African Americans

Scope and Contents Writer, arranger, and saxophonist Budd Johnson spoke to the Black Experience in the Arts course only one time on 9/12/1972 (2015-0002/RR10 reel 1) (2015-0002/RR11 reel 2). From his lecture, Johnson spoke about learning the piano at age 8 and later convinced his mother to buy him a saxophone. As a child, Johnson performed in musical groups such as the Blue Moon Chasers. Johnson's participation in the Chasers was just the beginning of his journeymen career as a...

Scope and Contents Architect Conrad A. Johnson delivered 4 lectures to the Black Experience in the Arts course, ranging from the years 1978 to 1983. In his 1983 lecture, Johnson described what it was like to be a working architect in New York City. He helped found Ifill, Johnson, and Hanchard architectural design firm. One reason the firm was established was Johnson related how hard it can be for black architect to find a permanent position. Johnson's presentations showed slides of buildings he...

Scope and Contents The Cornbread Players (7) perform "Jazznite", a one act, one scene play written by Jones. The cast includes Robin Braxton (Leola), Norma Jean Darden (Barbara), Lennal Wainwright (Slick), Sam Singleton (Elijah), Ed Bernard (Dudder), Walter Cotton (Uncle Baylock), and MacArthur Flack (Heddy). Questions and answer session with the actors and the playwright followed the performance. [Review of the play, NYT, 1971-04-19;...

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Painter Souleymane Keita lectured on 10/19/1982 (2015-0002/RR33) and again on 11/6/1984 (2015-0002/RR34).

Scope and Contents Musician Frederick King delivered 4 lectures. He spoke on 4/27/1982 (2015-0002/RR208), 4/19/1983 (2015-0002/RR209), 3/25/1986 (2015-0002/RR210) and 4/28/1987 (2015-0002/RR211). RR 208 Edward O'Connor makes several class announcements before the introduction of Frederick King. [difficult to hear since there doesn't appear to be a microphone; a lot of coughing and moving around] Mr. King provides a musical introduction followed by a discussion of some of the influences that...

Scope and Contents Poet, writer and professor, Etheridge Knight read from his Poems from Prison.Poems from Prison author and Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, Etheridge Knight lectured on 11/9/1970 (2015-0002/RR212). After being wounded while serving in the Korean War, Knight fell into a drug addiction which led to his arrest for an armed robbery in 1960. During his eight-year sentence, Knight began to write poetry and...

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Saxophonist Sylvester Kyner (also known as Sonny Red) spoke to the Black Experience in the Arts course on 9/19/1978 (2015-0002/RR207). Introduced by Hale Smith (who spells it K-I-N-E-R, Sonny Red spoke about the music he's been playing, the scene, plays music, and answers questions from the class.

Scope and Contents Dr. Langa speaks about the writer in exile.Author and professor, Bhekokwakhe Langa lectured on 11/12/1985 (2015-0002/RR213). Originally from South Africa, Langa is a playwright, author, and professor. A graduate of both the University of Connecticut and the University of Massachusetts (1984), he is the author of the book Never 'till that Overcast Day and a professor at Howard University and of Speech and Theatre at Bennett College (Greenboro,...

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Introduced by Leon Bailey, Mr. Lee provided some details about his background and the type of writing, the multiple media in which he writes and his preferences based on the amount of control he has over his writing.

Playwright Leslie Lee delivered a lecture on 9/29/1987 (2015-0002/RR214). Leslie Lee was an American playwright, director and professor of playwriting and screenwriting.

Scope and Contents Filmmaker and activist Butch Lewis delivered a lecture on 10/19/1970 (2015-0002/RR215). Before becoming a filmmaker, Lewis served in Vietnam for two years and then went on to found the Black Panther Party in Hartford. During this time, he helped to create a breakfast for children that began in a single church and eventually became city wide. In addition, Lewis was also deeply involved in filming a documentary regarding the social divide between African American and white communities during...

Scope and Contents Opera singer Mary Lindsay delivered 2 lectures. She spoke 1st on 2/14/1978 (2015-0002/RR216) and again on 11/27/1979 (2015-0002/RR217). RR 216 lecture: Hale Smith introduces operatic soprano Mary Lindsay. Ms. Lindsay references her own experiences as a Black woman in the field of concert and operatic music, as well as presenting a more general picture of the story of Black performing artists in America. aRR 217 lecture: Hale Smith introduces operatic soprano Mary Lindsay. ...

Scope and Contents Composer and jazz trombonist Melba Liston delivered 2 lectures. Liston spoke 1st on 9/25/1973 (2015-0002/RR218) and again on 11/9/1982 2015-0002/RR219). Melba Doretta Liston (January 13, 1926 – April 23, 1999) was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer. Other than those playing in all-female bands she was the first woman trombonist to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, but as her career progressed she became better known as an arranger,[1] particularly in...

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Painter and sculptor Andrew Lyght delivered his single lecture on 11/29/1983 (2015-0002/RR220). Andrew Lyght (born 1949 in Georgetown, Guyana) is a contemporary artist living in Kingston, New York. Lyght is a mixed media artist, often combining drawings, painterly elements, industrial objects, and sculptural wooden assemblages.

Scope and Contents Novelist Paule Marshall lectured on 10/21/1980 (2015-0002/RR221). Paule Marshall (April 9, 1929 – August 12, 2019) was an American writer, best known for her 1959 debut novel Brown Girl, Brownstones. In 1992, at the age of 63, Marshall was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant.RR 221 Hale Smith introduces "novelist extraordinaire" Paule Marshall. She talks about herself and her work to share that there are many kinds of writers not just...

Scope and Contents Landscape painter Richard Mayhew delivered 3 lectures that can be found on 4 reels. Mayhew spoke on 5/6/1970 (2015-0002/RR64), 5/9/1972 (2015-0002/RR65 reel 1), (2015-0002/RR66 reel 2), and lastly on 2/24/1971 2015-0002/RR317). Richard Mayhew (born April 3, 1924)[1] is an Afro-Native American landscape painter, illustrator, and arts educator. His abstract, brightly colored landscapes are informed by his experiences as an African American/Native American and his interest in Jazz and the...

Scope and Contents Composer and saxophonist Jackie McLean delivered 2 lectures that can be found on 3 reels. He spoke 1st on 2/12/1974 (2015-0002/RR5 reel 1) (2015-0002/RR6 reel 2) and again on 11/8/1977 (2015-0002/RR56). John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006)[1] was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the DownBeat Hall of Fame in the year of their death.In McLean's 1974 lecture, he discussed...

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Television news and public affairs official Mildred McNeill lectured on 12/1/1987 (2015-0002/RR222) and 9/19/1989 (2015-0002/AC11).