Found 120 collections related to Authors, Black

Lawrence Dunbar Reddick (March 3, 1910 – August 2, 1995) was a professor, historian, biographer of Martin Luther King, Jr., and former curator of the New York Public Library's Schomburg Collection. Reddick was a scholar in the field of African American Studies and collected materials related to the Black experience in the military, education, and professional environments. Reddick's collection contains photographs and negatives used in his research, as well as images illustrating his academic career, civil rights advocacy, and personal life. less

Barbara Mae Watson was the owner and director of the African American modeling agency and charm school, Brandford Models, Inc. (later changed to Barbara Watson Models), and the first woman and first African American Assistant Secretary of State, serving under Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter. The Barbara M. Watson papers document Watson's career as a business woman, lawyer, government official, and diplomat. less

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

This collection consists of personal papers, professional and literary correspondence, office files, research notes, and printed matter documenting the professional and literary activities of Léon-Gontran Damas, an author, lecturer, and acting-chairman of the department of African Studies and Research Program at Howard University (1975-1976). less

The Middleton "Spike" Harris newspaper collection consists of newspapers from various U. S. states, the majority from the East Coast and from the 19th century. There are also some newspapers from London, England. Included are multiple publications per state, most with various issues. less

This collection consists of biographical material, programs, catalogs, printed material about Carver, plant specimens, and correspondence. Most of the correspondence is between Carver and Ford Davis, a white scientist employed at the Tom Houston Peanut Company in Georgia. In their letters, they discuss Carver's health problems, aspirations, and plans, and lament the fact that Carver's being Black prevents him and Davis from working together as fellow scientists. less

Charles Anthony Frye (1946-1994) was an early proponent of Black studies and taught philosophy, religion, and literature, and he was a published novelist and poet. The Charles A. Frye papers, 1964-1995, reflect the teaching and writer career of this professor of African and African American philosophy, religion, and literature. less

Harry A. Williamson, a member of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York, was a prolific writer on the subject of Freemasonry. The Harry A. Williamson papers : additions consist of writings, reports, souvenir journals, newsletters, and court depositions. less

Ira L. Jeffries author, playwright and journalist, had a productive career in New York City's off-off Broadway Theater and African American communities. The Ira Jeffries papers consist of biographical material including correspondence, memoirs, notebooks, and journals. less

Pearl Bailey (1918-1990) was an African American actress and singer. In films, she was known chiefly for two roles: Maria in Porgy and Bess(1959) and Frankie in Carmen Jones (1954). She was also known for her starring role on Broadway in an all-Black cast version of Hello Dolly. During World War II, Bailey toured with the USO, performing for American troops. Beginning in 1946, she was a top attraction in nightclubs, variety houses, and television programs in the United States and Britain. At age 67, in 1985, she graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor's degree in theology. Between 1968 and 1989, she published six books on her life, cooking, and educational experiences. Bailey served as a special ambassador to the United Nations in 1975 and 1989, and in 1988, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Pearl Bailey letters (1943-1989) consist of correspondence between Bailey and her friend, Lillian Morrison, a published author, compiler, and editor of children's and young adult books as well as a librarian at the New York Public Library, 110th Street Branch. Most of the letters were written by Bailey, and refer to her various endeavors, including her USO work at Fort Huachucha in Arizona; recordings of the song "Tired", which was one of her hit songs; Disney's The Fox and the Hound, for which she provided one of the voices; and her service with the United Nations. As both women were published authors, several of the letters make reference to this fact and to their long friendship and shared birthday, March 29, 1918. The letters do not provide a great amount of detail about Bailey's show business career. less

Father Divine (aka George Baker) was an African American religious leader and founder of the Peace Mission movement. The Father Divine collection consists primarily of material related to the broadcasting of Father Divine's sermons and messages over two radio stations. less

