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Guide to the Alice Browning Papers, 1936-1998 (bulk 1944-1985)

Melissa Barton, June 2008

Descriptive Summary

Title:

Alice Browning Papers

Dates:

1936-1998

Size:

8 linear feet, 12 archival boxes

Repository:

Chicago Public Library
Carter G. Woodson Regional Library
Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature
9525 S Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60628

Subject Headings

Provenance

Gift of Barbara Cordell, 2000

Access

No restrictions

Citation

When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is:

Browning, Alice Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Chicago Public Library, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature

Biographical Note

Alice Browning (née Crolley) was born in 1907 at Provident Hospital i Chicago, the first of three children of Liattah Marshall Crolley and Richard A. Crolley. The family was active at St. Mark's M.E. Church at 50th Street and Wabash Avenue, where Richard Crolley was Sunday School superintendent and a trustee. In an autobiographical sketch, Alice Browning writes that she was married at age 16, presumably to George Franklin (Alice Browning's teaching certificate gives her name as Alice Franklin). Franklin was a sociologist who would later contribute to the study that became Black Metropolis. The couple had one daughter, Barbara (who married WVON radio disc jockey Lucky Cordell). Alice took courses at Chicago Normal College before earning a B.Phil. from University of Chicago in 1931. While it is not clear how her marriage to George Franklin dissolved, it was at the University of Chicago that Barbara met classmate and fellow philosophy student Charles Patrick Browning. They married in 1936, while Charles was employed as the Illinois state director of the National Youth Administration. Charles would spend the rest of his career at the Chicago Defender, serving as vice president and director of advertising. In 1925, Alice suffered the first of several tragedies when her mother Liattah took her life; her father, Richard, died suddenly in 1938. Charles Browning died in 1954 after being struck in the head with a plane propeller in Little Rock, Arkansas, while on a visit to the Hot Springs Baptist Bath House, where he had assumed the post of manager.

Alice Browning received her Illinois teaching certificate in 1930 and taught at Forrestville Elementary School in the Chicago Public Schools until she retired in 1973. In 1941, Browning took a sabbatical year to complete course work for an M.A. in English from Columbia University. While there, she wrote her thesis on the African American novel before 1900 with eminent scholar Vernon Loggins. Browning also took courses at Northwestern University and the Social Services Administration at University of Chicago, but she never completed her M.A.

Though she later professed an interest in writing beginning at the age of 7, it was while a student at Columbia that Browning began writing short stories for publication. That year, she sent a story entitled "Tomorrow" to Esquire magazine, only to have it rejected. She had better success with the Pittsburgh Courier with a story called "New Years Eve: 1942." Nevertheless, Alice's experience with Esquire inspired her to create an outlet for African American writers to publish their short fiction. Her first attempt appeared in 1942, a journal called N.Y.P.S. (Negro Youth Photo Script). But it wasn't until 1944 that she would hit upon a success, teaming up with her friend Fern Gayden, a social worker who had been involved with the South Side Writers Group in the late 1930s. With the help of Gayden and Parkway Community House director Horace Cayton, Browning gained permission from Richard Wright to reprint his story "Almos' a Man," which had appeared Harper's Bazaar in January 1940. Borrowing $200 from her husband Charles, Browning launched Negro Story from her home at 4019 Vincennes Avenue.

Negro Story ran from 1944-1946, publishing a total of nine issues featuring nearly every prominent African American writer of the time, including Ralph Ellison, Chester Himes, Langston Hughes, Frank Marshall Davis, Margaret Burroughs, Richard Wright, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Owen Dodson. Browning published one of her own stories in nearly every issue under the pseudonym Richard Bentley. It was around this time that Browning completed the first draft of a novel, Chicago Girl, which she would continue to revise throughout her life.

When Fern Gayden stepped down as co-editor for the December 1944/January 1945 issue, citing her heavy case load, Alice Browning began to pursue ever more ambitious projects under the auspices of the new Negro Story Press. These included a children's magazine modeled after the Chicago Defender's "Bud Billiken" page entitled Child's Play, the sole issue of which appeared in 1945. Lionel Hampton's Swing Book, a guide to the contemporary music scene, featured biographical sketches and photographs of such key figures as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and, of course, Lionel Hampton. Now extremely rare, it is considered a key text for understanding the influence of black popular music in the 1940s.

