AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY - LETTER by WILLIAM HENRY FITZHUGH printed in the CHRISTIAN MIRROR detailing the PLANS OF THE COLONIZATION SOCIETY. Fitzhugh's letter is printed on the left two columns of the front page.

Christian Mirror, Portland, Maine. Volume V, Number 15, November 24, 1826. Folio, single fold broadside (4 pages), each page approximately 15x21 inches.

Only FAIR Condition: Center and horizontal folds as issued, fraying at margins, creases, toning and foxing, some stains, a piece missing from the front edge affecting some text; nonetheless still holding together with text that is clear and legible. The name of "Mrs. M. J. Lewis" is written at the top of the front cover.

The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the repatriation of freeborn people of color and emancipated slaves to the continent of Africa.

Opposed by Abolitionists, one saying: "We recognize in the scheme of African Colonization the most intense hatred of the colored race, clad in the garb of pretended philanthropy; and we regard the revival of colonization societies as manifestations of a passion fit only for demons to indulge in."

William Henry Fitzhugh (1792-1830) was a Virginia planter, politician, and a Vice President of the American Colonization Society (ACS). Fitzhugh believed free Black people could never be integrated into American society. Fitzhugh was one of Fairfax County's largest landowners and slave owners. In 1810 he owned 242 slaves in the county. In 1818 he became very active in the ACS and sold 2000 acres of his Ravensworth plantation, a large brick building in Alexandria, and about 80 slaves, to raise funds for its cause. In 1820 he owned 158 slaves, vowing to eventually repatriate them.

In 1822, the ACS established a colony on the west coast of Africa. In 1847, the colony became the independent nation of Liberia.

RARE HISTORIC DOCUMENT RELATING TO PLANS FOR THE DEPORTATION AND COLONIZATION OF BLACK AMERICANS.

PLANTATION BIRD LEGENDS, by MARTHA YOUNG, with illustrations by J.M. Condé.

NEW YORK: R. H. Russell, 1902. First edition, first printing, with the statement "First Impression, October, 1902" on the copyright page with no indication of additional printings.

The book is dedicated 'To all the Dear Namesakes of E.Y. and A.E.Y.' (Elisha Young and Anne Eliza Young, Martha Young and her siblings' parents.)

SIGNED and INSCRIBED by the AUTHOR, MARTHA YOUNG, to her SISTER, ANN ELIZA MUCKLE, on the front free endpaper:

"To Ann Eliza Muckle / One of the Namesakes / With the love of her sister / Martha Young".

LAID-IN is a HANDWRITTEN LETTER by Martha Young to her sister "Mrs. Alfred Muckle". It is written on 1 1/2 pages of a 4 page single fold sheet of paper. Much of the handwriting is indecipherable to me, but here is how it begins: "Dearest Fredie: / This may be a help to you. If Fettie comes through and I see her I will ask if she has the book of..." The letter is signed/initialed M.Y. and dated (?) 20, 1934. On the folded backside it is addressed to Mrs. Alfred Muckle / Courtesy of Agnes Tutwiler". (AGNES TUTWILER was a relative of Martha Young; FREDIE likely was Martha Young's nickname for her married sister.)

Hardcover Book, illustrated covers, 249 pages. ILLUSTRATED with a frontispiece photograph "Witch Menées Child" and 27 b&w drawings. Though the drawings and their captions are meant to illustrate the folktales and dialects of Southern Blacks (mostly former slaves), and were widely admired by writers of the day, many would be considered racist today.

FAIR condition. The covers are soiled with a scattering of scrapes, the rear cover has some water staining to its bottom edge, the spine is substantially scraped and rubbed; nonetheless the covers are still solid and doing their job. Internally, the front inner hinge is cracked but holding well, there is foxing primarily to the first and last few pages, light finger smudges here and there, and one page has a thumbprint size chip to its front margin (not affecting text) and another with a 2 inch closed tear, else the inner pages remain tight, clean, clear and unmarked. All 27 b&w plates are present, a few have a bit of foxing. The laid-in letter has folds, creases, smudging and some stains, but the text remains clear (though the handwriting is difficult).

About MARTHA YOUNG (from Wikipedia and the Alabama Women's Hall Of Fame websites):

******Martha Strudwick Young, b.1862 d.1941, was an American regionalist writer known for her recounting of Southern folk tales, fables, and songs of Black life in the plantation era. She was admired by other writers for her skill with dialect. Young was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1986.

