African Americans in popular culture

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Art historian Regenia Perry spoke on 10/4/1977 (2015-0002/RR24) and 11/30/1970 (2015-0002/RR248).

Perry taught one of the first African-American Art history courses at a traditionally white institution (Virginia Commonwealth Institution). Receiving her PhD in Art History from The University of Pennsylvania, Perry became the first African American woman to hold a doctorate in art, and the first African American to hold a doctorate in American art.

Scope and Contents Poet and English professor Eugene Redmond delivered 4 lectures. He spoke on 10/25/1977 (2015-0002/RR253), 9/27/1983 (2015-0002/RR254), 10/2/1984 (2015-0002/RR255), and 10/13/1987 (2015-0002/RR256). Redmond is a famous and prolific poet and professor having written or edited over 25 volumes of poetry, diverse writings, plays, and the posthumously published works by Henry Dumas. Redmond's most well-known piece of literature is Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry. Redmond has won a...

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Hale Smith introduces Eugene Redmond and Mary Lindsay. Mr. Redmond provides some personal background before moving on to discuss the importance of the phase "What's Happening?" Ms. Lindsay discussed prima donnas.

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Pianist and professor of music, Florence Robinson lectured on 2/20/1973 (2015-0002/RR262).

Scope and Contents Actress and arts administrator Joan Sandler lectured on 11/10/1981 (2015-0002/RR263). Not becoming active in the arts until her 30s, Sandler worked as a clerk and political activist before beginning to study theatre at the Negro Ensemble Company in the mid-1960s. Although she landed a role in the television drama series, Black Girl, Sandler turned to a career in art, and in 1975 began working as a program specialist for the Department of Cultural Affairs and then began working for the Black...

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Actor H. Scott lectured on 3/9/1970 (2015-0002/RR264). Unfortunately, no lecture note, transcription, or recording cover provides Mr. Scott's first name.

Scope and Contents Artist, author and minister Kefa Sempangi and jass musician and professor Leonard Goines lectured together on 3/25/1975 (2015-0002/RR265). Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Ugandan artist Kefa Sempangi’s (b. 1939, Uganda) practice spanned surrealist portraiture, abstract painting, found object assemblages and cast bronze.Goines holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, Columbia University, The New School, and Harvard University. He has taught at New York...

Scope and Contents Jazz saxophonist and flutist Sahib Shihab (birth name Edmund Gregory) delivered 2 lectures. He spoke on 9/9/1986 (2015-0002/RR266) and 9/1/1987 (2015-0002/RR267). Born Edmund Gregory, he changed his name to Sahib Shihab in 1946 after converting to Islam. Having an active performing and recording career in the US throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Shihab had the opportunity to play with Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Buddy Johnson, Tadd Dameron, Lucky Thompson, Dizzy Gillespie, Illinois Jacquet,...

Scope and Contents English professor Joseph Skerrett spoke once on 9/10/1985 (2015-0002/RR312). Skerrett received a bachelor’s degree in English from St. Francis College (1964), a master’s degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University (1965), and a PhD in English from Yale University, where he specialized in 20th century African American literature (1975). In 1973 Skerrett began teaching at the University of Massachusetts in the English Department where he taught courses in African...

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Artist Alvin Smith delivered a lecture on 11/14/1978 (2015-0002/RR268). Smith is a visual artist active in New York City. Smith's piece, St. Mary and Mississippi, is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Hale Smith introduces painter and educator Alvin Smith. Alvin Smith speaks about Afro American art in general and about his own work as a creative artist.

Scope and Contents Hale Smith (June 29, 1925 – November 24, 2009) was an American composer, arranger, and pianist. Hale Smith lectures can be found in the Black Experience in the Arts reel-to-reel collection. Smith was also the course's longtime co-instructor and responsible for selecting the class' many guest speakers since he knew many of the artists.In his 1972 lecture, Smith spoke to students about black composers. Smith, who at the time was one of the few black composers whose work was...

Scope and Contents Painter Vincent Smith delivered 5 lectures. Smith spoke on 1/24/1984 (2015-0002/RR269), 3/18/1986 (2015-0002/RR270), 3/24/1987 (2015-0002/RR271), 2/16/1988 (2015-0002/RR319) and 1/30/1990 (2015-0002/AC19). Smith was an American artist, painter, printmaker and teacher and known for his depictions of black life. Smith's work appeared in over 25 solo shows and 30 group exhibitions. His style was described as a bridge between Cubist and Abstract Expressionism.AC 19 Leon Bailey...

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Eileen Jackson Southern (February 19, 1920 – October 13, 2002) was an American musicologist, researcher, author, and teacher. Southern's research focused on black American musical styles, musicians, and composers; she also published on early music. She lectured on 9/26/1972 (2015-0002/RR272).

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Historian Donald Spivey lectured on 3/27/1990 (2015-0002/AC20).

Scope and Contents Actor, director, and theatre professor James Spruill spoke to Black Experience in the Arts students on 2/18/1986 (2015-0002/RR274/AC21) and on 2/10/1987 (2015-0002/RR247) with Lynda Patton and Georgette Leslie. Spruill attended Boston University (BU) for a Master’s of Fine Arts in directing in 1968 and was the first to be awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship. While a student at BU, Spruill co-founded the New African Company, a small professional theatre dedicated to presenting the...