In 1953 Browning launched a new publication endeavor, The Browning Letter, which for three years ran feature articles and society gossip. Contributors included Frederick H. Robb (Hammurabi), a Pan-Africanist and famed street corner speaker, actress Louise Pruitt, who wrote a theater column, and novelist Chester Himes. In May 1954 The Browning Letter began including a section called "Zip" to celebrate "Zip girls," one of whom was Browning's own daughter Barbara Cordell. In 1963 Browning repackaged Zip as its own monthly magazine.

In 1970, nearing retirement from teaching at Forrestville, Browning met with fellow leaders in the African American community, including Judge Sidney Jones, Roma Jones, Leo Sparks, Marian Stevenson, Ilena Crushon and June Perryman, at the Washington Park Community Fieldhouse to plan the first annual International Black Writers Conference. Over the next decade the conference would grow into a three-day affair attended by such prominent writers as Lerone Bennett, Herman Gilbert, Lu Palmer, Oscar Brown, Jr., Henry Blakely, Gwendolyn Brooks, Sam Greenlee, Alex Haley, Vernon Jarrett, Haki Madhubuti, Dudley Randall, Margaret Walker Alexander, and John Oliver Killens. Browning organized the conference until her health began to fail in 1984. She died October 15, 1985 at Crestwood Nursing Home in Chicago.

Sources

  • Bone, Robert. "Richard Wright and the Chicago Renaissance." Callaloo. 28 (Summer 1986) 446-468.
  • Mullen, Bill. Popular Fronts: Chicago and African-American Cultural Politics, 1935-1946. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999.

Scope and Content Note

The Alice Browning Papers consist chiefly in manuscripts, serials, pamphlets, photographs, and ephemera from throughout Browning's life, concentrated largely from 1968-1985, the years when she was organizing the International Black Writers Conference. The collection has been divided into 8 series: Manuscripts, Biographical, Clippings, Organizations, Booklets, Serials, Publicity and Memorabilia, and Photographs and Audiovisual material. A single folder of correspondence, including a six-page letter about housing concerns signed "The Block Clubs of the South Side" and sent to President Jimmy Carter, is filed at the end of the Manuscripts series in Box 2.

The Manuscripts series is divided into manuscripts by Alice Browning and manuscripts by other authors. Included in the manuscripts by Browning are drafts of several short stories, essays, and poetry, as well as a complete draft of her novel Chicago Girl and a typescript draft and mock-up of her cartoon book, "It's No Fun to Be Black" (the manuscript is titled "It's No Fun to Be a Negro"). The section of manuscripts by other authors predominantly consists in play scripts by Robert M. Morris, who led sessions on drama at the International Black Writers Conference. Browning's daughter Barbara Cordell starred in a production of Morris's play Teacher Night Out. Also included in this section is a manuscript of Gwendolyn Brooks's poem tribute to Browning, which Brooks read at Browning's funeral in 1985.

The Biographical series includes a brief autobiographical sketch by Browning, her Chicago teaching and retirement certificates, and obituaries and Browning's funeral program. It also includes a copy of Charles Browning's funeral program and materials about George Franklin, Barbara Cordell's father, and William West Franklin, her uncle.

The Clippings series is divided into clippings by Alice Browning, clippings about Alice Browning, clippings about the International Black Writers' Conference, and other clippings. For other articles by Alice Browning, see Serials.

The Organizations series includes material from Negro Story Press and the International Black Writers Conference. The material relating to Negro Story Press comprises solely a letter from the United States Copyright Office with instructions for applying for the copyright for Lionel Hampton's Swing Book and publicity materials for Lionel Hampton's Swing Book. Material for the International Black Writers Conference is organized by year and includes a program for nearly every year of the conference from 1970-1985 and then more sporadically through 1994. The file for the 15th anniversary conference in 1985 is particularly extensive. Some material from other conferences is included at the end of the IBWC subseries.