Martha Strudwick Young was the daughter of Confederate surgeon Elisha Young and Anne Eliza Ashe (Tutwiler) Young. The women's education and prison reform advocate Julia Strudwick Tutwiler was her aunt. Her family moved to Greensboro after the Civil War, and it was there that she learned the Southern folk tales and stories of African-American culture that would form the basis of her writings.

In 1901 Young published her first book, Plantation Songs for My Lady's Banjo and Other Negro Lyrics & Monologues. She followed up in 1902 with Plantation Bird Legends, which established her reputation as a leading writer of dialect tales. Young was one of a group of regional writers who helped to popularize the use of dialect as an adjunct to realism, including George Washington Cable, Kate Chopin, Mary Noailles Murfree, and Joel Chandler Harris. She has been called "Alabama's foremost folklorist."

From her 1986 induction into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame: "During a life which bridged two centuries, she recorded a rapidly disappearing culture, preserving it as a heritage for future generations."******

THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY Volume I and Volume II. By CARTER G. WOODSON.

Each copy is SIGNED, INSCRIBED and DATED by the author, CARTER G. WOODSON, as follows:

"To Miss M. E. Cromwell / with the best wishes of / C. G. Woodson / Jan 19, 1918".

Mary E. Cromwell was a founder of the The National Association of University Women, an activist for equality for African-American girls, and a mathematician. Her father was John Wesley Cromwell. John Wesley Cromwell is listed in the Index of Volume I.

Two hardcover books, gilt titling to the spines, 5.5x8.5 inches. Pagination: Volume I, iv, 462 pages. Volume II, iv, 464 pages.

Published by The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Lancaster, PA, and Washington DC, 1916 and 1917. First editions.

VERY GOOD condition: The covers had some professional restoration to the cloth boards, they are solid and lovely with just light signs of handling and wear. Internally, the front and rear inner hinges are professionally reinforced; overall the inner pages are tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. A nice, solid, very presentable set.

HISTORIC and IMPORTANT African-Americana. SIGNED and INSCRIBED by CARTER G. WOODSON to his 1918 colleague at M Street / Dunbar High School MARY E. CROMWELL, the noted Black activist and mathematician, these two volumes are not only rare but unique..

About CARTER G. WOODSON (from Wikipedia):

******Carter Godwin Woodson, b.1875 d.1950, was an American historian, author, journalist, and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. He was one of the first scholars to study the history of the African diaspora, including African-American history. A founder of The Journal of Negro History in 1916, Woodson has been called the FATHER OF BLACK HISTORY. In February 1926 he launched the celebration of Negro History Week, now known as the Black History Month.

In 1911 he began teaching at M Street (Dunbar) High School - An Elite Black

school. One of his colleagues was the mathematics teacher, Mary E. Cromwell. In 1912 Woodson was the second African American, after W. E. B. Du Bois, to obtain a PhD degree from Harvard University. But he continued for years teaching at M STREET HIGH SCHOOL until, in 1919, he joined the Howard University faculty.

Woodson worked to preserve the history of African Americans. He noted that African-American contributions were overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history.******

Read much more about Carter G. Woodson on his Wikipedia Page, in the article: THE BURGEONING 'CAUSE,' 1920-1930 AN ESSAY ON CARTER G. WOODSON (found when searched under that title), and elsewhere on the Internet.

About MARY E. CROMWELL, to whom the books are inscribed:

******Mary E. Cromwell earned her A.B. degree from the University of Michigan and her M.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania and did additional graduate work at Columbia University. She taught mathematics at M STREET HIGH SCHOOL / DUNBAR HIGH SCHOOL, an elite public High School for African-Americans in Washington, D.C. Miss Cromwell was keenly interested in social problems, especially as they concerned African American women. She was a founder of the National Association of University Women, and served as its first Secretary.

The noted African-American JOHN WESLEY CROMWELL b.1846 d.1927,

was her father.

MARY E. CROMWELL and CARTER G. WOODSON both taught at M Street / Dunbar High School in 1918, the year in which these books were inscribed by Woodson to Miss. M. E. Cromwell.******

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: These two books will require substantial additional shipping charges. Please contact us for costs to your country.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN PENTECOSTALS asked for FORGIVENESS by WHITES

Two rare pieces of ephemera related to the MEMPHIS MIRACLE, a conference where the WHITE PENTECOSTAL CHURCH asked AFRICAN-AMERICANS for Forgiveness, and set a path towards interacial reconciliation.