John A. Kenney, an African American physician, was a graduate of Hampton Institute and Leonard Medical School at Shaw University. From 1902-1924, he served as resident physician and director of Tuskegee Institute's Hospital and Nurse Training School and was a founder of the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital, also in Tuskegee. Forced to leave Tuskegee, Kenney relocated to New Jersey, and with his own money, built the Kenney Memorial Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, to serve African Americans. This private hospital opened in 1927 and in 1934, Kenney converted it to a community hospital, renaming it the Community Hospital of Newark. Kenney was also the founder and editor of the National Medical Association Journal. The NMA is the largest and oldest organization representing African American physicians in the United States. Kenney died in 1950 at age 67. The John A. Kenney writings consist of seven addresses which Kenney presented to various academic bodies. The speeches cover his medical background and accomplishments at Tuskegee Institute, including the construction of an infantile paralysis unit at the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital; his service for the National Medical Association; African Americans' contributions to surgery; and a description of the way that he used his personal investments to fund the construction of the Kenney Memorial Hospital and other medical causes. less

Best known for her performance in the title role of the original 1943-1944 Broadway production of Carmen Jones, Muriel Rahn (1911-1961) developed a reputation as a performer who was equally talented as a singer and an actress. The Muriel Rahn papers contain materials related to her performing career. less

Pearl Primus (1919-1994) was an internationally recognized dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. She is best known for presenting African dances, which she researched in Africa; studying their function and meaning; and performing before American audiences. She and her husband and partner, Percival Borde, conducted research in Africa from 1959 through the 1960s, and established a performing arts center in Liberia. However, Primus found her creative impetus in the cultural heritage of African Americans, exploring racism, as well as the dignity, beauty, and strength of Black people. Primus received an M.A. in education (1959) and a Ph.D. (1978) in dance education from New York University. In addition to teaching at such colleges as the five college consortium in Massachusetts, she founded several schools, one of which is the Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute, where her method of blending African American, Caribbean, and African influence with modern dance and ballet was taught. The Pearl Primus collection consists of two interviews conducted by Marcia Ethel Heard (1989) and James Briggs Murray (1992) with Pearl Primus, covering her dance career in the 1940s, the late 1980s, and the meaning of dance to her personally. There are a few programs, news clippings, and articles, as well as eight colored costume sketches for unidentified and undated dances. less

Samuel Carroll Buchanan received his Ph.D. from New York University in 1987 with a dissertation on Black quartets in the United States. He also sung with several groups, including the Charioteers, the Carr-Hill Singers, and the Gulf Coast Community Choir. Buchanan taught music in the New York City school system as well as at Five Towns College in Seaford, New York. Additionally, he worked as an administrator in the Peace Corps, serving in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. Buchanan died in December 2010. The Samuel Carroll Buchanan collection contains letters, sheet music, programs, and research materials related to quartet singers. There are two letters from Harry Douglass, a leader in the famous quartet the Deep River Boys, which began in 1936 at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) and a score by Douglass, "Come Rain or Shine". Additionally, there are two programs in the collection, the United in Group Harmony Association's "20th Anniversary Weekend Celebration" (1996) and the Blues and Rhythm Jubilee's "Whisky, Women, and ..." (1982). The research materials consist of photocopies of correspondence mainly from and to George F. Ketchum of Hampton Institute, detailing various opportunities involving the Hampton Quartette. less

Helen Armstead-Johnson (1920-2006) was an English professor and the founder/director of the Armstead-Johnson Foundation for Theater Research, whose purpose was to collect, preserve, document and exhibit African-American contributions to the American stage. The Helen Armstead-Johnson papers reflect some aspects of the personal life and professional career of this African American theater historian and educator. less

Cecil Anderson, also known as the "Duke of Iron," was an internationally known Calypso performer and composer. A native of Trinidad, Anderson moved with his family to New York in 1923. During his active years (1930s-1960s), he was influential in promoting the spread of this Afro-Caribbean music genre throughout the United States. Among his most popular songs are "Matilda", "Out De Fire", "Last Train to San Fernando", "Ugly Woman", "Big Bamboo", and "Don't Stop the Carnival.". The Cecil "Duke of Iron" Anderson collection contains newspaper clippings, a scrapbook, performance flyers and programs, invoices, booking requests, and copyright certificates. Some materials pertain to his daughter, Velma M. Anderson. less

