Format | • | Manuscript Collection | [X] |
Subject | • | African American dramatists -- Ohio -- Cleveland. |
(2)
| | • | African American theater -- Ohio -- Cleveland. |
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| | • | African Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland. |
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| | • | African Americans in the performing arts -- Ohio -- Cleveland. |
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| | • | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Race relations. | [X] | | • | Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. |
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| | • | Jelliffe, Rowena Woodham, 1892-1992. |
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| | • | Jelliffe, Russell W., 1891-1980. | [X] | | • | Karamu House. |
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| | • | Rural-urban migration -- United States. |
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| | • | Second Presbyterian Church (Cleveland, Ohio) Men's Club. |
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| | • | Social settlements -- Ohio -- Cleveland. |
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| | • | Theater -- Ohio -- Cleveland. |
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| | • | Charitable uses, trusts, and foundations -- Ohio -- Cleveland. |
(1)
| | • | Charities -- Ohio -- Cleveland. |
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| | • | Clark, Harold T. (Harold Terry), 1882-1965. |
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| | • | Gilpin Players. |
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| | • | Karamu Foundation. |
(1)
| | • | Social workers -- Ohio -- Cleveland. |
(1)
| | • | Women social workers -- Ohio -- Cleveland. |
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| | Manuscript Collection | Save | | 1 | Title: | Karamu House Records
| | | | Creator: | Karamu House | | | | Dates: | 1914-1979 | | | | Abstract: | Karamu House was founded in 1915 in Cleveland, Ohio, by Russell W. and Rowena Woodham Jelliffe, in conjunction with the Second Presbyterian Church Men's Club, as the Neighborhood Association (later as the Playhouse Settlement), a settlement house promoting interracial activities and cooperation through the performing arts. The Jelliffes saw a need to provide activities and social services for the city's growing African American population, in order to assist in their transition from rural Southern life to an urban setting. The Playhouse Settlement was renamed Karamu Theater in 1927. By 1941, the entire settlement had taken the name Karamu House. The Dumas Dramatic Club was created to support and encourage interest and activities in the performing arts. In 1922, the theater troupe's name was changed to The Gilpin Players in honor of noted African American actor Charles Gilpin. During the 1920s and 1930s, works by many accomplished playwrights were produced at Karamu, including those of Zora Neale Hurston, Eugene O'Neill, and Langston Hughes, whose career was launched at Karamu. In 1939, the house was destroyed by fire. Rebuilding was not completed until 1949. The Jelliffes' mission of an interracial institution continued until the late 1960s, when, under the leadership of new director Kenneth Snipes, Karamu's mission became one of promoting African-American theater and plays specifically about the African-American experience. During this time a professional troupe of actors was formed. In 1982, Karamu formally returned to its original mission as an interracial organization. The collection consists of articles of incorporation, building construction applications, historical accounts, minutes, records of the Board of Trustees, reports, proposals, publications, financial records, contribution records, correspondence, play scripts and related information, announcements of events, programs, memoranda, date books, guest books, newspaper clippings, subject files, ledgers, scrapbooks, and student enrollment cards. Notable correspondents include Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Ida B. Wells, Hubert Humphrey, Eleanor Roosevelt, A. Phillip Randolph, Coretta Scott King, Carter G. Woodson, Eliot Ness, Walter White, Marian Anderson, W.C. Handy, Zora Neale Hurston, Ethel Waters, Countee Cullen, Arna Bontemps, Harry E. Davis, Harry C. Smith, and Jane Edna Hunter. The majority of the papers date from the period after World War II, particularly the 1950s and 1960s. | | | | Call #: | MS 4606 | | | | Extent: | 79.21 linear feet (92 containers and 1 oversize folder) | | | | Subjects: | Jelliffe, Russell W., 1891-1980. | Jelliffe, Rowena Woodham, 1892-1992. | Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. | Karamu House. | Gilpin Players. | Second Presbyterian Church (Cleveland, Ohio) Men's Club. | African Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | African Americans in the performing arts -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | African American theater -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | African American dramatists -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Theater -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Social settlements -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Rural-urban migration -- United States. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Race relations.
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| Manuscript Collection | Save | | 2 | Title: | Russell and Rowena Jelliffe Papers
| | | | Creator: | Jelliffe, Russell and Rowena | | | | Dates: | 1914-1991 | | | | Abstract: | Russell W. and Rowena Woodham Jelliffe were social workers who in conjunction with the Second Presbyterian Church Men's Club of Cleveland, Ohio, founded the Neighborhood Association, popularly known as the Playhouse Settlement, in 1915. Founded primarily to aid African Americans who had migrated to Cleveland from the rural South, Playhouse Settlement offered the usual social services, but gained note for its dramatic and artistic programs. In 1927 the Jelliffes acquired property which was remodeled as a theater and named the Karamu Theater. In 1941, the Settlement was renamed Karamu House. The Jelliffes shared the directorship of Karamu House until their retirement in 1963, after which they served as trustees of the Karamu Foundation. Russell Jelliffe was also an active member of the Urban League, the Cleveland Community Relations Council on Race Relations, the executive committee of the local branch of the NAACP, and the Board of the Cleveland Council of Human Relations. He was involved with the Group Work Council of the Welfare Federation and was a trustee of Oberlin College and the Cleveland Civil Liberties Union. Rowena Jelliffe was involved in the NAACP, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the Urban League, the National Theatre Conference, the Board of Trustees of the Cleveland Guidance Center, and the Board of Directors of the American National Theatre and Academy. Both the Jelliffes received numerous honors and awards. The collection consists of correspondence, letters, journals, a diary, date books, speeches, schedules, telegrams, reports, newspaper clippings, Karamu Board of Trustee files, Karamu Foundation files, deeds, publications, blueprints, playscripts, programming information, subject files, memoranda, drawings, manuscripts, research papers and studies, certificates, awards, and scrapbooks. In addition to the personal papers of the Jelliffes, this collection contains a significant collection of the records of Karamu House, including initial negotiations with the Second Presbyterian Men's Club concerning the founding of Neighborhood Association, administrative files, histories, materials concerning the New Building Campaign of the 1940s, correspondence with Harold T. Clark, programming files, materials concerning the search for a new executive director, playscripts, publications, and scrapbooks. Also included in the collection are letters, notes, and a poem written by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston's play, Sermon. Also included are the records of the Karumu Foundation, 1948-1977. | | | | Call #: | MS 4737 | | | | Extent: | 12.71 linear feet (14 containers, 3 oversize volumes, and 1 oversize folder) | | | | Subjects: | Jelliffe, Russell W., 1891-1980. | Jelliffe, Rowena Woodham, 1892-1992. | Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. | Clark, Harold T. (Harold Terry), 1882-1965. | Karamu House. | Karamu Foundation. | Second Presbyterian Church (Cleveland, Ohio) Men's Club. | African Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | African Americans in the performing arts -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | African American theater -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | African American dramatists -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Theater -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Social settlements -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Rural-urban migration -- United States. | Social workers -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Women social workers -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Charities -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Charitable uses, trusts, and foundations -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Race relations.
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