(1) PENTECOSTAL PARTNERS - A Reconciliation Strategy for 21st Century Ministry. Memphis, Tennessee, October 17-19, 1994.

A two-fold, six-panel (three on front, three on rear), 8.5x11 inch, announcement for the conference.

From the announcement: "October 17-19, 1994, will be 'red letter' days in the history of the Pentecostal Movement in America...The primary focus will be reconciliation of the African-American and Euro-American branches of the Movement...There is powerful evidence that God is answering the prayer of His Son, Jesus Christ, that His people may be one. A reconciliation dialogue will be open to the 200 participating leaders and pastors from both branches of the Movement and 1000 invited observers."

The conference of the ALL WHITE Pentecostal and Charismatic Church leaders and the ALL BLACK Pentecostal and Charismatic Church leaders went well. Some of the feet of Black church leaders were washed by White church leaders. The ALL WHITE and ALL BLACK Pentecostal Churches unified and became interracial under one umbrella, the Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America.

This important meeting became known as THE MEMPHIS MIRACLE.

(2) MEMPHIS MIRACLE REVISITED - Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America, September 30 - October 2, 1996, Memphis, Tennessee.

A two-fold, six-panel (three on front, three on rear), 8.5x11 inch, announcement for the conference.

From the announcement: "Memphis was the site for the 1994 conference, as God shook the world with the MEMPHIS MIRACLE..."

CONDITION: Both items are in VERY GOOD condition, just some signs handling and use, still solid, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

About the MEMPHIS MIRACLE (from Wikipedia):

******The Memphis Miracle was a 1994 meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, where representatives of Pentecostal and Charismatic denominations and churches came together to form the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA), an interdenominational and racially inclusive partnership. The PCCNA was created to replace the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America (PFNA) which was formed in 1948 by White Pentecostal Churches, but excluded Black Pentecostal groups. The PCCNA was created to remedy the situation, and it was at the Memphis meeting that the PFNA and its members apologized to the Black Pentecostal bodies.******

WOMAN'S CONVENTION AUXILIARY NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION 65th Anniversary Program Dallas, Texas 1901 - 1966 : Theme "Together We Stand"

Souvenir Program, Published by the Woman's Convention Auxiliary to the National Baptist Convention, Dallas, Texas 1966. First edition. Softcover, illustrated green wrappers, side staple bound, 12" x 9", 62 pages, historically illustrated throughout with b&w portraits, and photographs of the Black woman and men leaders of the NCB. GOOD CONDITION: covers have edge and corner creasing and some closed tears to the top edge, internally light creasing to the corner-tips, and light wear from age and use, overall tight, bright, clean and unmarked. A remarkable historic documentation of the Black Women in the leadership roles of a pivotal African American religious and activist organization at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Scarce, none in OCLC collections worldwide.

The National Baptist Convention (NBC) was founded in 1895, A major organization of African American Baptists and the nation's largest Black religious organization. Unfortunately, the NCB was not supportive of women's leadership so in 1900 two Black Women Suffragists and Civil Rights Activists, Sarah Willie Layten (1864-1950) and Nannie Helen Burroughs (1879-1961) played pivotal leadership roles in founding the Woman's Convention Auxiliary to the NBC. Representing over one million Black Baptist women, the Auxiliary provided means through which women organized on state and local levels around religious, political, and social issues, making their place of worship an epicenter for Black liberation and social change.

Original 1884 or 1885 Cabinet Card Photograph featuring an unnamed African American nurse or nanny dressed in a natural form bustle dress pinstripe uniform with matching pinafore apron and headscarf holding a white baby in a long gown and lace top. The back of the card does not identify the Black domestic employee but a penned notation states D.B.M. 3.5 months. The child's name is Dorothy B. Mann. Original Cabinet Card Photograph in VERY GOOD CONDITION. Albumen Print, 6.5" x 4.25" inches, the Photographer is Hugh J. Brady. Printed on the verso: "HJ BRADY Leading Photographer. COR[ner] MAIN and PARK STS. Orange N.J. Additional Copies Can Always Be Obtained And Instantaneous Portraits Of Children A Specialty"

In 1880, 35% of married Black women and 73% of single Black women were in the labor force compared with only 7% of married white women and 24% of single white women, most Black women were in low wage domestic service (Economic Policy Institute, 2019). The legacy of Black women's employment in industries that lack worker protections continues today. The culling of the federal workforce reinforces this historic discrimination.

