Primary Source Spotlight: Ralph Ellison

Primary Source Spotlight: Ralph Ellison

Ralph Ellison historical newspaper coverage Harlem (as described by Leo Gurley) in interview by Ralph Ellison June 14, 1939 Ralph Ellison Invisible Man 1952 Book Cover with curator’s note Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man draft pages and portrait with curator’s note Ralph Ellison, Reading from a Novel in Progress Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature March 28,…

Primary Source Spotlight: Race Riots/Protests

Primary Source Spotlight: Race Riots/Protests

Wilmington, North Carolina 1898 New York City 1900 Atlanta, Georgia 1906 Springfield, Illinois 1908 East St. Louis, Illinois 1917 Chicago 1919 U.S. 1919 Ocoee, Florida 1920 Tulsa, Oklahoma 1921 Rosewood, Florida 1923 Harlem, New York 1935 & 1943 & 1964 Mississippi 1962 Watts, Los Angeles 1965 Detroit, Michigan 1967 Washington D.C. 1968 Los Angeles -Rodney…

Primary Source Spotlight: Harlem Renaissance

Primary Source Spotlight: Harlem Renaissance

Harlem Renaissance primary source set, includes teacher’s guide Harlem Renaissance primary source iBook Harlem Renaissance recollections: oral history Harlem Renaissance online exhibition Harlem Renaissance artists The Harlem Community Art Center and the WPA The Whites Invade Harlem WPA life history captured 1938 Harlem rent parties WPA life history captured 1939 Related resources Learning from the Source: The Negro Speaks…

Today in History: Langston Hughes

Today in History: Langston Hughes

Today in History–February 1–the Library of Congress features writer and poet Langston Hughes, born on this date in 1902. Famous for his illuminating and moving depictions of African American life, Hughes was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance movement. Learn more about this treasured American author by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access more stories,…

Learning from the Source: Amateur Night at the Apollo & Race Relations

Learning from the Source: Amateur Night at the Apollo & Race Relations

Read an oral history excerpt or the full oral history account by an audience member who attended amateur night at the Apollo Theater in November, 1938. In this account from American Life Histories, 1936-1940, Federal Writer Dorothy West describes an event that happened [there]. What does this event suggest about race relations in the late 1930s?…

Today in History: Orson Welles’ First Macbeth

Today in History: Orson Welles’ First Macbeth

Today in History–July 25–the Library of Congress features Macbeth,  “The Play That Electrified Harlem“. The closing night performance of Macbeth, produced by John Houseman and directed by Orson Welles for the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), was staged on July 25, 1936 and featured an all African-American cast. Find out more about this production by visiting the Today in History section, then follow the…