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Library
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Friday |
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Sunday |
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Archives & Special
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Saturday |
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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
Center Archives 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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