Found 596 collections.

Papers include letters written to Bruce from black politicians, journalists, intellectuals, and activists including John Wesley Cromwell, Alexander Crummell, Richard T. Greener, T. Thomas Fortune, and Arthur A. Schomburg, as well as manuscript and printed copies of Bruce's articles, editorials, short stories, poems, addresses, and other writings concerning national and local politics, race relations, historical black figures, Haiti, Prince Hall Masons, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, among other topics. less

Quincy Troupe (born 1939) is a poet, author, and editor, perhaps best known for co-writing Miles: The Autobiography (1989) with the influential jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. His father, Quincy Trouppe, Sr., was an all-star catcher in Negro league baseball. The Quincy Troupe papers, dating from 1915 to 2008, mainly document Troupe's career from the mid-1970s to 2008. They also hold the scrapbooks of Quincy Trouppe, Sr. 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

Known as the "Mother of Medicine in Harlem", Muriel Petioni was a doctor and community leader. The Muriel Petioni papers reflect primarily on her participation in various organizations including the Gayap Organization; they also include professional correspondence; African diaspora related documents; and Harlem related documents. less

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ("made one") Church maintains full communion with the Armenian, Syrian, Indian, and Coptic Orthodox Churches, together known as the Oriental Orthodox Churches. In 1959, Abuna Theophilus, the Archbishop of Harar Province in Ethiopia, established the Western Hemisphere branch in New York, Jamaica, and Guyana. In 1990, a congregation was established in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and brought into the diocese. The Holy Trinity EOC Bronx assembly served as the headquarters of the Western Hemisphere and South Africa Archdiocese. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOC) in the Western Hemisphere and Southern Africa records (1939-1998) consist primarily of correspondence but also contain minutes; addresses and speeches by clergy; printed matter; some ephemera; a notebook of members' information (1970); and financial statements and documents (1956-1984). A significant portion of the correspondence (1993-1997) relates to tensions within the EOC generated by the installation of Abuna Paulos, an archbishop elected by the Holy Synod in Addis Ababa to replace Abuna Yesehaq, the Archbishop of the EOC in the Western Hemishphere and Southern Africa, and the Bronx EOC's legal challenge of Paulos's authority over the congregation and its property. The correspondence also records inquiries from persons interested in the liturgy of the EOC; general news of the EOC in Ethiopia, the United States and Caribbean; and needs of the EOC in South Africa. Also represented in the collection are correspondence and financial ledgers of the Ethiopian World Federation (1938-1970) and some records of the Ethiopian Students' Association in North America, including a list of Ethiopian students in the United States in 1965. less

The 167th Field Artillery Brigade, formed in November 1917 as a component of the 92nd Division, was the first brigade of Black artillery regiments of ever organized. It consisted of two regiments of light artillery (the 349th and the 350th) and one regiment of heavy artillery, the 351st. The 351st Field Artillery was trained at Camp Meade, Maryland, and in June 1918, it sailed with the rest of the 167th Brigade from Hoboken, New Jersey to Brest, France, where the troops received additional artillery training. As part of the U.S. 2nd Army's drive toward Metz, France in November 1918, the 351st attacked six towns within a week. In February and March 1919, the 351st returned to the United States. The 351st Field Artillery Collection contains a few of documents pertaining to field conditions in France. An order issued in French calls for the mandatory evacuation of the town Le Maire de Ville-à-Mousson, July 13, 1918, where the 3rd Battalion saw action. Included are schedules for the firing of weapons during training by the 351st Field Artillery in France, August-September 1918, and sanitary reports of field conditions. Many of the reports in this collection were certified by Captain Henry J. Meyer, U.S. Army surgeon. Additionally, the collection includes rosters of officers and enlisted men in the Sanitary Detachment with names, addresses, and discharge information. There is a passenger list of the army units which embarked from Brest, France in 1919, and a list of enlisted soldiers in the medical detachment who were discharged at Fort Dix, New Jersey, as well as a list of promotions for this detachment. Of particular interest are several statements indicating that no venereal disease or vermin were found among the troops. Other medical records for the troops to be discharged include cards with names and ranks of soldiers, issued by the infirmary at Camp Meade, listing cause of admission and disposition (transfer to hospital or return to duty), February-March 1919; and lists of the sick and wounded with names, rank, company, nature of illness, and place of treatment. There are also reports of sanitary inspections of conditions on board the U.S. Louisville and medical inspections of soldiers en route from Brest to Hoboken, as well as reports about the condition of supplies. A photocopy of a portion of a 1942 reunion program forms part of the collection. 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

Andrew Goodman, along with hundreds of other students, was a volunteer in the Mississippi Summer Project launched in June 1964 to register Black Mississippi residents to vote and to establish Freedom Schools. The Andrew Goodman Memorial collection consists primarily of news clippings and other printed material related to the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner. 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