The Booklets series predominantly comprises poetry chapbooks that Browning collected throughout the 1970s. Most of these are quite rare.

The Serials series includes nearly-complete runs of the magazines Browning edited: Negro Story, The Browning Letter, Zip, Black Writers News, and The Black Writer, as well as single issues of Child's Play and Travel News. All nine issues of Negro Story are included. Researchers should note the irregular dating and numbering of The Browning Letter and Black Writers News. Browning's review of Gwendolyn Brooks's Report from Part One appears in the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History Newsletter; her article "Sciffle Music and the Jazz Era" appears in the single issue of Villager.

Miscellaneous Publicity materials appear to relate to performers contracted for the International Black Writers Conference. Memorabilia includes several award certificates given to Alice Browning. A pair of checks from the Douglas National Bank, Chicago's first black-owned bank, appear to have been given to Barbara Cordell as souvenirs in return for a donation to St. Mark's M.E. Church (see the Correspondence in Box 2, Folder 14 for the letter that accompanied the checks).

The majority of the Photographs date from the International Black Writers Conferences of 1974, 1976, and 1978. Figures represented include Gwendolyn Brooks, Sam Greenlee, Vernon Jarrett, Glennette Turner, Haki Madhubuti, and Val Gray Ward. Audiovisual material comprises two VHS tapes of IBWC proceedings in 1985 and 1986.

INVENTORY

Series 1: Manuscripts, ca. 1946-1985

The Manuscripts series is divided into manuscripts by Alice Browning, arranged alphabetically by title, and manuscripts by others, arranged alphabetically by author's last name.

Manuscripts by Alice Browning

Box 1

Folder 1

"Analysis of the Business at Hand," notes

1955

Box 1

Folder 2

"A Box Seat at the Harlem Riots," ms.

[n.d.]

Box 1

Folder 3

Chicago Girl, Chapter 1, ms.

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 4

Chicago Girl, Chapter 2, ms.

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 5

Chicago Girl, Chapter 3, ms.

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 6

Chicago Girl, Chapter 4

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 7

Chicago Girl, Chapter 5

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 8

Chicago Girl, Chapter 6

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 9

Chicago Girl, Chapter 7

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 10

Chicago Girl, Chapter 8

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 11

Chicago Girl, Chapter 9

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 12

Chicago Girl, Chapter 10

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 13

Chicago Girl, Chapter 11

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 14

Chicago Girl, Chapter 12

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 15

Chicago Girl, Chapter 13

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 16

Chicago Girl, Chapter 14

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 17

Chicago Girl, Chapter 15

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 18

Chicago Girl, Chapter 16

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 19

Chicago Girl, Chapter 17

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 20

Chicago Girl, Chapter 18

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 21

Chicago Girl, Chapter 19

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 22

Chicago Girl, Chapter 20

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 23

Chicago Girl, Chapter 21

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 24

Chicago Girl, Chapter 22

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 25

Chicago Girl, Chapter 23

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 26

Chicago Girl, Chapter 24

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 27

Chicago Girl, Chapter 25

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 28

Chicago Girl, Chapter 26

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 29

Chicago Girl, Chapter 27

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 30

Chicago Girl, Chapter 28

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 31

Chicago Girl, Chapter 29

ca. 1946

Box 1

Folder 32

Essay, Untitled, on Sex Education (fragment)

[n.d.]

Box 1

Folder 33

"The Exorcism of America"

1974

Box 1

Folder 34

"Good Time Harry," play script

1979

Box 1

Folder 35

"I Am Black" (fragment)

[n.d.]

Box 1

Folder 36

"Introduction," draft article about IBWC

1979

Box 1

Folder 37

"It's No Fun to Be a Negro," ms.

1968 [?]

Box 1

Folder 38

"Let There Be An Anti-Prejudice Day"

1974

Box 1

Folder 39

Life Plans (notes)

1956, 1978

Box 1

Folder 40

"Memories of St. Mark's M.E. Church"

[n.d.]

