history and goals of the Head Start program; training manuals; financial proposals; and printed material. less

Kenneth B. Clark founded and directed the Metropolitan Applied Research Center (MARC), a non-profit research corporation concerned with the problems of American urban society. This collection consists mainly of reports and studies accumulated or researched under the auspices of MARC. less

A founding member of Students for a Democratic Society, Betty Garman helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party's challenge to be seated at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City. This collection consists of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee-related materials created or collected by Betty Garman. less

Personal papers consisting of correspondence and other material related to Schein's role and activities in Mississippi, a personal account of the Summer Project, and an incomplete article about her experiences as a volunteer. Four participating organizations of the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) are represented through speeches, field reports, minutes, fact sheets, news clippings, and various printed matter, as well as data concerning the Freedom School operated by the COFO. Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party material contains documents related to the August 6, 1964 State Convention of the party which elected delegates to the 1964 National Convention of the Democratic Party in Atlantic City, N.J.; draft minutes; membership lists of nominating and resolution committees; voter rolls from the National Convention; and one copy of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Newsletter related to the Congressional challenge. 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

Iris Greenberg was a field worker for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Mississippi, 1963-1964. Greenberg grew up in Queens, New York. She received a BS degree from University of Wisconsin in 1963, and a MFA degree from SUNY New Paltz. At some point, she lived in Israel where she worked on a kibbutz; after moving to Woodstock, New York, she taught and worked for the Welfare Department. She passed away in 1978. This collection consists of printed matter, collected by Iris Greenberg, consisting of letters, telegrams, minutes, reports, and memoranda from the 1963 voter registration drive organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Mississippi; material related to the Arkansas Project; and printed matter from the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project organized by the Council of Federated Organizations, including some material on the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and Freedom Schools. less

The first group of Jack and Jill of America was established to create a medium of contact for the children of its members and to provide a constructive, educational, recreational, and cultural program for the children and their parents.The Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Metropolitan Chapter records includes correspondence and printed matter for the Manhattan branch. less

Hatzaad Harishon ("The First Step") was formed in New York City in 1964, by Yaakov Gladstone, a white Jewish Hebrew teacher, with the aim of bridging the gap between Black and white Jews of America. Its members adhered to the concept of Klal Yisrael ("the unity of the world's Jewish community") and rejected any ideology which was separatist and did not place Israel as the spiritual and national center of the Jewish people. Open to all Jews regardless of race, members of the adult organization met monthly and offered programs covering a wide range of topics and concerns. The organization sponsored Hatzaad Harishon's Youth/Young Adults, an activities group for young people ages 16-20. This group first came together as an Israeli dance troupe for the children of the adult members. The dance group was the fundraising and primary public relations arm of the youth group, and received media attention for its performances of Israeli folk dances. The organization dissolved in the late 1970s due to internal turmoil and the resignation of Yaakov Gladstone as vice president. The Hatzaad Harishon records consist of the correspondence of Yaakov Gladstone with other Jewish organizations; files about Hatzaad Harishon's youth activities and programs; and minutes of youth meetings. Also included are membership lists, files on fundraising benefits, and membership meeting notebooks. There is also scholarship and educational material, including information about yeshivot; program files and printed material related to other Jewish organizations associated with Hatzaad Harishon; and the mission statement and incorporation papers. Of interest is correspondence pertaining to Black Jews in Ethiopia and Philadelphia, and the Association of Black and White Jews, also located in Philadelphia. less

Eleanor T. Smythwick was an administrator of the State of New Jersey Manual Training School at Bordentown (also known as the Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth) and head of the Home Economics Education Department in the early 1950s. This collection contains correspondence, memoranda, and reports related to Eleanor T. Smythwick's career in the Home Economics Education Department at the State of New Jersey Manual Training School. Additionally, there are clippings and correspondence related to the closing of the State of New Jersey Manual Training School in the mid-1950s. less

The Edward S. Lewis Papers, 1918-1986 (bulk 1948-1986), consist primarily of printed material. In the General series there are: correspondence, with letters from Senator Walter Mondale and Robert C. Weaver; memoranda; minutes; travel itineraries and printed matter. Lewis' trips to East and West Africa, leading delegations of educators and peace advocates, are well documented in the collection. Also documented, are the anti-apartheid activities of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agency, Lewis' tenure on the New York State and the Presidential Consumer advisory councils; and the Manhattanville tenants and condominium owners' advocacy organization for which he was a board member. less