The Wynn family, consisting of the Reverend Robert Daniel Wynn, his wife Rosie D. Wynn, and their daughter, Cora, lived in New York City and Newark, New Jersey. Reverend Wynn was the pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church from 1885 until 1902, during the period the church was located in Greenwich Village, New York City. He later pastored at Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, where he remained until his death in 1921. His daughter, Cora, was a pianist and performed in a number of recitals both before and after her marriage, when she was also known as Cora Wynn Alexander. The Wynn Family collection contains a small amount of material representing two members of this family. Rev. Robert D. Wynn's documents consist of a program celebrating the 90th anniversary of the founding of Abyssinian Baptist Church (1898); lyrics for a song he wrote, "I Would Live Longer"; and a program from Newark's Bethany Baptist Church (1907). Cora Wynn Alexander is represented by a letter written to her by a missionary friend in Cape Town, South Africa (1898), and several programs for music recitals, a few for which she performed. There are fifteen legal documents for property that the family owned in various locations in New Jersey (1919-1927). 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

The Church of St. Simon the Cyrenian held membership in the African Orthodox Church denomination. Under the leadership of Reverend Doctor William Russell Miller, its only pastor, the church was based in Brooklyn, New York from the 1940s through the 1970s. The records of the Church of St. Simon the Cyrenian span a thirty-year period (1940-1979) but contain significant gaps. There are two general ledgers (1947-1949, 1956-1978) documenting the finances of the church, and vestry records for the 1960s and 1970s, as well as marriage licenses (on index cards). Other records include church programs and announcements for fund raising events to benefit the church, letters, Miller's sermons, eulogies, and a few daily diaries noting Miller's appointments and other activities. 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

New York City's first so-called Slum Clearance Project, headed by urban planner Robert Moses, caused the physical destruction of a once tight-knit African American community that dated back to the early 1900s. The buildings on 98th and 99th in Upper West Side Manhattan, or what is affectionately known today as "The Old Community", were razed from the 1940s to the 1950s as part of this urban renewal program. Although the residents were forced to relocate, the community stayed connected through annual dances (ca. 1950s-1990s) organized by constituents of the West 98th and 99th Streets Association, and then through "The Old Community" annual reunions (1999-) headed by Jim Torain. The Old Community West 98th-99th Streets Reunion collection consists of "The Old Community" reunion programs, 2003-2011; background information on some of the former community members; reports; journal, newspaper, and magazine articles about the history of the West 98th and 99th Streets community, Park West Village (which replaced the buildings on West 98th and 99th Streets), and the urban renewal program and its impact on this neighborhood. Additionally, there are a few Spirit of 179 newsletters, 1952-1953, which were written by the young members of the PS 179 Community Center. They note some of the community events before the relocation took place. 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

Moorish Science Temple of America, is an U.S. religious movement founded in Newark, N.J., in 1913 by Timothy Drew (1886–1929), known to followers as Noble Drew Ali and also as the Prophet. Drew Ali taught that all Blacks were of Moorish origins but had their Muslim identity taken away from them through slavery and racial segregation. He advocated that they should "return" to the Islam of their Moorish forefathers, redeeming themselves from racial oppression by reclaiming their historical spiritual heritage. He also encouraged use of the term "Moor" rather than "Black" in self-identification. Many of the group's formal practices were derived from Muslim observances. This collection consists of materials collected by Allen Ahmed Bey for his research on the Moorish Science Temple in the United States. Included in the collection are legal briefs on the status of Moorish Nation Nationals (citizens) which contain a public declaration of national constitutional immunity. Also included are a number of documents on the history of the Moorish Nation and instructional manuals (lessons) for members. 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

Nanette Bearden (née Rohan) was a fashion model, dancer, and founder of the Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theatre. The Nanette Bearden Papers document some aspects of Bearden's personal life and her careers as a fashion model and dancer/choreographer. less

The Montserrat Progressive Society was formed September 25, 1914, with the aim of alleviating the socio-economic challenges faced by Montserratians who immigrated to New York. The Montserrat Progressive Society records, 1916-1999, consist primarily of meeting minutes and financial ledgers. less

The New Heritage Theatre Group records consists of playbills, broadsides, flyers, playscripts, correspondence and printed matter relating to the organization's productions and events from 1965-2015. Of particular note are original playscripts and production materials for the South African musical "Sarafina!" (1988-1991) and flyers and announcements for a play reading series entitled "Voices of Griots" (1991-1996). There is also a biographical file for Roger Furman. 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

William H. H. Wilkinson was the special assistant of administrative action to improve the relationship of Blacks in the New York State Division of Placement and Unemployment Insurance. The collection contains memoranda, reports, budget estimates, printed matter, and correspondence related to Wilkinson's role and career with the New York State Employment Service. 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

The collection consists primarily of printed material used by Stephanie Black in researching the sugar industry in the United States and its treatment of the foreign workers who harvest the crop, for the film "H-2 Worker." Included are FBI files related to investigations of the United States Sugar Corporation, 1940s peonage petitions filed by the Workers Defense League, and internal FBI files of contractual agreement violations and abuses of individuals contracted to work in the program. These files were retrieved through the Freedom of Information Act. There is also documentation that the AFL-CIO initiated legal action against the sugar corporations, opposing their use of foreign workers for the available jobs and not American citizens, and the treatment of those hired to harvest the sugar cane. The newspaper clippings from the 1940s through 1990s present a view of the media's coverage of the U.S. sugar industry, along with national and regional public and political positions on the "H-2" guest-worker visa program. U.S. federal and state positions on farm/migrant workers, public response, and positions of individual politicians, both in the Caribbean and the United States are documented in the clippings. Also included are notes, transcripts of interviews, and copies of legal briefs prepared by the Farmworkers Justice Fund. The collection is arranged in alphabetical order. less