Black Panther Party
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 81
The collection consists of photocopies of printed material obtained by CBS News through the Freedom of Information Act from the Federal Bureau of Investigation File on the Black Panther Party.
X, Malcolm, 1925-1965
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc Micro R-6270
1.0 linear feet (16 reels)
Malcolm X was an African American nationalist leader and minister of the Nation of Islam who sought to broaden the civil rights struggle in the United States into an international human rights issue, and who subsequently founded the Muslim Mosque...
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Malcolm X was an African American nationalist leader and minister of the Nation of Islam who sought to broaden the civil rights struggle in the United States into an international human rights issue, and who subsequently founded the Muslim Mosque Incorporated and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City on February 21, 1965. Writings, personal memorabilia, organizational papers and printed matter documenting Malcolm X's activities and opinions as the Nation of Islam's first National Minister, and following his separation from the organization and his embrace of orthodox Islam in early 1964, as a prominent advocate of human rights and self-determination for African-Americans.
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Robeson, Paul, 1898-1976
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 170
0.56 linear feet (9 reels)
Correspondence, texts of speeches, articles, columns and statements written by Paul Robeson and his wife, Eslanda Goode Robeson, photographs, news clippings, and press releases documenting Robeson's artistic and political activities....
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Correspondence, texts of speeches, articles, columns and statements written by Paul Robeson and his wife, Eslanda Goode Robeson, photographs, news clippings, and press releases documenting Robeson's artistic and political activities. Correspondence pertains to Robeson's artistic career, and includes letters written by Eslanda Robeson regarding her husband's difficulties as a result of his association with the Soviet Union. Additional correspondence, reports, news clippings, contracts, and printed matter were generated by Robeson's national tours from 1952 to 1956. Included are materials about the concert and riot which took place in Peekskill, N.Y. during one of Robeson's performances, 1949; correspondence and legal papers referring to Robeson's difficulties in his effort to have his United Stattes passport restored; and letters by William Patterson and W.E.B. Du Bois. Also included are files on various organizations associated with Robeson in the 1950s, including the Council on African Affairs, the National Negro Labor Council, and the World Peace Council.
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International Labor Defense
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc Micro R-981
10 linear feet; 22 microfilm reels
Established by the Communist Party of the United States of America as its legal defense arm in 1925 to aid labor, political prisoners, and victims of reactionary violence. Using mass demonstrations and publicity, the International Labor Defense...
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Established by the Communist Party of the United States of America as its legal defense arm in 1925 to aid labor, political prisoners, and victims of reactionary violence. Using mass demonstrations and publicity, the International Labor Defense (ILD) conducted national and worldwide campaigns to gather support for its cases. In 1946 the ILD merged with the Civil Rights Congress. Minutes, reports, and financial records of the national offfice of ILD. Case files for the Scottsboro case, the widely reported case of nine boys convicted of rape in Scottsboro, Ala., 1931-1936; the case of Angelo Herndon, a black communist convicted and sentenced to death for his activities as an Unemployed Council (a Communist front organization) organizer in Atlanta, 1932-1937; Tom Mooney, an Irish American labor organizer on the West Coast, 1931-1939; Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian American anarchists accused of armed robbery and murder, 1926-1930; Lucy Parsons, the mulatto wife of Albert Parsons, one of the Chicago Haymarket Square martyrs of 1886; and the case of the Gallup, N. Mex., coal mine workers, 1933-1938. Case files include correspondence, news clippings, leaflets, petitions, press releases, manuscripts for books and articles, legal documents and reports, and speeches.
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Clark, Kenneth Bancroft, 1914-2005
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 236
12.33 linear feet (24 boxes)
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...
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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.
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United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 703
.2 linear feet (1 box)
Surveillance files on African American intellectuals and activists obtained from the FBI Archives via a Freedom of Information Act request.
X, Malcolm, 1925-1965
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 951
1.37 linear feet (5 boxes)
Partial manuscript, fragments, and unpublished chapter of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
O'Dell, Jack (Jack H.)
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 497
5.84 linear feet (14 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Jack Hunter O'Dell was an African American civil rights and political activist; he was known for his work with Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition, where he was the policy adviser to Reverend Jesse Jackson and director of...
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Jack Hunter O'Dell was an African American civil rights and political activist; he was known for his work with Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition, where he was the policy adviser to Reverend Jesse Jackson and director of international affairs. The Jack Hunter O'Dell papers consist mostly of professional papers related to his work with Operation PUSH, the National Rainbow Coalition, and various other civil rights organizations.
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National Negro Congress (U.S.)