Hugh J. Brady (American, b. circa 1859) Professional Photographer whose studio and business were in Orange, New Jersey from about 1884 to 1910. His cabinet cards from 1884-1885 were printed with variations of Main Street, Corner of Park Avenue, Orange, NJ. In 1886 his business burned down "The photographic gallery of Hugh J. Brady, Main and Park streets, Orange, N. J., was destroyed by fire lately." (Anthony's Photographic Bulletin of 1886.) After rebuilding, his cabinet cards were printed with the street address 393 Main Street, Orange, NJ, from 1887 to 1910.

POPULAR DANCE IN BLACK AMERICA

Dance Research Journal Congress on Research in Dance. Spring 1983. Published by the State University of New York, Purchase, New York, 1983. First edition, first printing. Sally Banes, Editor. Softcover, illustrated wrappers, side staple bound, 10.75" x 8.25", 60 pages, illustrated with b&w throughout. VERY GOOD CONDITION: covers have light toning to the margins and a touch of light wear, overall tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Uncommon.

A literary journal on the history and critical theory of dance. This issue features articles and photographs on popular dance in the Black community. Authors include African American Dance Specialist Katrina Hazzard-Gordon. Articles include "Swinging at the Savoy," "Between Two Eras Norton and Margot in the Afro American Entertainment World," "Afro American Core Culture Social Dance: An Examination of Four Aspects of Meaning," and "Disco: Afro American Vernacular Performance."

African American dance styles dominated American dance by the end of the 20th century. Over the first 200 years recognizable American dance styles progressed slowly through a blending of African and European movement and musical forms. By the end of the 1890s a distinct pattern emerged where dances created in Black communities spread out to the American mainstream such as the Charleston in the 1920s and hiphop freestyle in the 1970s and 1980s.

SCARCE GROUP OF IMPORTANT AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS BOOKS ONE SIGNED

1. Exhibition Catalogue. THE PROPHET AND OTHER PAINTINGS by Alvin Hollingsworth

ALVIN C. HOLLINGSWORTH attracted widespread critical acclaim with his groundbreaking exhibition THE PROPHET SERIES held at the Harbor Gallery in Long Island that travelled to the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1970. Harlem Renaissance Artist and Civil Rights Advocate Romare Bearden lauded the exhibition in the October 1970 issue of the New York Amsterdam News. And in a 1971 Ebony magazine interviewed Hollingsworth who provocatively stated, "I have always felt that Christ was a Black man . a symbol of any of the modern prophets who have been trying to show us the right way. To me, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King are such prophets." Published by the Harbor Gallery, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, 1970. First Edition. Softcover, dark yellow textured card covers with black printing and tipped on color plate, 9" x 6", side staple bound, 12 unnumbered pages including covers, illustrated with 7 b&w photographs of Hollingsworth's paintings and a b&w photographic portrait of the artist. NEAR FINE Condition: tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Scarce, only 11 copies in OCLC collections worldwide.

2. SIGNED Conference Program. THE SLAVERY DEBATE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? April 1975, Queens College, University of New York. John Henrik Clarke, Convener. Illustrated wraps 11" x 8.25", side staple bound, 8 un-numbered pages. SIGNED by HOLLINGSWORTH in blue pen on the front cover. Hollingsworth created the cover art for the program. NEAR FINE Condition: tight, bright, clean, unmarked and Hollingsworth's signature is bold and bright. Scarce.

3. Children's Book. I'D LIKE THE GOO-GEN HEIM. Written and Illustrated by A.C. Hollingsworth. Published by Reilly & Lee Books, a division of Henry Regnery Company, Chicago, IL, 1970. First edition. Hardcover in illustrated dustjacket, light yellow cloth covered boards with embossed metallic blue printing on the spine, 7" x 8", sky blue endpapers, 48 un-numbered pages, colorfully illustrated throughout, the inside rear panel of the dj has a b&w photograph of the artist Book and un-price clipped dustjacket are in NEAR FINE Condition: tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Scare first edition of Hollinworth's only children's book.