Box 1

Folder 41

New Voices in Black Poetry, galley

1973

Box 1

Folder 42

Notebook on the Bible

1978

Box 1

Folder 43

Notes, untitled

[n.d.]

Box 1

Folder 44

"The Place in Chicago"

[n.d.]

Box 1

Folder 45

Poetry, unpublished mss

[n.d.]

Box 1

Folder 46

Poetry, unpublished mss

[n.d.]

Box 1

Folder 47

"The Reason Black Johnny Cannot Read"

[n.d.]

Box 1

Folder 48

"The Riot"

[n.d.]

Box 1

Folder 49

Short Story, untitled (fragment)

[n.d.]

Box 1

Folder 50

Speech, draft

1990

Box 1

Folder 51

"Why Are Hurricanes Named for Women" (fragment)

[n.d.]

Manuscripts by Others

Box 2

Folder 1

S. Brandi Barnes, "Dedicated to the Children of Atlanta and Survivors"

1981

Box 2

Folder 2

Gwendolyn Brooks, "Alice Browning"

1985

Box 2

Folder 3

Alice Chase, "Grandma"

[n.d.]

Box 2

Folder 4

Allen D. Jackson, "Theme: We Walk with Martin Luther King"

1985

Box 2

Folder 5

Mildred D. Johnson, "Alice Browning's Blackness"

Box 2

Folder 6

Robert M. Morris, "African American Writers: The New Horizon for Playwrights"

[n.d.]

Box 2

Folder 7

Robert M. Morris, "Character," "The New Black," "African-American," "Conflict"

[n.d.]

Box 2

Folder 8

Robert M. Morris, "Eulogy for Two"

[n.d.]

Box 2

Folder 9

Robert M. Morris, "IBWC Dialogue Workshop"

[n.d.]

Box 2

Folder 10

Robert M. Morris, "IBWC Radio Writing Workshop"

[n.d.]

Box 2

Folder 11

Robert M. Morris, "Teacher Night Out"

[n.d.]

Box 2

Folder 12

Robert M. Morris, "Teacher Night Out" [2nd copy]

[n.d.]

Box 2

Folder 13

Portia Nelson, Poems

n.d.

Box 2

Folder 14

Correspondence

1961-1995

Series 2: Biographical, 1939-1988

Biographical material relating to Alice Browning is followed by material about Charles Browning, Barbara Cordell's father George Andrew Franklin, and her uncle William West Franklin.