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc Micro R-1182
5.88 linear feet (94 reels)
The National Negro Congress was established, in 1936, to "secure the right of the Negro people to be free from Jim Crowism, segregation, discrimination, lynching, and mob violence" and "to promote the spirit of unity and cooperation between Negro...
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The National Negro Congress was established, in 1936, to "secure the right of the Negro people to be free from Jim Crowism, segregation, discrimination, lynching, and mob violence" and "to promote the spirit of unity and cooperation between Negro and white people." This collection includes the files of executive secretaries John P. Davis, Edward Strong, and Revels Cayton, as well as financial records.
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Mayfield, Julian, 1928-1984
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 339
18.37 linear feet (42 boxes)
The collection documents Julian Mayfield's career as a writer, educator and actor, and his activities as a political expatriate in West Africa and Guyana. Significant correspondents include fellow African-American expatriates and friends Maya...
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The collection documents Julian Mayfield's career as a writer, educator and actor, and his activities as a political expatriate in West Africa and Guyana. Significant correspondents include fellow African-American expatriates and friends Maya Angelou, Herman Kofi Bailey, Sylvia Boone, William Branch, Tom Feelings, David DuBois, Preston King, Jim Lacy, Calvin and Elinor Sinnette, and Alice Windom. Other correspondents are John Henrik Clarke, Jules Dassin, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, James Forman, Richard Gibson, Gloria Joseph, Woodie King, Paul Mann, William Marshall, Truman Nelson, and Conor Cruise O'Brien.
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Schein, Ruth
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 113
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...
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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.
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Bruce, Herbert L., 1900-1990
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 79
3.21 linear feet (4 boxes)
Herbert L. Bruce was the district leader of the 12th and 21st Assembly Districts, and the first black Tammany Hall leader in New York City, 1935-1945. This collection consists of personal papers, letters, texts of speeches, news clippings, and...
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Herbert L. Bruce was the district leader of the 12th and 21st Assembly Districts, and the first black Tammany Hall leader in New York City, 1935-1945. This collection consists of personal papers, letters, texts of speeches, news clippings, and subjects files.
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Lane, Layle, 1893-1976
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 54
.2 linear feet
High school teacher and civil rights advocate in New York City. Correspondence, political files, and printed material documenting Lane's opposition to racial discrimination and war. Includes letters from World War II soldiers relating to...
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High school teacher and civil rights advocate in New York City. Correspondence, political files, and printed material documenting Lane's opposition to racial discrimination and war. Includes letters from World War II soldiers relating to discrimination in the military, and material on the 14th amendment, National Committee on Rural Schools, and the Socialist Party, on whose ticket Lane ran for office.
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United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 594
0.83 linear feet (2 boxes)
This collection consists of photocopies of FBI documents related to Ralph Bunche, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The files include the text of his Nobel Peace Prize address, a transcription of his statements to the FBI, and...
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This collection consists of photocopies of FBI documents related to Ralph Bunche, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The files include the text of his Nobel Peace Prize address, a transcription of his statements to the FBI, and summaries of interviews with former colleagues at Howard University.
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James, C. L. R. (Cyril Lionel Robert), 1901-1989
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 132
2.71 linear feet (7 boxes)
C. L. R. James was a West Indian scholar, political activist, and writer. Born in Trinidad in 1901, James began his career as a writer and sports journalist. He migrated to Great Britain in 1932, where he published his first major work, more
C. L. R. James was a West Indian scholar, political activist, and writer. Born in Trinidad in 1901, James began his career as a writer and sports journalist. He migrated to Great Britain in 1932, where he published his first major work,
The Black Jacobins, in 1938. He became acquainted with Marxism and Trotskyism in 1934, meeting with Leon Trotsky in Mexico in 1938. In New York during the 1940s, he led a small faction of left-wing Communists opposed to the policies of the Communist Party-USA, as well as to some of the main tenets of Marxism-Leninism and Trotskyism. Following his expulsion from the United States in 1953, during the Cold War, James relocated to London, residing at times in Trinidad, where he launched an opposition party against the government of Eric Williams, and in the United States, where he lectured periodically. James died in 1989. The C. L. R. James letters consist mainly of letters written by James to his former wife and political associate, Constance Webb. James's letters discuss a wide variety of subjects including love, politics (especially Marxism), art, history, sports, literature, and popular culture. Also included are miscellaneous letters and organizational materials documenting James's political activities in the United States, 1938-1953; and letters written to Webb, regarding her writings on Richard Wright, from Arna Bontemps, Lawrence Reddick, and Ellen Wright. Numerous letters also discuss the Johnson-Forest Tendency, a faction led by C. L. R. James, under the pseudonym of J. R. Johnson, and Raya Dunayevskaya (also known as Freddie Forest) within the Socialist Workers Party, which later evolved into the group Facing Reality. The letters are voluminous, averaging 20 pages on loose leaf paper; handwritten; undated; and either signed with a majuscule N (first letter of his nickname and political pseudonym Nello) or unsigned. They were transcribed and annotated by Webb.