James Baldwin (1924-1987) was the premiere African American writer and public intellectual of the post-War period. He authored six novels, three plays, dozens of short stories, a book-length work of non-fiction, a children's book, scores of essays and reviews, and a book of poems. Baldwin won renown in the U.S. and internationally for his writing, his leadership in the civil rights movement, and for championing human rights around the world. His essays and reviews, especially, are remarkable not just for their mastery of literary technique - their marriage of music and sharp analysis - but for the breadth of the African American experience which they interpret, dramatize, honor, and lament. These prose masterpieces are unique in the history of American literature for the depth, subtlety, and daring with which they explore the psycho-political causes and consequences of racism and other ideologies of political exploitation. His best known works include Go Tell It on the Mountain(1953), Notes of a Native Son(1955), Giovanni's Room(1956), The Fire Next Time(1963), and If Beale Street Could Talk(1974). "Five Years" is an 18-page typescript of sixteen unpublished poems (the last two being carbons) written by Baldwin between 1942 and 1948 prior to the publication of his first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain. The poems, which are dated, explore themes of love, fear and mortality, lifelong preoccupations of the author best known for his insightful essays and probing fiction. less

This collection mostly contains material related to Raoul Abdul's career as a singer and author. There is a limited amount of personal information, including some clippings from his early life. A large part of the collection consists of concert programs and tour information. Additionally, there is material on lectures and seminars, and reviews and correspondence regarding his writing, including 3000 Years of Black Poetry, The Magic of Black Poetry, and Famous Black Entertainers of Today. 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

Stella Holt was the director and producer of the Greenwich Mews Theatre, an Off Broadway theater in New York, New York. A friend of Langston Hughes, she was one of the first producers to use integrated casts. Prior to her career in theater, Holt graduated from Cornell University, worked as a social worker, and managed art exhibitions. The Stella Holt papers include correspondence, news clippings, broadsides, programs, and sheet music relating to various productions at the Greenwich Mews Theatre, as well as materials for the Citizen's Council of the Upper West Side, of which Holt was executive secretary. Also included are several essays, poems, and playscripts, some of which were produced at the Theatre, by Langston Hughes. less

Aubrey Howard Bowser was a writer, editor, and educator. Bowser was born in La Mott, Pennsylvania, a town founded by African American Civil War veterans that were led by his grandfather. He was a 1907 graduate of Harvard College, and later worked at the New York Age where he met and subsequently married Jessie Fortune, the daughter of T. Thomas Fortune, editor of the Age. Bowser's writings included book reviews and literary criticism for the New York Amsterdam News; poetry; and an unpublished novel entitled "Black Pilgrim: A Novel of Harlem's Early Life". Bowser also taught in the New York City public schools, including at New York Vocational High School, eventually becoming dean of that school. He died in 1979. The Aubrey Howard Bowser papers consist primarily of writings, academic and school related papers, and letters. Bower's writings include a manuscript for "Black Pilgrim: A Novel of Harlem's Early Life"; a short story, "Maryelle Rose"; poetry; book reviews; and critiques. There are also two full runs of The Rainbow, a weekly literary magazine that he edited, 1919-1920. Academic papers consist of a Harvard College notebook; course lecture notes; papers written for courses taken for his Master's degree and to qualify for a New York City high school teacher's license, 1943; and the publication, "Harvard College Class of 1907 Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Report" (1935) in which his picture appears. Included are T. Thomas Fortune's book of poetry, Dreams of Life (1905). less

The Stanley Crouch papers mostly consist of materials related to his writing; these materials include various drafts, manuscripts, and final versions of his newspaper columns, articles, and books, both published and unpublished. There is also a vast amount of research material (including publications by other authors) and interview transcripts, mainly for his biography of Charlie Parker. There is a small amount of personal papers, which includes family correspondence and some biographical information. Additionally, the collection includes correspondence, both personal and professional, and other professional matter, such as address books, day planners, and material related to his participation on various boards and committees, including the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation (LAEF) and the PEN American Center (now, PEN America). Finally, the collection consists of printed matter, which includes publicity material for Crouch's publications and appearances, reviews of his work, and interviews. less