Box 2

Folder 15

Chicago Teaching Certificate

1939

Box 2

Folder 16

Autobiographical Sketch

1961

Box 2

Folder 17

Tribute to Alice Browning

1973

Box 2

Folder 18

Retirement Certificate

1973

Box 2

Folder 19

Course Certificate

1973

Box 2

Folder 20

Alice Browning Testimonial materials

1978

Box 2

Folder 21

City Council Resolution

1985

Box 2

Folder 22

Tribute by Barbara Cordell

1985

Box 2

Folder 23

Obituaries

1985

Box 2

Folder 24

Alice Browning's Funeral Program

1985

Box 2

Folder 25

Information about Alzheimer's disease

1988

Box 2

Folder 26

Charles P. Browning Funeral Program

1954

Box 2

Folder 27

George Andrew Franklin biographical materials

1973

Box 2

Folder 28

William West Franklin, Jr. biographical materials

1978

Series 3: Clippings, 1936-1998

Box 2

Folder 29

Clippings by Alice Browning

1961-1981

Box 2

Folder 30

Clippings about Alice Browning

1936-1982

Box 2

Folder 31

Other clippings-IBWC

1977, 1987

Box 2

Folder 32

Other clippings-people

ca. 1953-1998

Series 4: Organizations, 1946-1994

Negro Story Press

Box 2

Folder 33

Copyright application for Lionel Hampton's Swing Book

1946

Box 2

Folder 34

General Information on Copyright

1963

Box 2

Folder 35

Lionel Hampton's Swing Book Publicity

ca. 1946

International Black Writers' Conference

Box 2

Folder 36

IBWC-1970

1970

Box 2

Folder 37

IBWC-1971

1971

Box 2

Folder 38

IBWC-1972

1972

Box 2

Folder 39

IBWC-1973

1973

Box 2

Folder 40

IBWC-1974

1974

Box 2

Folder 41

IBWC-1975

1975

Box 2

Folder 42

IBWC-1976

1976

Box 2

Folder 43

IBWC-1977

1977

Box 2

Folder 44

IBWC-1978

1978

Box 2

Folder 45

IBWC-1979

1979

Box 2

Folder 46

IBWC-1980

1980

Box 2

Folder 47

IBWC-1982

1982

Box 2

Folder 48

IBWC-1983

1983

Box 2

Folder 49

IBWC-1985

1985

Box 2

Folder 50

IBWC-1986

1986

Box 3

Folder 1

IBWC-1990

1990

Box 3

Folder 2

IBWC-1991

1991

Box 3

Folder 3

IBWC-1993

1993

Box 3

Folder 4

IBWC-1994

1994

Box 3

Folder 5

IBWC undated materials

[n.d.]

Box 3

Folder 6

International Black Songwriters Luncheon

1981

Box 3

Folder 7

Black Writers Conference, Pittsburgh, PA

1991

Series 5: Booklets, 1946-1985

Box 3

Folder 8

Alameen, Stephany Inua. Loveflame.

1981

Box 3

Folder 9

Armstrong, Naomi Young. A Child's Easter.

1971

Box 3

Folder 10

Armstrong, Naomi Young. Expression I.

1973

Box 3

Folder 11

Atkins, Cheryl. Voices from My Heart.

1981

Box 3

Folder 12

Battle, Corey McQueen. Poems I.

1971

Box 3

Folder 13

Beach, Marion "Tumbleweed." Come Ride With Me.

1970

Box 3

Folder 14

Ben-Izreal, Rahzahn [Ronald H. Johnson]. Poems, Short Stories, and Rhythms.

1979

Box 3

Folder 15

Birch, McLane. The Kandi Man.

1970

Box 3

Folder 16

Browning, Alice. Black 'n' Blue.

1973

Box 3

Folder 17

Browning, Alice. It's Fun to Be Black.

1973

Box 3

Folder 18

Browning, Alice. It's No Fun to Be Black.

1972

Box 3

Folder 19

Browning, Alice. Fragment, Lionel Hampton's Swing Book.

1946

Box 3

Folder 20

Browning, Alice. Lionel Hampton's Swing Book.

1946

Box 3

Folder 21

Bruin, John. Thoughts Abroad.

1970

Box 3

Folder 22

Cage, Albert P. The Nothingness of War.

1947

Box 3

Folder 23

Caplan, Ron. Said A Meant.

1967

Box 3

Folder 24

Chicago Renaissance I.

1975

Box 3

Folder 25

Clemmons, Vincent. Sketches by Vince.

1973

Box 3

Folder 26

Cristen, Fatma. Poems of Blackness.

1970

Box 4

Folder 1

Dalton, Betty. 1973 Easter Anthology of Prayer Poems.

1973

Box 4

Folder 2

Danner, Margaret. Impression of African Art Forms.

1960

Box 4

Folder 3

Dean, Barbara Julian. The Key.

1970

Box 4

Folder 4

Demus, Myles. Poems to Ponder.

1976

Box 4

Folder 5

Diggs, Alfred. Naturally Black.

1968

Box 4

Folder 6

Dinwiddie, Faye Love. Song of the Mute.

1970

Box 4

Folder 7

Dominique, Otis G. I Know Why the River Cries.

1976

Box 4

Folder 8

DuSable Museum of African American History Publications Catalogue.

ca. 1969

Box 4

Folder 9

G'Ra [George Hines]. Inside Head Out.

1976

Box 4

Folder 10

Glascoe, Melvin Marcus. Man Born of a Dark Woman.

1971

Box 4

Folder 11

Graham, J. Rodney. Nation.

[n.d.]

Box 4

Folder 12

Griffin, Peggy Ann. Liberation Lyrics.

1984

Box 4

Folder 13

Hair Trigger III: A Story Workshop Anthology.

