African American educators

Scope and Contents Ted Joans and Frederick King lectured together on 10/26/1976 (2015-0002/RR199). For more information on the lecturers, please see their individual profiles. RR199 Hale Smith introduces an unexpected guest--poet Ted Joans who is a member of the "Beat Generation." Joans speaks breifly and then reads some of his poems.  [~1:03:30] Frederick King (Percussionist) is the scheduled speaker for the evening. Mr. King picks on up the rhythm of Joans' last poem to discuss rhythm and...

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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...

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 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 Master drummer and percussionist Babatunde "Mike" Olatunji delivered his sole course lecture on 3/12/1970 (2015-0002/RR15). Olatunji emigrated to the United States from his native Nigeria in 1950. His lecture is 2 hours long and with the exception of 20 minutes, the vast majority of Olatunji's presentation was him performing music. He played drums and a flute and even sang on some numbers. Olatunji's lecture highlighted how elements of African culture (especially music and...

Scope and Contents Sculptor and art professor Billy Omabegho spoke to the Black Experience in the Arts course 3 times. In his 1971 lecture, the Nigerian-born Omabegho spoke about ancient African art, some work dating back to 60,000-30,000 BCE. He also had a slide show featuring examples of African masks, dances, paintings, and clothing. It is clear he wanted students to see that black individuals have been creating art since the earliest moments of humankind and that black artistic expression...

Scope and Contents Poet and playwright Lindsay Patterson delivered 3 lectures that can be found on 3 reels and 1 audio cassette. Patterson spoke on 10/2/1973 (2015-0002/RR241), 4/19/1977 (2015-0002/RR242 reel 1) (2015-0002/RR243 reel 2), and 12/5/1989 (2015-0002/AC14).Patterson attended Virginia State University, earning a BA in English before serving in the US Army as a reporter for Stars and Stripes. Arriving in New York City in 1962, Patterson began a four decade long writing career...

Scope and Contents Poet and English professor Raymond Patterson delivered 3 lectures. His work appeared in numerous publications and poetry anthologies. He spoke to the course on 11/1/1983 (2015-0002/RR244), 9/16/1986 (2015-0002/RR245), and 9/15/1987 2015-0002/RR246). Patterson was the author of 26 Ways of Looking at a Black Man and Other Poems, Elemental Blues, as well as two librettos written for operas composed by UConn...

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Ms. Patton spoke about her personal history, education, experiences with discrimination, civil rights all of which impacted her career and introduced the readings and monologues spoken by Spruill and Leslie. Mr. Spruill read a piece he wrote about Ms. Patton's father entitled "And they gave me gas money" and other monologues. Ms. Leslie's monologue began with "I'm what you call a good girl."

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.

Scope and Contents Musician and educator Addison Reed delivered 2 lectures that can be found on 3 reel to reel tapes. Lecture 1 occurred on 4/5/1977 (2015-0002/RR258 copy 1) (2015-0002/RR259 copy 2) and the 2nd happened on 4/1/1980 (2015-0002/RR260).RR 258 Edward O'Connor begins with a class announcement about the blizzard two weeks previously resulting in a change in the line up of speakers and what will be on the exam. Addison Reed is introduced by Hale Smith, as an authority on Scott Joplin...

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...

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...