ALVIN C. HOLLINGSWORTH (1928-2000) Leading African American Artist, trail blazing Black comic artist, painter, illustrator, abstract expressionist, best known for his paintings relating to civil rights issues, the experience of Blacks within the urban landscape, Black women's rights, jazz, spirituality, and dance. Founding member with Romare Bearden of the Spiral Group of African American artists who linked their creative expression to social justice, other prominent members included Charles Alston, Emma Amos, Earl Miller, Norman Lewis, Hale Woodruff, Richard Mayhew, and Reginald Gammon. As early as 1945 he was illustrating comic books for various publishers including Cat Man Comics, which were issued under his name and pseudonyms, by the early 1950's he successfully created his own nationally syndicated comic.

Typescript Draft of the novel DAYS WITHOUT WEATHER by CECIL BROWN, an African-American author and screenwriter.

Copy of an original draft typescript. This early photocopy of the original typed pages was probably made for distribution to agent, editor and/or publisher.

The last page is Signed and Dated: "July 3, 1981 / Hollywood-Berkeley 1979, 81 / Cecil Brown" (again, this is a draft COPY of the actual signed page, not a hand signature on this draft) . The author's typed name "Brown": is at the top of every page. 296 pages, printed on plain 8.5x11 inch paper, printed on one side only (i.e. there are 296 sheets of paper).

Accompanying this typescript draft is a HAND SIGNED and INSCRIBED First Edition of DAYS WITHOUT WEATHER. Hardcover book in dustjacket, 5.5x8 inches, 250 pages. Published by Farrar Straus Giroux, 1983. "First Edition 1983" stated on the copyright page. The inscription is on the front free endpaper: "To Stanley / Here's to the new friendship! / Cecil Brown / Sept. 6 1987".

The TYPESCRIPT is in GOOD condition: the pages are lightly age toned; the first page has some closed edge tears, corner creases, and edge wear; the first 25 pages have corner creases; the last 10 pages have corner creases; the last several pages have edge wear, closed edge tears, and creases; the last page has a lot of creasing and edge tears; there are early photocopy machine smudges, marks, and lines here and there throughout. Overall, ALL PAGES, including the first and last page, remain bright and clear. The BOOK is in NEAR FINE condition, tight, bright, clean and clear; the DUSTJACKET is in GOOD condition, substantially sunned / faded at the spine, otherwise solid and bright. A nice, signed, first edition copy.

SCARCE WORKING DRAFT of the BITTER & FUNNY NOVEL "DAYS WITHOUT WEATHER" by the BLACK NOVELIST and SCREENWRITER CECIL BROWN, along with a first edition, signed and inscribed copy of the published book.

About CECIL BROWN (from Wikipedia):

******Cecil Brown, b.1943, is an African-American author, screenwriter, and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His noted works include The Life and Loves of Mr. Jiveass Nigger and work as a screenwriter on the 1977 Richard Pryor film Which Way Is Up?

Born in rural Bolton, North Carolina, Brown attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University of Greensboro, North Carolina, where he earned his B.A. in English in 1966. He later earned his Ph.D. in African American Studies, Folklore and Narrative from the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently a Professor at U.C. Berkeley in the African American Studies Department. His published books include: The Life and Loves of Mr. Jiveass Nigger (1969); Pryor Lives (1969); Days Without Weather (1983); I, Stagolee (1993); Stagolee Shot Billy (2003); and Dude, Where's My Black Studies Department? (2007).

Awards include: Professor John Angus Burrell Memorial Prize, Columbia University, 1966; Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award for DAYS WITHOUT WEATHER, 1984; Berlin Literary Fellowship, 1985; UC Berkeley, Mentor Fellowship, 1992.******

SECOND BETHEL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH 25th Anniversary Souvenir Program (Silver) 1954 - 1979 : The Rev. Charles F. Thomas, Pastor

Black churches were the heart and soul of the Civil Rights Movement. Educating the African American community was essential to furthering the Movement. Second Bethel Missionary Baptist under the leadership of Reverend Charles F. Thomas was an important voice for Oakland's Black experience during a very tumultuous time.

Scarce Souvenir Program, Published by the Second Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, Oakland, California, 1979. First edition. Softcover, illustrated silver paper wraps, side staple bound, 11" x 8.5", 24 pages, illustrated throughout with b&w portraits, photographs, and community advertisements. VERY GOOD CONDITION: corner creasing, light wear from age, overall tight, bright, clean and unmarked. An historic documentation of Oakland's thriving African American Baptist community. Scarce, none in OCLC collections worldwide.