1979

Box 4

Folder 14

Hannah, Clayton L. A Collection: My Inner-Most Thoughts.

[n.d.]

Box 4

Folder 15

Harris, Glenethel. Thoughts to Share.

1972

Box 4

Folder 16

Happel, Edward John. Sword Dance.

1981

Box 4

Folder 17

Harper, Robert V. J. A Gift of Love.

1974

Box 4

Folder 18

Hayes, C.L. Feel Me.

1972

Box 4

Folder 19

Hayes, Walter T. Casing Some Niggars.

1973

Box 4

Folder 20

Henderson, Samuel C. From Unfathomable Depths to Unreachable Heights.

1974 [?]

Box 4

Folder 21

Henighan, Eleanor J. The All Seeing Eye and the Hands that Pray

1974

Box 4

Folder 22

Hernandez, David. Waking Up: Despertando

1971

Box 5

Folder 1

Jackson, Spencer. Black Survival.

[n.d.]

Box 5

Folder 2

Jamila-Ra [Maxine Hall Elliston]. The Good Book.

1971

Box 5

Folder 3

Jamila-Ra [Maxine Hall Elliston]. The Look at Yourself Book.

1977

Box 5

Folder 4

Kamau, H.B. When Men Gather.

1982

Box 5

Folder 5

Kilgore, James C. A Time of Black Devotion.

1971

Box 5

Folder 6

Kwasikpui, Doris B. A World of Their Own.

1973

Box 5

Folder 7

Lee, Don L. Think Black!

1969

Box 5

Folder 8

Lewis, Luevester. Jackie.

1970

Box 5

Folder 9

Luden, C.K. Coast to Coast.

1976

Box 5

Folder 10

LuTour, Lou. I Dreamed a Dream.

1969

Box 5

Folder 11

Macklin, Jacqueline. Falling Leaves.

1973

Box 5

Folder 12

Maida. Help! Somebody Save Me.

1973

Box 5

Folder 13

Marsh, Clifton E. Journey to Shamara.

1974

Box 5

Folder 14

Matanah. [Dorothy June Watkins]. Bits and Pieces.

1973

Box 5

Folder 15

McLaurin, Irma. Poems I.

1971

Box 5

Folder 16

McElroy, Njoki. Black Journey.

1975

Box 5

Folder 17

McGee, Pearl. Nigger I Love You.

1973

Box 5

Folder 18

McGee, Pearl. Twenty-Two Years on Welfare.

1972

Box 5

Folder 19

Mitchell, Joe H. Black Odyssey.

1975

Box 6

Folder 1

Mitchell, Joe H. Lovin' You.

1974

Box 6

Folder 2

Mitchell, Joe H. Nature's Child.

1974

Box 6

Folder 3

Mitchell, Joe H. fragment, O Woman.

1974

Box 6

Folder 4

Mitchell Joe H. O Woman.

1974

Box 6

Folder 5

Mitchell, Joe H. One Room Shack.

1973

Box 6

Folder 6

Mitchell, Joe H. Vignettes

1974

Box 6

Folder 7

Owens, Anne. Mike and Adrean.

1974

Box 6

Folder 8

Owens, Don Benn. The Most Controversial American and Why the Negro Race Lacks Unity.

1963

Box 6

Folder 9

Pahl, Stewart V. Humanism is Now!

1972

Box 6

Folder 10

Patterson, Lucille J. fragment, Sapphire.

1972

Box 6

Folder 11

Penny, Rob. Black Tones of Truth.

1968

Box 6

Folder 12

Perkins, Eugene. Black Expressions: An Anthology of New Black Poets.

1967

Box 6

Folder 13

Perkins, Eugene. Silhouette.

1970

Box 6

Folder 14

Pugh, Charles and Barbara. Dream of the Mask and Spear.

1975

Box 6

Folder 15

Randolph, Jeremy. Poems I.

1971

Box 6

Folder 16

Randolph, Jeremy. Poems II.

1971

Box 6

Folder 17

Rawls, Eugenia. A Certain Light.

1971

Box 6

Folder 18

Richardson, Nola. When One Loves.