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Pickens, William, 1881-1954
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc Micro R-4463
Collection primarily relates to Pickens' work as NAACP Field Secretary and Director of Branches, and contains a great deal of correspondence with NAACP officials. Of interest is material chronicling Pickens' and the NAACP's involvement in the...
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Collection primarily relates to Pickens' work as NAACP Field Secretary and Director of Branches, and contains a great deal of correspondence with NAACP officials. Of interest is material chronicling Pickens' and the NAACP's involvement in the Scottsboro Case in Alabama. Correspondents relating to the NAACP include James Weldon Johnson, Walter Francis White, Mary White Ovington, Arthur B. Spingarn, Joel E. Spingarn, Roy Wilkins, Thurgood Marshall, and W. E. B. Du Bois. Other correspondence is between Pickens and friends, acquaintances, fellow scholars, and business associates. There is correspondence with many organizations with which Pickens was involved, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, League for Industrial Democracy, Socialist Party of America, National Council of the Young Men's and Women's Christian Association, American Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born, and the Council for Pan American Democracy. Correspondents include Claude A. Barnett and Percival L. Prattis of the Associated Negro Press, and other individuals in government, education, and church affairs, among them John Haynes Holmes of the Community Church of New York. Writings are primarily composed of typescripts (manuscripts and editorials), speeches, and mimeographed Associated Negro Press columns and newspaper clippings of articles and editorials written by Pickens. Subjects dealt with in these different formats cover a wide range and serve to reveal Pickens' broad interests and intellectual scope.
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Hunton, Alphaeus, 1903-1970
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc Micro R-5003
Personal papers including biographical statements, and correspondence with other scholars and African political leaders including E.U. Essien, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, and Nnamdi Azikiwe of Eastern Nigeria. Correspondence, court summonses and...
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Personal papers including biographical statements, and correspondence with other scholars and African political leaders including E.U. Essien, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, and Nnamdi Azikiwe of Eastern Nigeria. Correspondence, court summonses and subpoenas, petitions, press releases, and printed matter related to Hunton's imprisonment for refusing to submit the records of the Civil Rights Bail Fund to the Dies Committee on Un-American Activities. Other papers concern his teaching activities. Hunton's work for the Encyclopedia Africana Project is represented by administrative files, personnel records, correspondence with Dr. J. Yanney-Wilson, Secretary of the Ghana Academy of Sciences, area editors, and Africanist scholars, and minutes, administrative reports and memoranda. Correspondence with Kwame Nkrumah, 1962-1970; and a clipping file on Nkrumah. Material pertaining to the National Negro Congress consisting mainly of press releases and printed matter relating to the Labor Committee of the Washington Branch of the National Negro Congress, and to the Dies Committee allegation that Hunton was a communist. Hunton's involvement with the Council on African Affairs is represented by correspondence, administrative and financial records, legal and financial documents, and printed matter.
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National Negro Congress (U.S.)
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 654
0.01 linear feet (1 folder)
The National Negro Congress was established in 1936 to "secure the right of the Negro people to be free from Jim Crowism, segregation, discrimination, lynching, and mob violence" and "to promote the spirit of unity and cooperation between Negro...
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The National Negro Congress was established in 1936 to "secure the right of the Negro people to be free from Jim Crowism, segregation, discrimination, lynching, and mob violence" and "to promote the spirit of unity and cooperation between Negro and white people". It was conceived as a national coalition of church, labor, and civil rights organizations that would coordinate protest action in the face of deteriorating economic conditions for blacks. Executive secretaries were John P. Davis, 1935-1942; Edward Strong, 1943; and Revels Cayton, 1945-1947. This folder contains a National Negro Congress (NNC) constitution; a proclamation of the "Negro History Week in Chicago"; a memo; and general correspondence to delegates and constituents. Letter writers include NNC President Max Yergan and Edward E. Strong.
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Johnson, Oakley C., 1890-
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc Micro R-972
Case files from the Louisiana Civil Rights Congress including pamphlets, legal transcripts and briefs, press releases, news clippings, and correspondence which documents the legal activities of the Congress, particularly its attempt to secure...