STAY IN THE STREETS FREE THE PANTHERS

ORIGINAL PINBACK BUTTON, 1.75" inches in diameter, printed in red, blue and yellow with a graphic Black Power raised fist in the center. No date, circa 1968. Issued by the Black Panther Party for Self Defense to raise funds and support for the legal defense of Party members imprisoned by the state and federal government. EXCELLENT CONDITION: the edge has some tiny light spots of discoloration, the back is oxidized, overall a bright, wearable and relevant original piece from the era when protestors voices were heard.

The Black Panthers were emblematic of the Black Power Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Following the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton formed the Black Panther Party. After Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, the Panthers grew rapidly into a national revolutionary party with over 5,000 members in cities across America.

The Black Riders Liberation Party is a revolutionary descendant of the Oakland born Black Panther Party founded by imprisoned gang members in a Youth Authority college class in 1996. The Black Commune Program is an upgraded version of the original Black Panther Party's Ten Point Platform and Program, which includes the demand for treatment of AIDS patients and an end to capitalists smuggling drugs into Black communities and adds a point on ecological destruction as it relates to the oppressed.

THE BLACK COMMUNE PROGRAM BROADSIDE

Produced by The Black Riders Liberation Party, Oakland, California, no date, circa 2010. Photocopied, white paper, 17" x 11". VERY GOOD CONDITION: stiff vertical and horizontal creases from being folded in half twice, and some crinkles and creases from handling, overall a solid and bright copy of this scarce Oakland Black Riders manifesto.

The Oakland BRLP Chapter was created in 2010 during the struggle for justice for Oscar Grant. Known for their community advocacy work, they gave public presentations on the Black Commune Program and passed out these broadsides at their events between 2010 and 2015 until the Chapter closed.

This is a landmark civil rights trial in which the plaintiff claims to have been unconstitutionally subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by the conditions at Soledad prison in 1965.

Robert Charles Jordan, Jr., Plaintiff v. C. J. Fitzharris et al, Defendants. Published by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, September 6, 1966. Memorandum Opinion and Order by U.S. District Court Chief Judge George B. Harris. Legal document, stapled bound typewritten sheets, 8.5" x 11", 22 pages. VERY GOOD Condition: light age toning, a small paperclip stain, tiny edge tears to rear cover, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked.

In 1966 a Black prisoner named Robert Charles Jordan, Jr. filed a lawsuit against the Superintendent of Soledad prison charging "cruel and unusual" punishment. What was surprising about this case was that the court found in Jordan's favor. Mr. Jordan was locked in solitary confinement in a "strip cell" at Soledad Prison. The complaint goes on to detail many more inhumane conditions and treatment. After the court ruled that Jordan had in fact been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, the Superintendent of Soledad, Cletus Fitzharris, remained at the head of the prison for 5 more years. He was then promoted to deputy director of the California Department of Corrections. Robert Charles Jordan Jr. was born in 1939 and was 27 years old when he filed this case. He had been convicted at age 19 of assault and has remained, as of 2020, incarcerated in a California prison. The Eighth Amendment prohibits the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s pushed (at national, and local levels and in legislatures and courts) to recognize that the government disproportionately policed, incarcerated, and oppressed people of color and the economically disadvantaged. Court litigation records like this detail the horrific treatment incarcerated people continue to endure in prison.

Kappa Beta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Presents "FASHIONETTA" 1986, 1988, and 1990 DEBUTANT BALL PROGRAMS

THREE SOUVENIR PROGRAMS, published by Kappa Beta Omega, Vallejo, California, 1986, 1988, 1990. First editions. Illustrated softcovers, 11" x 8.5", pink tinted paper, 208, 142, 151 pages respectively, featuring the b& w portraits of the Debutantes, their escorts, short biographies of each of the Debutantes that showcase their service to the community and educational activities, also Advertisements, many illustrated, from family, friends, community members, and local businesses in support of this group of young Black women. The Ball culminates in the crowning of "Miss Fashionetta." Also included are some invitations, programs and tickets. The 1986 and 1988 programs are in VERY GOOD CONDITION: just some light wear from age and use, overall tight, bright, clean and unmarked, as are the invitations, program and ticket. The 1990 Program is in GOOD CONDITION: with nail polish stains, corner creases and chips on the covers, internally some light wear from handling and some corner-tip creases, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked. An uncommon group of vintage programs documenting the young Black Sorority Women of the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay region.

