African American authors

Scope and Contents Raoul Abdul lectured at the University of Connecticut's Black Experience in the Arts course a total of 18 times between 1973 to 1990. Abdul spoke on 9/16/1975 (2015-0002/RR8), 2/13/1979 (2015-0002/RR57), 9/12/1978 (2015-0002/RR58), 4/5/1988 (2015-0002/RR67), 11/9/1976 (2015-0002/RR84), 9/6/1977 (2015-0002/RR85), 9/18/1973 (2015-0002/RR86), 2/11/1975 (2015-0002/RR87), 10/2/1979 (2015-0002/RR88), 2/12/1980 (2015-0002/RR89), 9/16/1980 (2015-0002/RR90), 2/17/1981 (2015-0002/RR91),...

Scope and Contents Lecture notes, transcriptions of lectures and interviews, and over three hundred audio recordings associated with a University of Connecticut School of Fine Arts course, "Black Experience in the Arts." The course's instructors included professors James Eversole, Hale Smith, Edward O'Connor, Leon Bailey, and Carlton Molette. The records, particularly the audio recordings, document the contributions of black artists of the time period and the power of art as a mechanism for social change and...

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Charles Briggs lectured at the University of Connecticut on 2/6/1973 (2015-0002/RR111). Charles Briggs talks about himself and his experiences as a successful person in the theatre.

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Master storyteller Brother Blue (Hugh Morgan Hill) delivered his sole lecture at the University of Connecticut on 9/23/1980 (2015-0002/RR2).

Final note, the volume on this tape is uneven especially at the beginning of the recording.

Scope and Contents Novelist and playwright Wesley Brown lectured at the University of Connecticut on October 27, 1987 (2015-0002/RR112). Leon Bailey introduces Wesley Brown whose lecture focused on his personal journey that shaped him as a person and how those experiences shaped him as a writer. He was involved in the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960s. He has come to realize what drew him to this insurgency in the country was how the Black people looked like members of his family and how eloquently...

Scope and Contents Playwright Ed Bullins spoke to the Black Experience in the Arts course (2015-0002/AC6). Unfortunately no date is attached to his lecture so it unknown when he spoke to students.Bullins' work earned him New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards as well as Obie Awards (for off-Broadway productions). He also served as Minister of Culture for the Black Panthers. AC 6 The recording begins with questions and answers by an unidentified woman, no introduction, the male...

Scope and Contents This collection documents the published work of writers and recording artists of the Harlem Renaissance through the poetry, novels, plays and music that emerged between 1917 and 1934, a period in American history characterized by an “unprecedented mobilization of talent and group support in the service of a racial arts and letters movement,” according to historian and author David Levering Lewis. Assembled by Ann and Samuel Charters, the collection includes works by Arna Bontemps, Countee...

Scope and Contents Writer and editor Orde Coombs delivered 2 lectures on 9/23/1975 (2015-0002/RR123) and on 3/22/1977 (2015-0002/RR125 reel 2). RR 124 is a duplicate of 2015-0222/RR125.RR 123 Edward O'Connor begins with information about the class including a clarification about the composer of a piece performed by Raoul Abdul, who was the previous week's lecturer. The question posed was "Who was Hale Smith?" and O'Connor provides an extensive list of Smith's accomplishments. Smith introduces the...

Scope and Contents Poet, activist, and spoken word performer Jayne Cortez delivered a dozen lectures at the University of Connecticut, spanning the years 1972 to 1987. Cortez was a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship winner and the spouse of sculptor, Melvin Edwards, also a frequent lecturer to the course.Cortez spoke on 5/12/1972 (2015-0002/RR20), 11/28/1972 (2015-0002/RR74), 12/4/1973 (2015-0002/RR75), 2/18/1975 (2015-0002/RR76), 4/11/1978 (2015-0002/RR77), 2/19/1980 (2015-0002/RR78),...

Scope and Contents Crouch spoke on 2/28/1978 (2015-0002/RR128), 10/27/1981 (2015-0002/RR129), and 9/25/1984 (2015-0002/RR130) (2015-0002/RR311). Crouch was an American poet, music and cultural critic, syndicated columnist, novelist, drummer, and biographer. He was known for his jazz criticism and his 2000 novel, Don't the Moon Look Lonesome? He was a MacArthur Fellow and served as the senior consultant to Ken Burns' 2001 documentary, ...

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Novelist and literature professor William Demby lectured on 4/26/1983 (2015-0002/RR138).

RR 138 Hale Smith introduces speaker William Demby who spoke about a trip he had taken with his father the year before and the experiences that were shared during that trip.

Scope and Contents Poet and sociologist Calvin Hernton lectured on 3/29/1977 (2015-0002/RR177 178 [same program on both reels]). Calvin Coolidge Hernton (April 28, 1932 — September 30, 2001) was an American sociologist, poet and author, particularly renowned for his 1965 study Sex and Racism in America, which has been described as "a frank look at the role sexual tensions played in the American racial divide, and it helped set the tone for much African-American social...

Scope and Contents Painter, sculptor, and art historian Oakley Holmes delivered 2 lectures that can be found on 3 reels (RR185 is a copy).Holmes spoke on 2/15/1977 (2015-0002/RR4) and on 3/26/1974 (2015-0002/RR185 copy 1) (2015-0002/RR186 copy 2)RR 4 Holmes stressed that African-American art is not based on 1 style or mode of thought; it is as varied as the many personalities that produce such works. He emphasized that white artists or artists of other colors also encounter great...

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,...