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.

GOOD MINUS condition: There is chipping to the spine ends, the cover corner tips are worn through, there is a 1 inch split at the bottom edge of the front cover of Volume I, and the covers have some signs of handling. Internally, there is white cloth tape reinforcement / repair to the front and rear inner hinges and to the hinges of some of the prelim and latter pages of each volume; the inner hinge is cracked at a few places but holding; all the pages are lightly age toned, otherwise the inner pages are tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

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.******

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.

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.******

GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER - AN AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY, by Rackham Holt.

SIGNED by GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER and SIGNED & INSCRIBED by the Author, RACKHAM HOLT. Both signatures are on the same blank front endpaper. The author's inscription reads: "For Charlie Marshall / with my best wishes / Rackham Holt".

Published by Doubleday, Doran and Company, Garden City, New York, 1943. First Edition, as stated on the copyright page.

Hardcover book, no dustjacket, 6x9 inches, 342 pages.

GOOD condition: the cover is worn at its corner tips, has some rubs, the spine has a bb-size hole, and the spine lettering is rubbed away, nonetheless the covers are solid and doing their job well; internally, the front free endpaper has a 1 inch closed tear, a creased corner, and a long previous owner's inscription (about how inspirational the life of George W. Carver is), otherwise the pages are tight, bright, clean and clear. The author's inscription and the signature of George W. Carver are bright and clear.

NOTE: Prior to his death Carver signed some sheets for this book that were later bound in by the Publisher. (Over the years I have seen a few other copies of this book signed by Carver and each signature was clearly unique.) This book was important to Carver. In the book's Epilogue the author writes: "He (Carver) wanted to see this book published, and to read the record, a record of which he himself did not realize the full magnitude. Dr. Carver wanted to hold this book in his hand, but he could not wait for it. He was very tired, and it was high time he went to rest. As twilight fell on the evening of January 5, 1943, he died, and was buried beside his dear friend, Booker T. Washington..."

TYPED LETTER SIGNED from GOVERNOR NELSON A. ROCKEFELLER to MR. DAVID HYATT, Executive V.P. of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The letter is dated September 16, 1967.

Single page typed on the Governor's State of New York embossed stationery, 7.25x10.5 inches. The letter reads:

"Dear Mr. Hyatt: // Thank you very much for your letter of September fourteenth and for sending me the release on the appointment of Jackie Robinson as National Brotherhood Week Chairman. As you know, I am simply delighted that Mr. Robinson has been so honored. // I appreciate very much your more than kind comments about what my brothers and I have tried to do over the years. And I am grateful particularly for the support of the administration of the State of New York these last nine years of one "ardent Democrat!"// With best wishes, // Sincerely, // Nelson A. Rockefeller (signed)"

GOOD condition, two folds likely where the letter was folded to fit into an envelope (they don't really show in the photo, but are there), a bit of soiling to the upper corners, light signs of handling, still solid, bright, clean and clear.

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.

Scarce 1949 Vintage Photograph HAND SIGNED By OSCAR PETTIFORD in black ink directly on the image " 1944 / Oscar Pettiford / 1955 "

This striking photograph of renowned Bebop Jazz Bass Player Oscar Pettiford is from the iconic 1949 record album THE JAZZ SCENE (Mercury Records, Limited to 5000 copies) and shot by noted Photographer and Filmmaker Gjon Mili (Jammin' The Blues). B&W photo, 12" x 13.25", upper white margin with binding holes as issued (the Jazz Scene album was made in a notebook style binding allowing the owner to move or rearrange the records, artwork, photos and text.) ALSO INCLUDED are FOUR ADDITIONAL RARE PHOTOGRAPHS (unsigned) from the Jazz Scene Album and shot by Gjon Mili: LESTER YOUNG, RED CALLENDER'S hand on his double bass, and two photographs of CHARLIE PARKER. The Five Photographs are all in VERY GOOD CONDITION: some light wear, a touch of age toning, otherwise solid and bright, and Oscar Pettiford's original signature is bold and bright.

OSCAR PETTIFORD (1922-1960) legendary American Jazz Bassist, Cellist and Composer was only 37 years old when he died. Pettiford remains a unique and eminent figure whose musical influence resonates even more today. Born on a reservation in Oklahoma to a Choctaw mother and African American Cherokee father, he came of age during the bebop era becoming a leading innovator of the newly emergent avant-garde jazz scene.

Gjon Mili (1904-1984) Important Jazz Photographer and Filmmaker whose work changed the history of jazz on film.

San Francisco Express Times DON'T VOTE FOR SHIT issue, Vol. 1, No. 41, October 30, 1968. Published by Trystero Company, San Francisco, California, 1968. Marvin Garson, editor.

A time capsule of concentrated 1968 radicalism with articles by Paul Williams, the founder of the pioneering rock 'n' roll magazine Crawddady!, Marjorie Heins, civil liberties lawyer, writer, teacher, and founder of the Free Expression Policy Project. Artworks by underground comix artist Ron Cobb and pioneering underground comix artist Jaxon, Photographs by Black Panthers Photographer Steve Shames, and Berkeley underground Photographer Nacio Jan Brown, Part II of an interview with William S. Burroughs that took place in Terry Southern's apartment, and much more. First edition. Complete as issued, newspaper format, folded as issued, 16" x 11.5", 16 pages, illustrated throughout with historic b&w photographs and drawings. VERY GOOD CONDITION: originally mailed with recipient name/address and postage stamped in upper margin, light toning, and light wear from age and use, overall a solid, bright and clean copy.

The rear cover features an announcement of a "PRE-ERECTION DAY PARTY" put out by the Black Panther Party represented by Eldridge Cleaver and the Yippies (Youth International Party headed by Abby Hoffman) represented by Jerry Rubin, the party was an eccentric mixture of Panthers and Yippies, plus recording artist Phil Ochs, Floating Lotus, the Magic Opera Company and others, this graphic invite was also issued as a now very rare and sought after poster.