1974

Box 7

Folder 1

Richardson, Sy. How to Survive in Hollywood.

1982

Box 7

Folder 2

Roby, June. My Soul.

1974

Box 7

Folder 3

Ruff, Robert. Accents on New Grass.

1970

Box 7

Folder 4

Salaam, Tayari kwa. Working Together We Can Make a Change.

1981

Box 7

Folder 5

Scott, Lewis E. The Coming of Lewis E. Scott.

1972

Box 7

Folder 6

Seals, Howard E. After 'Yuh Mamma'

1972

Box 7

Folder 7

Shah, Kimmah. The Giving of Love.

1979

Box 7

Folder 8

Simington, Ann Bowman. Love Is…

1970

Box 7

Folder 9

Smith, Dee. A Black Story: 8 Poems

1973

Box 7

Folder 10

Smith, Dee. Loving and Living.

1973

Box 7

Folder 11

Soul Session (poetry anthology)

1969

Box 7

Folder 12

Taylor, Rockie. Drum Song.

1969

Box 7

Folder 13

Tillman, Lise M. Of Violets and Blues.

1974

Box 7

Folder 14

Motley, Willard. Fragment, The Diaries of Willard Motley.

1979

Box 7

Folder 15

Muhammad, Elijah. Sayings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

[n.d.]

Box 7

Folder 16

New Voices in Black Poetry, 1972

1972

Box 7

Folder 17

New Expressions in Black Poetry, 1974

1974

Box 7

Folder 18

Trussell, Jake. After Hours Poetry.

1964

Box 7

Folder 19

Trussell, Jake. Collected Poems.

1957

Box 7

Folder 20

Urban Voices

1985

Box 7

Folder 21

Warner. M.W.S. The Missing Link.

[n.d.]

Box 7

Folder 22

Whitaker, Hilda. With Foot in Mouth.

1973

Box 7

Folder 23

Whitaker, T. J. The Empty Road.

1971

Box 7

Folder 24

Williams, Jr., Edward. Liturgy of Edd.

1973

Box 7

Folder 25

Windham, Revish. Shades of Anger.

1972

Box 7

Folder 26

Windham, Revish. Shades of Black.

1970

Box 7

Folder 27

Zubena, Sister. Om Black.

[n.d.]

Series 6: Serials, 1944-1991

Serials are arranged alphabetically by title. Note that issues of The Browning Letter and Zip are in Oversize Box 12.

Box 8

Folder 1

African American Publishers, Booksellers, and Writers Assoc. Newsletter

1991

Box 8

Folder 2

Aim

1981

Box 8

Folder 3

Assoc. for Study of Afro-American Life and History Newsletter

1973

Box 8

Folder 4

Black Family

1981

Box 8

Folder 5

Black Writers News

1971-1972

Box 8

Folder 6

Black Writers News

1972

Box 8

Folder 7

Black Writers News

1973-1975

Box 8

Folder 8

Black Writer, The

1980

Box 8

Folder 9

Black Writer, The

1981

Box 8

Folder 10

Black Writer, The

1982

Box 8

Folder 11

Black Writer, The

1983

Box 8

Folder 12

Black Writer, The

1985

Box 8

Folder 13

Black Writer, The

1986

Box 8

Folder 14

Child Play

1945, 1971

Box 8

Folder 15

Connection

1970

Box 8

Folder 16

Garland Court Review

1969

Box 8

Folder 17

Green's Magazine

1973

Box 9

Folder 1

Negro Story

1944

Box 9

Folder 2

Negro Story

1945

Box 9

Folder 3

Negro Story

1946

Box 9

Folder 4

New Infinity Review

1974

Box 9

Folder 5

New Writers

1974

Box 9

Folder 6

Poetry

1973

Box 9

Folder 7

Protector, The

1949

Box 9

Folder 8

Soul Teleguide

1971

Box 9

Folder 9

Travel News

1969

Box 9

Folder 10

Villager, The

1961

Box 9

Folder 11

What's Happening

1978-1979

Box 9

Folder 12

Business Materials for Serials

1949-1984

Box 9

Note: see Oversize Box 12 for issues of The Browning Letter and Zip

Series 7: Publicity and Memorabilia, 1959-1983

Box 9

Folder 14

Publicity Materials

1977-1982

Box 9

Folder 15

Flyer, "How's Your Sex Life" (play by Alice Browning)

n.d.

