Found 119 collections related to Authors, Black

Harriet Pickens joined the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in 1944 as a member of the Women's Reserves in the U.S. Naval Reserve. She was one of two African American women to be sworn in as an officer, and she was commissioned as a lieutenant following her training, the first to receive this high rank. The Harriet Pickens papers primarily contain documentation regarding her military service as a lieutenant in the WAVES (1944-1946) and her public service work. 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

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 Bureau of Social Science Research (BSSR), which existed from 1950-1986, was a non-profit research agency created to conduct research in basic and applied social science. Albert E. Gollin (1930-l999), a media sociologist, was a research associate of the BSSR. The Bureau of Social Science research files are comprised of materials from the two sociological studies for which Albert Gollin was the principal investigator, the March on Washington (l963) and the Poor People's Campaign (l968). less

Sam Wooding was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer, and the accompanist-manager for his third wife, singer Rae Harrison. The Sam Wooding papers primarily document certain aspects of his career, with some files pertaining to his partnership with Rae Harrison and her early career. less

William Holmes Dyer was an African American physician in Kansas who served in World War I. While in Kansas, he was a member of the staff at Old General Hospital and was the medical examiner for Standard Life Insurance Company. Dyer was appointed a First Lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps of the 92nd Division, which saw action in France. He was trained at the special training camp for Black officers at Ft. Des Moines, Iowa, and was later assigned to the 317th Sanitary Train at Camp Funston, Kansas. In June of 1918, he set sail for France. These memoirs are written in a narrative form, and begin at the point that Dyer decided to enlist in the Army, continue through the Armistice and his return to the States, and end wtih his discharge from the Army. Dyer briefly discusses the period spent at Ft. Des Moines and Camp Funston and the voyage to France. He gives his impressions of the people and his surroundings in Brest, France, where his Division landed, and other cities and towns where they traveled as they made their way to the Western Front. Once at the front, there are no descriptions of battles, only of the death and destruction caused by the bombings and battles. He barely discusses his medical duties and only makes some mention of racial incidents, segregation, and racism in the Army. The memoir is handwritten and bound. Pasted into the volume are photographs of soldiers at Camps Funston and Riley in Kansas, postcards from France, and The New York Times clipping, "Buffaloes Return Colors from War". Also included are memoranda from Headquarters, copies of circulars from the 317th Ammunition Train, and his orders from the War Department. A photograph of Dyer is located on the page fronting the section titled "Brest, France". A transcription of the memoirs accompanies the manuscript. less

Ethel Payne (1911-1991) was an award-winning journalist and syndicated columnist with extensive national and international reporting experience. The Ethel Payne papers mostly consist of materials related to her time as a reporter (both domestic and international); work with various organizations (such as Africare); participation in conferences and symposia; teaching appointments; and interest in civil rights issues, both domestic and international. less

The Black Theology Project (BTP) is an interdenominational organization, originally organized as one of eight projects of Theology in the Americas (TIA). The Black Theology Project records include files of the Board of Directors, administrative materials, and program files. less

Harry Haywood was an African American member of the Communist Party who became a leading proponent of the theory that Blacks in the South, who were oppressed by Jim Crow laws and a system of serfdom (sharecropping), constituted a separate nation and had the right of self-determination. The Harry Haywood papers, 1948-1981, consist of typescripts of articles, speeches and book manuscripts; correspondence; photocopies of journal articles; and materials related to the Communist Party USA and several of its offshoots. less

Levi Coppin Hubert (1904-1970) was an African American journalist who worked for both Black and white newspapers in New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, among other cities, in the 1930s. During that time, he also worked for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) writing news stories about Blacks in Harlem for the Federal Writers' Reporting Project. Most notably, with nine other contributors, he wrote a guidebook, The History of the Negro in New York, detailing the history of Blacks in New York City from 1623 until 1936. Additionally, he headed the Publicity Unit of the Federal Music Project. Hubert's primary research interest was the history of Black soldiers in the United States Armed Forces. He wrote manuscripts for two books, "In the Name of Congress: Inspiring Stories of 47 Negroes Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor", which he completed in 1967, and "Their Muskets Flashed the Dawning: Regimental Histories of the United States Colored Troops During the Civil War: 1962-1865"; there does not appear to be evidence that either of the manuscripts were published. Hubert also helped prepare a four-part silent filmstrip called the "History of the American Negro (1619-1865)" for use in schools. Hubert died in 1970. The Levi C. Hubert papers pertain to Hubert's research on Black soldiers in the United States Armed Forces and other topics in African American history, and include manuscript drafts, correspondence, reproductions of photographs, news clippings, notes, and printed material. Most of the material is devoted to his manuscripts, "In the Name of Congress: Inspiring Stories of 47 Negroes Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor" (1966-1967), which discusses awardees from the Civil War era to the War in Vietnam, and "Their Muskets Flashed the Dawning: Regimental Histories of the United States Colored Troops During the Civil War," which is mostly a compilation of official Civil War records of the Union and Confederate Armies. There are drafts for both manuscripts as well as research material. Drafts for short articles that Hubert wrote can be found in this collection, while printed copies of his articles for the Federal Writers' Reporting Project are contained in a scrapbook. Also included are notes, correspondence, and printed material regarding the filmstrip entitled "History of the American Negro (1619-1865)." There is also some genealogical material concerning Hubert's family. less

This collection consists of various screenplays, television scripts, and radio scripts of different provenances; many of these scripts were transferred from the African Americans in film collection (Sc MG 690). Additionally, many of the scripts are written by Black authors. less

The Étienne and Ghislaine Charlier collection is comprised of letters, political treatises, and printed matter, all useful for a study of the Haitian left in Haiti and abroad. There is very little in the way of the biographical or personal, especially for Étienne, and the majority of the collection's letters are incoming to Rey Charlier. Despite this, the collection still offers a sense of the Charliers' political thinking and development, particularly through four documents written by Étienne Charlier. These are Aperçu sur la formation historique de la nation haïtienne; the 1947 one year anniversary report of the Parti Socialiste Populaire, "Fascisme et Nazisme ou Socialisme Scientifique"; and a copy of the Comité Central du Parti Communiste Haïtien's Analyse Schematique, 1932-1934, co-written with Jacques Roumain. less

Clarence LeRoy Holte (1909-1993) is principally known as an African American bibliophile who collected books pertaining to Africa and the African diaspora. He was also an advertising executive and for twenty years worked as an ethnic market specialist for a general market advertising firm. The Clarence L. Holte papers reflect Holte's desire to educate people about Black history and culture, and his attempts to assist with the economic development of Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia through the advertising company he represented. less

Henry Thorpe Bradley was an African American book collector and writer of verses and short stories. Bradley was born in Enfield, N.C., and moved to Brooklyn (N.Y.) during the 1920s. His published and unpublished works include: "Love and Mystery, a Tale in Rhyme" (1907), "A Printer's Dream" (n.d.), "Effusions of the Soul" (1917), "Marching to Berlin" (1918), "Ethiopian Women's Society of the Moon" (1926), "Out of the Depths" (1928), "In Defense, a Sketch for Broadcasting" (n.d.), and "A Catalog of Books of Modern First Editions and Old, Rare Editions", 1936. Thic collection consists of correspondence, writing, and printed matter documenting Henry Thorpe Bradley's activities as an African American book collector and self-published author during the first half of the twentieth century. Included are letters to the editors of several New York daily newspapers on racial biases in media reporting and the invasion of Ethiopia by Mussolini's Italian troops; typescripts of poems; short stories and essays; and a radioscript entitled "In Defense.". 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