Alpha Kappa Alpha was the first Greek sorority founded by African American women. Established on January 15, 1908 at Howard University by nine Black students wishing to create an organization for college educated women that would support their academic and personal goals. The Vallejo California's Kappa Beta Omega Chapter in the Bay Area's Solano County is known for their community service and sponsorship of Fashionetta, an annual event during which African American high school girls in their senior year compete for college scholarships by engaging in various academic and civic activities. The Ball is a fundraiser for the Kappa Beta Omega chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the Debutante program is open to a select group of young Black ladies who are high school seniors or local college freshmen.

DYING FOR A MENTHOL?

A Rare and Hauntingly Disturbing San Francisco Bay Area Public Transit Anti-Smoking Advertising Campaign Poster. Using ominous imagery to educate African American smokers about the unique dangers of menthol cigarettes, this Award winning Ad Campaign featured provocative billboards and bus transit posters showing an open box of menthol cigarettes packed with dead Black smokers instead of cigarettes.

Scarce Original POSTER. Published by Crossover Creative Group, creative director Steve Climons, copywriter Terri Murray and photographer Sven Widerholt, for the California Department of Health Services Tobacco Control. 2005 First and only printing. 24" x 16" Photo Off-Set Lithograph on white paper. FINE CONDITION: as new.

Crossover Creative Group is an independent award winning African American owned urban advertising and marketing communications agency based in Richmond, California.

Will be shipped carefully rolled in a sturdy mailing tube.

1983 Retrospective of Black Dance in America. A landmark dance festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) celebrating Black Dance, Blackness and the African Diaspora featuring performances reflecting the richly diverse traditions of African American dance.

DANCE BLACK AMERICA Souvenir Program April 21 - 24, 1983

Published by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, New York, 1983. First edition, first printing. Softcover, illustrated wraps, side staple bound, 8.5" x 10", 47 pages, includes the festival program, articles by festival panelists, bibliography, filmography, and is illustrated with historic b&w photographs. VERY GOOD CONDITION: front cover has a penned date, light wear from age and use, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Also included is the 1984 touring program, 16 pages with five articles and b&w photographs reprinted from the original 1983 program, plus a six panel folding BAM mailer advertising the 1984 encore of Dance Black America with a street party event "Sweet Saturday Night".

A dynamic presentation of African American dance celebrating over 300 years of Black dance featuring legendary Black dancers, choreographers, scholars, and dance companies. The performances covered key ethnic, modern and theater dance concert works by trailblazing Black choreographers from Asadata Dafora, Alvin Ailey, Katherine Dunham, and Blondell Cummings. Street and Social dance performances include the Catwalk to Breakdancing, and the Juba through Mama Lu Parks.

The performers include The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (featuring Donna Wood and Gary DeLoatch), Garth Fagan's Bucket Dance Theater, Mama Lu Park's Jazz Dancers, The Charles Moore Dance Theater, The Chuck Davis Dance Company, Eleo Pomare, Chuck Green, The Magnificent Force, The Jazzy Jumpers, Al Perryman, Leon Jackson, Halifu Osumare, Dejan's Olympia Brass Band of New Orleans, Rudy Stevenson Band, Ruth Brisbane, BISS Harmonizers, Fab 5 Freddy, Arthur Hall's Afro American Dance Ensemble, Baba Chuck Davis, Rock Steady Crew, and many more.

INFORMAL ADOPTION in BLACK FAMILIES in LOWNDES and WILCOX COUNTIES, ALABAMA. By Lewis W. Jones, Director, Tuskegee Institute Center for Rural Development.

Published by the Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, under a Grant from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1975.

Printed paper covers, side stapled with black cloth tape covering the spine and staples, 8.5x11 inches, 51 pages, pages printed on one side only.

GOOD condition, a few small, light stains, a couple corner creases, overall tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

From the Introduction: "In 1972, forty-eight black children were legally adopted in Alabama. This number by no means accounts for black children who were taken into substitute families. This rearing of children in a substitute family without observance of the prescribed legalities we designate "informal adoption"...It is, of course, difficult to know precisely how many children in what areas are being brought up, and by whom, under such conditions, but there can be no doubt that the number is considerable, in the tens of thousands...It is unlikely that many of the adults and children who have entered into such arrangements are aware of their legal responsibilities and rights...The problem this research considers is that of illuminating the legal, social and cultural contexts in which informal adoption of black children takes place in the rural South..."