This collection consists of typescripts of novels, biographies, essays, and poems on historical, sociological, and educational issues, and conference papers. Some of the typescripts appear as final drafts, others as working drafts with author's annotations and corrections. Manuscripts included are "A Talk to Teachers: The Negro Child, His Self Image" by James Baldwin; "Slavery and Capitalism" by Eric Williams; "Life in a Haitian Valley" by Melville J. Herskovits; "American Dilemma" by Gunnar Myrdal; and poems by Waring Cuney, among others. Other authors represented are Arna Bontemps, Horace Mann Bond, Lloyd Brown, Helen Buckler, Henrietta Buckmaster, John H. Clark, Benjamin Davis, Ralph Ellison, Arthur Huff Fauset, and E. Franklin Frazier. Conference material includes Melville J. Herskovits and the Future of Africana Studies (Schomburg Center, May 1988); Marcus Garvey Centennial Conference (Jamaica, November 1987); and the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (Nigeria, 1977). less

The Andrew J. Chambers papers consist primarily of letters Chambers received that provide an account of his activities on behalf of the Richard Allen Monument, his attempt to secure congressional passage of a bill to establish a commission to study African-American life, and related efforts. Additionally, there is a scrapbook containing letters regarding the construction of the Allen Monument, pledges of support, and acceptances to attend the unveiling, 1874- 1876. There are also testimonials from several prominent African Americans, including Fredrick Douglass and Henry Highland Garnett, and a petition signed by Mifflin W. Gibbs, Garnett, Robert Brown Elliott, John Mercer Langston, William Grant Still, Henry McNeal Turner, and James T. Rapier on behalf of the Allen Monument. Also included are a drawing of the monument and a map of the park. The second part of the scrapbook contains letters in support of the Colored Commission bill from President Chester A. Arthur, congressmen and other officials, 1877-1881. less

Benjamin F. Seldon was State Supervisor of Negro Adult Education for the New Jersey Works Progress Administration from 1938 to 1941. He served in World War I, then completed his education in Europe where he studied the economic, social, and political conditions of several countries. He also taught in France and at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (in 1928). The Benjamin F. Seldon papers consist of correspondence pertaining to various aspects of his career and personal life, and a scrapbook Seldon maintained containing news clippings relating primarily to African Americans in World War I. Many letters relate to Seldon's experiences as the State Supervisor of Negro Adult Education for the New Jersey Works Progress Administration in which he had 136 teachers under his supervision. Letters also pertain to the Civilian Conservation Corps. Additional correspondence is with religious, political, educational, and social organizations, and several prominent people including Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., Bertha B. Randolph (wife of A. Philip Randolph) and L. Hollingsworth Wood. There is also personal correspondence with Seldon's family and friends. A few letters are written in French and Spanish. less

Since the early 1960's August Meier has been a major force in the study of African-American history in his examination of late nineteenth and twentieth century America by his application of rigorous social and intellectual analysis. Meier was actively involved in the civil rights movement and studied its origins and development. He taught at three historic black colleges followed by twenty years at Kent State University. As editor of two major series on blacks in America, he influenced scholars and students alike. less

Educator, writer, founder of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Material consists of letters from Washington to Emily Howland, a benefactor of the Tuskegee Institute. Letters cover a wide variety of issues, including requests for financial assistance, progress reports, and annual reports of the Board of Directors of the Institute, as well as informal reports on his activities. The letters reveal frank expressions of his feelings regarding criticism he received from blacks, 1904; his surprise at being asked to speak at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, 1895, where he delivered his now-famous accomodationist speech; and a forceful statement of support for black people's efforts to protect their constitutional rights, 1900. Also, several letters in which he discussed the administrative problems at the Kowaliga School, a school for black children in Alabama, 1896-1898, and the response to his autobiographical articles which appeared in OUTLOOK MAGAZINE. Letters to Francis Jackson Garrison, son of the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, deal with diverse subjects including the conflict between Washington and William Monroe Trotter, editor of the BOSTON GLOBE. Letters regarding the Brownsville affair, 1906, and the Atlanta riot of 1906. Also, letters from Mrs. Margaret Washington to Emily Howland. less

The Twenty-First Century Foundation Records encompass administrative records consisting of minutes of board of directors meetings, directors' reports, committee records, legal correspondence and financial records; general correspondence relating to fundraising for the Foundation, proposals submitted for funding, and general administrative functions. In addition, there are files for an Achievement Awards Dinner held in 1977. The bulk of the collection consists of complete files for 125 grant recipients and notifications to unsuccessful applicants. The files for these small, black controlled, often grassroots organizations are a significant resource of research material detailing the primary purpose of the organization and may be the only source of information for some organizations. The material for the Clarence L. Holte Prize contains biographical information about all nominees, and correspondence with jurors. Information regarding recipients includes press releases, news clippings, and material pertaining to the awards ceremony. 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 Phelps-Stokes Fund Records contain administrative records including trustee and committee minutes, correspondence, memoranda, financial records, legal documents, speeches, reports, occasional papers, and printed material, such as pamphlets, brochures, clippings, articles, press releases and programs. Records concern the early work of the Fund in researching and supporting education for Africans and African Americans and improvement in housing conditions, through study commissions, reports, and project grants, as well as its engagement in contemporary debates concerning the philosophy and policies of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. To a lesser extent, the Fund provided early support for surveys of American Indian schools and administration, such as the 1928 Lewis Meriam study and the 1939 Navajo Indian study. Later endeavors included administering grants for conferences on race relations, exchange and training programs, cooperative programs with other foundations, government aid programs, and a number of cultural projects. 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

