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African American Creators

On the Record: Black Creators and the Jazz Age

March 8, 2023 - Alyssa Morris

Carl Van Vechten photograph of Billie Holiday

Exhibition organized by Harry Ransom Center graduate research assistants sheds light on black creators from the collections whose work exemplifies the spirit and history of jazz.

The music of saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker, photographs of jazz and swing singer Billie Holiday and saxophonist Dexter Gordon, a jazz-inspired essay by Langston Hughes, and a novel by writer Claude McKay are some of the works spotlighted in a display organized for Black History Month 2023.

[Read more…] about On the Record: Black Creators and the Jazz Age

Filed Under: Featured1 Tagged With: African American Creators, Black History Month, exhibition, Jazz, Music, Research

Rare ephemera shows legacy of Henry “Box” Brown

May 6, 2021 - Eric Colleary

Henry Box Brown emerging from a box

In his day, Henry “Box” Brown was a celebrated stage magician who incorporated performance into his lectures on abolitionism in the United States and England. Much of what we know about him comes from his memoir, the Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself (1851).

[Read more…] about Rare ephemera shows legacy of Henry “Box” Brown

Filed Under: Featured1, Theatre + Performing Arts Tagged With: African American Creators, Magic, magician, Performing Arts

Knopf archive reveals details about Lonely Crusade author Chester Himes

February 26, 2021 - Harry Ransom Center

Many writers and artists through history have developed their craft, and even published, while they were imprisoned. Among them is Chester Himes, an African American author who wrote about racism, prison life, and who is best known for his Harlem Detective series.

Records related to Himes are found in the Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. archive, which documents the history of the well-known publishing house. The papers contain correspondence, publicity materials, and/or manuscripts from a number of other African American writers, including James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, James Weldon Johnson, John Oliver Killens, Nella Larsen, Alain Locke, Claude McKay, and Walter White. [Read more…] about Knopf archive reveals details about Lonely Crusade author Chester Himes

Filed Under: Authors, Books + Manuscripts, Featured1 Tagged With: African American Creators, African American History Month, African American literature

ABOUT MELANIE ALBERTS
Melanie Alberts works in the Office of the Director at the Harry Ransom Center. She serves on the Diversity and Inclusion committee, is a psychic artist, and writes lyric poems which have appeared in journals such as Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review.

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Ransom Center Magazine is an online and print publication sharing stories and news about the Harry Ransom Center, its collections, and the creative community surrounding it.

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