Primary underground newspaper of the San Francisco counterculture during the late sixties and early seventies. Inherently controversial, the weekly San Francisco Express Times was the paper the radical left read to keep up with the anti-war movement, the trials of political prisoners like the Soledad Brothers and Angela Davis, political corruption, and Bay Area dope like concerts, protests, vegetarian recipes, holistic health care, and local ads. The paper was radical enough that the FBI put a paid informant on the staff. It changed its name to Good Times after the March 25, 1969 issue.

Congressional Black Caucus, 103rd Congress, 1993-1994 : Members, Committee Assignments, Staff Contacts

The Congressional Black Caucus was formed in 1970 when the 13 Black Members of the U.S. House of Representatives joined together to strengthen their efforts to address the legislative concerns of Black and minority citizens. African American Representatives had increased in number from six in 1966 to nine, following the 1969 elections. Those Members believed that a Black Caucus in Congress, speaking with a single voice, would provide political influence and visibility far beyond their numbers.

Published by the Congressional Black Caucus, A Legislative Service Organization, Washington D.C., 1993. First edition, printed in an unnumbered limited edition for Caucus members and their staff. Illustrated softcovers, side staple bound, 8.5" x 6.75", 88 unnumbered pages including covers, each Caucus member has a two page spread that includes their biography and a black & white photographic portrait. VERY GOOD Condition: light shelfwear and a touch of age, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Scarce, just 2 copies in OCLC collections worldwide.

The African American Legislators in this 1993-94 Congressional Black Caucus compendium are the Honorable: Kweisi Mfume, Cardiss Collins, Alcee L. Hastings, William Jefferson, Barbara-Rose Collins, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Carol Moseley-Braun, John Conyers, William Clay, Louis Stokes, Ronald V. Dellums, Charles B. Rangel, Harold E. Ford, Julian C. Dixon, Major R. Owens, Edolphus Towns, Alan Wheat, Floyd Flake, John Lewis, Donald M. Payne, Craig A. Washington, Gary A. Franks, Eleanor Holmes-Norton, Maxine Waters, Lucien E. Blackwell, Eva Clayton, Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., Corrine Brown, James E. Clyburn, Cleo Fields, Earl F. Hilliard, Cynthia A. McKinney, Carrie Meek, Mel Reynolds, Bobby Rush, Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, Walter R. Tucker III, Melvin L. Watt, Albert Russell Wynn, and Bennie Thompson.

THE NEGRO PRESS OF KANSAS by Rashey B. Moten, Jr. Includes "Chronological List of Negro Newspapers In Kansas from 1876 to 1938."

Unpublished Master's Thesis, University of Kansas, written in 1936, approved 1938. Softcover, 8.5" x 11", velo bound document, 130 photocopied pages printed on one side only. NEAR FINE Condition: the vintage photocopied pages have the usual copy machine marks, smudges, and variations in brightness, as well as light signs of age and use, overall tight, bright, clean, and unmarked. Uncommon.

One of the earliest and most thorough studies about Black newspapers. In this study of African American newspapers in Kansas, Mr. Moten identified many factors that affected the development of the newspapers, including politics, the lack of coverage for Black issues and concerns by white newspapers, and the Exodusters Migration (Exodusters was a name given to African Americans who migrated from states along the Mississippi River to Kansas in the late 19th century as part of the Exoduster Movement. It was the first general migration of Black people following the Civil War). He found that the press created political alliances and expanded spheres of influence for Black leaders.

Rashey Burial Moten, Jr. (1913-2000) the first African American to lead a Catholic Charities organization, more specifically as the Executive Director at Catholic Charities Kansas City-Saint Joseph from 1970 to 1981. President Carter placed Mr. Moten on the Advisory Committee of the White House Conference on Families. Mr. Moten also helped launch Head Start in 1965, under the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.

Hand SIGNED by African American Composer and Blues Musician W. C. HANDY in ink on the ffep.

UNSUNG AMERICANS SUNG Edited by W. C. HANDY. Published by Handy Brothers Music Co., Inc. New York City [rubber stamped], 1944. First edition, First printing. Hardbound in original dark blue textured cloth with gilt printing on the front cover, 11" x 7.5", 236 pages, illustrated with a photographic frontispiece portrait of Handy, two full page photographic illustrations, and eight full page illustrations of African Americans from sketches by Beauford De Laney, and musical scores. VERY GOOD CONDITION: a few droplet stains and light wear to the covers, internally, toning to the pastedown and a penned gift inscription from the former owner Kitty Dalton, a chorus girl for Billy Rose on the ffep, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked.

Handy's important musical and cultural collection of song tributes to outstanding African Americans, explores the different dimensions of musical development that exist within Black culture, while also highlighting the struggle and triumph that exist for people of color. Includes poetry, illustrations, children's songs, choral works, scenes from major works, and art songs. Handy, the "Father of the Blues" composed the music for Phillis Wheatley poetry, and collaborated with Langston Hughes on a number of his poems as did Margaret Bonds, there are over 30 contributors including jazz luminaries Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson, Andy Razaf, Luckey Roberts and Ismay Andrews.

William Christopher Handy (1873-1958) born to former slaves, W. C. Handy was one of the first to compose, play and publish a steady stream of blues, spiritual arrangements, marches, hymns, and miscellaneous songs. His collections include Blues: An Anthology (1941), and A Book of Negro Spirituals (1938). His books include: Negro Authors and Composers of the United States (1936), Father of the Blues (1941), and Unsung American Sung (1944).

Beauford De Laney (1901-1979) Noted African American Artist.