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Case files from the Louisiana Civil Rights Congress including pamphlets, legal transcripts and briefs, press releases, news clippings, and correspondence which documents the legal activities of the Congress, particularly its attempt to secure justice for Paul Washington and Ocie Jugger, both sentenced to death on rape charges. Material from Johnson's hearing before the House Un-American Activities Committee, 1957; and manuscripts and materials from his research for several writing projects, including "Marxism and the Negro," "Mask of Justice," and a "Glossary of Twenty-five Historic Civil Rights Cases." Also, notes, source materials, and manuscripts of his extensive writings on civil liberties and segregation, together with material concerning a trip through the South in 1957.
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Perry, Pettis
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 354
1.67 linear feet (4 boxes)
Pettis Perry was a Communist Party official and Smith Act defendant. The bulk of the Pettis Perry papers documents Perry's involvement in the Communist Party and his membership on the Southern California District Board.
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 732
0.42 linear feet (1 box)
Founded in 1937 by Max Yergan and Paul Robeson, the Council on African Affairs (CAA) was an independent, non-profit organization "dedicated to serving the interests of the peoples of Africa" and had a self-described unique "full-time and...
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Founded in 1937 by Max Yergan and Paul Robeson, the Council on African Affairs (CAA) was an independent, non-profit organization "dedicated to serving the interests of the peoples of Africa" and had a self-described unique "full-time and year-round job of providing Americans with the truth about Africa". This was achieved through the monthly "Spotlight on Africa" newsletter and other publications. The Council's other major function was to act as the channel of concrete assistance from Americans to Africans, sending money to aid the South African people's struggle against Malan's apartheid government. The Council on African Affairs/Freedom of Information Act (CAA/FOIA) collection consists of photocopies of the FBI file on the CAA obtained through a FOIA request. The FBI surveilled activities of CAA branches across the United States but the collection most frequently mentions the Los Angeles and Philadelphia branches, monitoring the growth, or lack thereof, of those branches.
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Collymore, Errold, 1892-1972
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 888
4.8 linear feet (13 archival boxes)
Born in Barbados, Errold Collymore immigrated to the United States in 1912 and graduated from Howard University's dental school eleven years later. His subsequent struggle to rent an office in White Plains, New York, compelled him into a life of...
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Born in Barbados, Errold Collymore immigrated to the United States in 1912 and graduated from Howard University's dental school eleven years later. His subsequent struggle to rent an office in White Plains, New York, compelled him into a life of civil rights activism which saw him organize a local NAACP chapter and become chairman of Westchester County's United Colored Republican Clubs. He was also involved with the YMCA and served on a number of committees concerned with housing equality and standards for Westchester County's black residents. Focusing on equality in the religious realm as well, Collymore and his family integrated the American Unitarian Association's White Plains Community Church when they joined its congregation in 1927. Correspondence, reports, speeches, minutes, notes, clippings, and other material document Collymore's activities at the vanguard of civil rights in Westchester County, New York. There are files for all of the major organizations with which Collymore was associated and held office, including the NAACP (White Plains Branch) and the nation-wide anti-lynching campaign; the Colored Republicans Committee with information on Black Republican activities and politics in Westchester County; the YMCA-White Plains; and American Unitarian Association (which he and his family integrated in 1927 when they joined the White Plains congregation). Correspondence and miscellaneous documents provide a glimpse into his personal and professional lives.
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International Labor Defense
Photographs and Prints Division. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture | Sc Photo International Labor Defense Collection
4.75 linear feet (19 boxes)
Collection consists of photographs, photomechanical prints, and negatives, many from news services such as International News Photos, collected by the International Labor Defense (ILD), documenting not only the labor and civil rights causes in...
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Collection consists of photographs, photomechanical prints, and negatives, many from news services such as International News Photos, collected by the International Labor Defense (ILD), documenting not only the labor and civil rights causes in which ILD was involved, but also examples worldwide of injustice and oppression occurring, with a few exceptions, during the 1920s through the mid 1940s.
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Belafonte, Harry, 1927-
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 933
40.87 linear feet (113 boxes, 4 oversize folders, 4 tubes). 7.9 megabytes (124 computer files)
Harry Belafonte was a Jamaican-American musician, actor, and activist best known for popularizing calypso music with international audiences, and his involvement in the American Civil Rights movement. His collection contains project files,...
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Harry Belafonte was a Jamaican-American musician, actor, and activist best known for popularizing calypso music with international audiences, and his involvement in the American Civil Rights movement. His collection contains project files, correspondence, scrapbooks, press materials, scores, lyrics, and scripts that chronicle his career as a singer, songwriter, actor, public speaker, and advocate for political and humanitarian causes. Belafonte's papers reveal the business aspects of his performance projects, source material for his acting and singing career, and organizing efforts associated with the political causes he championed.
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