Results 1 to 25 of 33
Abbott-Sengstacke Family Papers
The Abbott-Sengstacke Family papers include materials from Robert Sengstacke Abbott (1868-1940) and John Herman Henry Sengstacke (1912-1997), as well as John’s wife Myrtle Elizabeth Picou Sengstacke (1914-1990). The papers trace the Abbott-Sengstacke family history from the mid-19th century in Georgia through Abbott's move to Chicago and creation of a journalistic empire, to the death of Sengstacke in 1997. Robert S.
Adlean Harris papers
This collection documents Adlean Harris’ work as a librarian, genealogist, researcher, and astrologer. The Adlean Harris Papers span the years 1876 to 2007 with the bulk of the material ranging from 1970 to 1995.
Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago records
The Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago (AAGHSC) was created to preserve and perpetuate the records of African American history and to encourage the study of African American genealogy. AAGHSC is a volunteer organization whose society members are experts in the field of African American genealogical research. AAGHSC helped family historians overcome challenges in African American ancestry research resulting
Alva Beatrice Maxey-Boyd papers
Alva Beatrice Maxey (1913-2009) was a social worker and educator. This collection is largely representative of Maxey’s educational and work history, especially her time as a Professor of Sociology at Northeastern Illinois University and her work as the Community Organization Director for the Chicago Urban League in the 1950s. Also well represented is Maxey and Charles Boyd’s battle to preserve
Ann Brown papers
Ann Brown was a member of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs and longtime member of the Missionary Society of Arnett Chapel A.M.E. Church.
Barbara E. Allen Papers
Barbara E. Allen directed, produced, edited, and wrote the 2005 Emmy-winning documentary, Paper Trail: 100 Years of the Chicago Defender. The film was hosted by Harry J. Lennix and featured such notables as Earl Calloway, Robert Sengstacke, and then Senator Barack Obama. It celebrates the centennial of the Chicago Defender and skillfully chronicles the pivotal role this groundbreaking newspaper played
Chester Commodore Papers
Chester Commodore was one of the most influential and acclaimed African-American cartoonists of the twentieth century. During the nearly 50 years his cartoons appeared in the Chicago Defender, Commodore used his art to advocate for racial justice, human rights, and equality of opportunity.
Cyrus Colter Papers
Cyrus Colter, a distinguished African-American writer, lawyer and professor, was born on January 8, 1910, in Noblesville, Indiana. Colter was the eldest of two children born to James Alexander Colter and Ethel Marietta Basset Colter, whose families had moved from North Carolina to rural Indiana in the 1830s in search of safe haven. His mother died when he was six
Doris E. Saunders papers
Doris Saunders was born August 8, 1921 in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating from Englewood High School in Chicago, Saunders attended Northwestern University and Central YMCA College in Chicago. In 1941 Saunders took a Chicago Public Library Training Class and began work as a librarian for the Chicago Public Library. She left the Chicago Public Library to start a corporate library
Dungill Family Papers
The Dungill Family, a touring band based in Chicago from the 1930s through the 1960s, achieved success as a family band in which each member played a different instrument. The papers include scrapbooks, correspondence, photographs, press clippings and memorabilia.