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MASSACHUSETTS 1873.

Rare Photo Book filled with small photographic portraits of the 1873 Massachusetts House of Representatives. Most notable is it Includes the African-American LEWIS HAYDEN, an ex-slave who escaped with his wife Harriet from Kentucky to Canada, then moved to Boston where he was an abolitionist, and where he and his wife were an important part of the Underground Railroad. The Lewis and Harriet Hayden house is now a National Historic Site on Boston's Black Heritage Trail.

Original hardcovers, 3/4 leather (spine and corners), gilt page edges, marbled endpapers, 8x8.5 inches oblong, with 12 cardstock leaves (24 pages) with mounted photo plates. Hayden Lewis, representative from Boston, is the only African-American. It was his only term.

VERY GOOD condition, rubs and scrapes to the leather spine and corners, otherwise tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. A solid, lovely copy of this important historic record.

About LEWIS HAYDEN (extracted from Wikipedia):

******Lewis Hayden, b.1811 d.1889, was a slave who had a number of different owners. At one point his first wife and son were purchased by U.S. senator Henry Clay, who sold them to slavers in the deep South. Hayden never saw them again. He later remarried. In 1844 he and his family escaped Kentucky and fled to Canada with the aid of Kentucky abolitionists Delia Webster and Calvin Fairbank, both of whom upon their return were arrested and imprisoned. Hayden later moved to Detroit where he established a school and a church for African Americans, then went to Boston to aid in the abolition movement. In Boston he was an abolitionist lecturer and businessman. He and his wife, Harriet Hayden, were an important part of Boston's Underground Railroad, helping numerous fugitive slaves, often sheltering them at their house.

In 1873 Lewis Hayden was elected as a Republican representative from Boston to the Massachusetts state legislature. He helped found numerous Black lodges of Freemasons. Located on the north side of Beacon Hill, the Lewis and Harriet Hayden House has been designated a National Historic Site on the Black Heritage Trail in Boston.******

About the LEWIS AND HARRIET HAYDEN HOUSE (from the National Park Service website):

******The Lewis and Harriet Hayden House at 66 Phillips (formerly Southac) Street served as the preeminent Underground Railroad safe house in Boston during the 1850s. In the 1840s, the Haydens escaped slavery in Kentucky and eventually settled in Boston. They lived in this house by 1850, operated it as a boarding house, and turned it into one of the most documented safe houses in the area.******

PLEASE READ THE FULL LEWIS HAYDEN WIKIPEDIA PAGE and take a look at the many other articles about him and his wife HARRIET HAYDEN to be found on the Internet.

The Prince of Washington Square An Up-To-The Minute Story By Harry F. Liscomb

Published by Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York, 1925. First edition. Hardcover in original orange dustjacket. Hardcover, illustrated orange paper covered boards, hint of grey topstain, 7.5" x 5.25", 180 pages, in its un-priceclipped dustjacket. GOOD CONDITION: the covers have a few small droplet stains, toning and wear to the edges but remains solid and bright, internally very good, some areas of small staining, overall tight, bright, clean and unmarked. In a fair dj with droplet staining, toning to the spine and folds, chipping to the fold and spine-ends, and some small scrapes, overall solid, legible and the flaps remain quite bright!

One of the first Black authored novels of the 1920s, it was published by a major white New York publisher and was very popular and aggressively advertised especially in the Black media. Suddenly it was totally ignored by the white press after being destroyed by a white critic in the Saturday Review of Literature [May 23, 1925]. Set in Greenwich Village, focusing on multiethnic youth gang culture and contemporary Blackness. Written when the author was just 19 years old, he was planning another novel but that never happened. A lifelong New Yorker, Harry F. Liscomb (b. Circa 1906) died in obscurity probably in Queens.

For informational purposes, the last three photos are images of 1925 newspaper reviews of Liscomb's novel: review with photograph of the author, from the The Afro-American, South's Biggest and Best Weekly; The Saturday Review of Literature (May 23, 1925) white media takedown of the book; The Negro World April 18, 1925, Newspaper devoted solely to the interests of the Negro race. (These clippings are not included).