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Library
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Mon-Thurs. |
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Friday |
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Saturday |
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Sunday |
12:00 pm - 12:00 am |
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Archives & Special
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Mon-Thurs. |
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Friday |
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Saturday |
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Sunday |
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Calendar Exceptions |
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Countee
Cullen/Harold Jackman Collection
1880-1995 (bulk dates 1929-1990)
65 linear feet
NOTE: A paper copy of the finding aid, with container
list, is available at the Atlanta University CenterArchives
for in-house consultation and may be obtained for
a fee.
This collection was established in 1942 by Harold
Jackman (b. 1901 d. 1961), a New York City teacher,
fashion model, theater director, and patron of the
arts. Born in London, Jackman was educated in New
York City public schools, where in high school he
began a lifetime friendship with Countee Cullen.
Harold Jackman received a B.A. degree from New York
University in 1923 and subsequently received a master's
degree from Columbia University. A dedicated teacher,
Jackman taught social studies for thirty years in
the New York Public Schools system. He was active
in many organizations including the Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity, the NAACP, National Urban League, American
Society of African Culture, and the Ira Aldridge
Society. He was a life member and served on the executive
board of the Negro Actors Guild. He was also a contributing
editor to Phylon from 1944-1956 and an advisory editor
from 1957-1961. Jackman was a strong advocate for
the arts and was a constant source of support for
African American artists, encouraging them and promoting
their careers. |
Jackman was a friend of Carl Van Vechten, New York
arts critic, novelist, photographer, and arts patron.
He helped Van Vechten to build the James Weldon
Johnson Memorial Collection of Negro Arts and Letters
at Yale University, making donations and asking
others to do so. At the encouragement of a friend,
Jackman decided to establish a similar documentation
program at Atlanta University. Gleaning materials
from his personal library, the Harold Jackman Collection
of Contemporary Negro Life was established. Jackman
continued to build the collection by acquiring
materials through gifts and purchases and encouraging
others including the artists themselves, to donate
materials. In 1946, Jackman requested the collection
be renamed the Countee Cullen Memorial Collection
in honor of the noted Harlem Renaissance poet.
At the death of Harold Jackman, in 1961, his sister
Ivie Jackman formed the Harold Jackman Memorial
Committee to carry on his work. Subsequently, the
collection was renamed to honor both Cullen and
Jackman.
The Countee Cullen/Harold Jackman Memorial Collection
documents the black experience in the twentieth century
with a particular focus on African American contributions
to literature and the arts. However, there are a few
published printed materials that date in the late nineteenth
century. The materials are arranged in folders by the
name of the individual or organization, or title of an
event or publication. The documentation about the subject
may consist of one item to several folders of materials
and contain simply newspaper clippings or correspondence
and original manuscripts. The collection includes programs,
letters, printer's proofs, book reviews, pamphlets, periodicals,
broadsides, sheet music, handbills, photographs, and
handwritten and typed manuscripts. Many of the items
are autographed. A significant portion of the collection
documents Harlem Renaissance artists, however, the collection
covers a broad range of individuals and topics and spans
the twentieth century. Included in the collection are
files on such notables as James Baldwin, Horace Mann
Bond, Arna Bontemps, Nancy Cunard, Owen Dodson, W.E.B.
DuBois, Katherine Dunham, Langston Hughes, Rose McClendon,
Paul and Eslanda Robeson, and Leigh Whipper. Among the
photographs are a large number of images of Harlem Renaissance
artists photographed by Carl Van Vechten. Of interest
are the limited editions and rare periodicals and newsletters
such as Fire, The Negro Actors Guild of America Inc.
Newsletter, The Handy News, and The Negro Theater Spotlight.
There are 91 audiotapes recorded in the 1970s of conferences,
lectures, and some interviews of individuals including
an effort by the Harold Jackman Memorial Committee to
document remembrances of the Harlem Renaissance. Folders
of personal papers about Harold Jackman give insight
to his life and career. There are also a few folders
of materials on Countee Cullen that include 31 letters
and postcards, typescripts of two plays and two poems,
news clippings and programs. Many books accompanied the
donations and these are cataloged among the titles in
the Archives and Special Collections.
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