Edith Wilson Papers
Highly regarded as a blues singer and vaudeville performer by the 1920s, Edith Wilson went on to perform on radio, television, and as a spokeswoman for the Quaker Oats Company. Wilson was born Edith Goodall on September 2, 1896 in Louisville, Kentucky to Susan Jones and Hundley Goodall. After performing locally in her youth and at Louisville's Park Theater, Wilson
Etta Moten Barnett papers
An internationally-acclaimed concert and musical theater singer, social activist and philanthropist, Etta Moten Barnett’s career began in the 1930s and continued past her 100th birthday. She starred in Broadway musicals and in films. Her husband was Claude Barnett, founder and president of the Associated Negro Press. She was active in the Chicago chapter of The Links, Inc. Barnett's papers include
Eugene Winslow papers
The Eugene Winslow Papers (1851-1994) consist of materials related to Eugene Winslow’s professional life as an artist and in publishing as the Vice President of the Afro-Am Publishing Company. The collection includes newspaper and journal articles, photographs, Winslow’s sketches, and his drafts of biographical summaries for "Great Negroes Past and Present." The collection also includes a small amount of material
Frances Minor Papers
Frances Minor was born Frances Anderson, an only child, to Francis Elmo Anderson and Sadie Hilyard on February 8, 1923, in Provident Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. She married Chicago Public Schools administrator Byron Minor. Ms. Minor has collected from, and provided support to, African American artists in Chicago for nearly five decades. She is a board member of the both the
Fritz Pollard papers
An early and exceptional football star, Fritz Pollard played for Lane Tech High School, Brown University, and in the National Football League.
Grace Mason / Atkinson photograph collection
Grace Mason, a descendant of pioneering Chicago African American photographer Franklin Atkinson Henderson, donated his collection of nearly 100 photo portraits of “prominent Negro Chicagoans.” Photos were created from 1885 to 1915. Many of these photos were exhibited at the 1940 American Negro Exposition.
James M. Richardson papers
James Richardson, M.D., was an ophthalmologist at Provident Hospital and civil rights activist from the 1940s through the 1990s. He also studied his family history in Oklahoma and Texas.
Jeanne Boger Jones papers
The Jeanne Boger Jones papers contain materials that document the history of African Americans in the Midwest, including religious, military, occupational, and recreational endeavors, from the Civil War to the present. The records highlight such issues as equal opportunity in employment and housing, fair administration of veteran's benefits, and the history of African-American participation in the armed forces. Venues of
Joan S. Wallace papers
Joan Wallace, daughter of painter William Edouard Scott and widow of anti-poverty federal official Maurice Dawkins, was an assistant secretary of agriculture during the Carter administration. Her papers contain correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, photographs and memorabilia. The paper span the years 1901-2006, with the bulk of the material from 1977-1994.
Madeline Stratton Morris Papers
Educator, historian, and activist Madeline Stratton Morris was born in Chicago on August 14, 1906, the eldest of six children of John Henry Robinson and Estella Mae Dixon. Her mother was born in Chicago. Her father was born in Ronceverte, West Virginia and lived in Philadelphia before settling in Chicago, where he served in the Eighth Illinois Infantry and worked
Marjorie Stewart Joyner papers
Marjorie Stewart Joyner was National Supervisor of Madame C.J. Walker Beauty Colleges, chair of Chicago’s Bud Billiken Parade and Chicago Defender Charities, benefactor of Bethune-Cookman College, and an activist in the Democratic Party in Chicago.
Martin & Morris Music, Inc. papers
In 1940, Morris left Bowles Music House and teamed with gospel singer Sallie Martin to start his own publishing business, the Martin and Morris Music Company. Sallie Martin (1896-1988) had come to Chicago in 1927 from Pittsfield, Georgia to work with another gospel pioneer, Thomas A. Dorsey. Her group, the Sallie Martin Singers, traveled throughout the United States and Europe.
Mellissia Elam-Lauretta Peyton papers
Mellissia Elam came to Chicago in 1876 from Missouri. She established a club home for working girls in 1919; it became a center for social and cultural activities. Ms. Elam belonged to Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church. After her death in 1941, the work at Elam Home was carried on by Lauretta Peyton.
Melva Williams papers
Melva L. Williams was born in 1925 in Chicago, Illinois. After attending DuSable High School in Chicago, Williams attended several colleges and ultimately received her Bachelor of Education from Chicago Teacher’s College (later Chicago State University) and her Doctorate in Education from Nova Southeastern University. Over the years, Williams worked as a gospel music performer, choir director, music teacher, stage
Michael St. James photograph collection
Michael St. James, a photographer, collected early images produced by Chicago’s pioneering African American photographers.