Roberta "Bobbi" Yancy attended Barnard College in 1959, one of only two Black students in her class. She often volunteered at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's New York office headed up by Jack O'Dell. During her sophomore year, Yancy helped organize, and chaired, a Race Relations Committee on campus. In late 1961, she spearheaded a regional civil rights action conference that laid the groundwork for continued northern student activism. Yancy's involvement with the Race Relations Committee taught her invaluable administrative and organizing skills that she brought south when she started working as a campus coordinator for the YWCA in 1962. She joined Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's staff in 1963, serving as both a campus coordinator and a conference organizer. One of her first SNCC tasks was to organize a three-day leadership training institute at Howard University. The conference focused on the economic exploitation of poor Black southerners. Yancy's role in SNCC was largely administrative, but she also participated in direct action protests in Atlanta, including a sit-in at SNCC's Atlanta office objecting to the fact that women almost always took the minutes at organizational meetings. Yancy also helped stage a sit-in at a Toddle House Restaurant in Atlanta, where she and other protesters were refused service and jailed. The protests gained national attention, and within weeks, the Dobbs Corporation (the restaurant's parent company) agreed to desegregate its businesses. In 1964, James Forman asked Yancy to head up SNCC's fundraising efforts in New York City, where she remained until 1968. She later went on to hold a leadership position at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City. The Roberta Yancy Civil Rights collection contains material generated by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other organizations. The collection contains historical data; correspondence; reports; writings; speeches by Stokely Carmichael, James Forman and John Lewis; and publications, manuscripts of freedom songs, and calendars produced by the SNCC. Also included is printed material from the Child Development Group of Mississippi (1966-67), Council of Federated Organizations (1964), Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (1964), and the Southern Education and Research Institute (n.d.); a list of "Black Elected Officials in the Southern States" compiled by the Voter Education Project of the Southern Regional Council (1969); and a "National Roster of Black Elected Officials" from the Joint Center for Political Studies (1971). less

Alton Rison was principal of Junior High School 117 in Brooklyn, New York, from 1971 to 1985, where he implemented a series of modern corporate management methods with the goal of changing "school chaos to achievement." This collection documents Rison's administration at Junior High School 117 and the methods he used to improve teaching methods and increase accountability of student achievement levels. less

An African American educator, Doxey A. Wilkerson made significant contributions to early childhood education and the education of secondary school teachers. The Doxey A. Wilkerson papers reflect Wilkerson's activities at the Jefferson School for Social Science and Yeshiva Universsity; as an educational consultant; and as a board member for many Connecticut-based civic organizations. less

The Academy, opened in 1980, was a private school associated with Mount Pisgah Baptist Church in Brooklyn. It closed in 2015. This collection consists of letters, memoranda, newsletters, programs, announcements, and instructions received and issued by the Academy. less

The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a government sponsored youth training and employment program from 1935 to 1943. The collection consists of images of primarily African American youths engaged in NYA activities including employment and training programs, meetings, and parades. The collection dates from 1935 to 1943 with the bulk of the images from 1942-1943 when the organization was placed under the War Manpower Commission. Other images include NYA's youth activities under the auspices of the Works Projects Administration (1935-1939) and the Federal Security Agency (1939-1942). Images that document the NYA administration are very limited. less

Archie Smith, Jr. was the James and Clarice Foster Professor of Pastoral Psychology and Counseling at PSR and the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California until 2011. The Archie Smith Jr. Papers document Smith's career as a pastor, scholar, and counselor and reflect his interest in placing individual and family experiences within the context of larger social, cultural, and spiritual systems. less

Correspondence course originated by Marcus Garvey in 1937 which was designed to train Universal Negro Improvement Association officials and organizers for leadership positions. The School of African Philosophy course consisted of twenty-one lessons and covered forty-two subjects ranging from communism to diplomacy to love. Garvey intended to give the students a view of the world that would not only replace pervasive Eurocentric philosophy, but would also affirm them as black people so that they could become actors in their own fate. Only graduates of the School could become official representatives of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The themes of the lessons were replete with Garvey's philosophy of success and prosperity with an emphasis on discipline. Throughout 1938 and 1939, the School of African Philosophy advertised in "The Black Man" as a correspondence course. The School of African Philosophy collection consists of a 1938 letter sent to Ms. Hazel Escridge, along with nine lessons and the Declaration of Oath. The latter includes a commitment to prevent other people from seeing the lessons, especially other races. less