Box 9

Folder 16

Memorabilia

1959-1983

Box 9

Folder 17

Chino and Los Flamencos materials

1983

Series 8: Photographs and Audiovisual, 1953-1990

For audiovisual material, see Oversize box 12.

Box 10

Folder 001

A. Browning at IBWC, photo by J. Guidry

1973

Box 10

Folder 002

Alice Browning

1953

Box 10

Folder 003

A. Browning at Career Seminar at Malcolm X College

1974

Box 10

Folder 004

Alice Browning and unidentified at IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

(Note: for a photocopy of the album from which photographs 004-044 were removed, see Oversize Box 12)

Box 10

Folder 005

IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 006

Barbara Cordell at IBWC, from IBWC Album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 007

Alice Browning, Dorothy Donnegan, and unidentified at IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 008

Alice Browning, Dorothy Donegan, and unidentified at IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 009

IBWC, from IBWC album

1974

Box 10

Folder 010

IBWC, from IBWC album

1974 [?]

Box 10

Folder 011

Dean Monti, Kim Kyp, Ed Happel, Alice Browning, from IBWC Album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 012

IBWC, from IBWC album

1974 [?]

Box 10

Folder 013

from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 014

from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 015

from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 016

from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 017

Alice Browning and unidentified, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 018

from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 019

from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 020

from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 021

Barbara Julian Dean, unidentified, and Alice Browning, Washington D.C., from IBWC album

1971

Box 10

Folder 022

IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 023

IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 024

IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 025

Sam Greenlee at IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 026

Gwendolyn Brooks, from IBWC Album, photograph by Ruby Dee

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 027

from IBWC album, photograph by Ruby Dee

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 028

Alice Browning at IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 029

Alice Browning at IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 030

Alice Browning and unidentified, from IBWC album

1968

Box 10

Folder 031

IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 032

Al Duckett, Alice Browning, Sam Greenlee, Sidney Jones, Connie Hedgepath, Barbara Julian Dean, Spencer Jackson, and Alice Browning, from IBWC Album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 033

from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 034

IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 035

IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 036

IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 037

IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 038

IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 039

IBWC, from IBWC album

ca. 1970s

Box 10

Folder 040

from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 041

from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 042

from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 043

Shirley Graham, from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 044

Alice Browning and unidentified, from IBWC album

[n.d.]

Box 10

Folder 045

Alice Browning at IBWC, photograph by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 046

Darwin Walton at IBWC, photograph by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 047

Glennette Turner (Children's Literature) at IBWC, photograph by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 048

IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 049

IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 050

Haki Madhubuti at IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 051

Orlando White (Producer for WGN) at IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 052

Reginald Hayes (Public Relations Dir., Ebony Magazine) at IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 053

Kala Akbar (Assoc. Ed., Black Journalism Review) at IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 054

IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 055

Alice Browning at IBWC, photograph by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 056

Madelyne Blunt (Coordinator ASALH) at IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 057

Madelyne Blunt (Coordinator ASALH) at IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 058

Alice Browning at IBWC, photograph by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 059

Alice Browning at IBWC, photograph by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 060

IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 061

Naomi Millender at IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 062

Frances Ward (L.A. Times reporter, founder of Kumba workshop) at IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 063

Val Gray Ward (Founder, Kumba Workshop), at IBWC, photo by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 064

Alice Browning at IBWC, photograph by Robert Williams

1976

Box 10

Folder 065

cover of 1976 IBWC album

1976

Box 10

Folder 066

Alice Browning at IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 067

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 068

Ivan vanSertima at IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 069

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 070

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 071

Eugene Redmond at IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 072

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 073

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 074

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 075

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 076

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 077

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 078

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 079

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 080

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 081

IBWC

1978

Box 10

Folder 082

IBWC

1978

Box 10

082a:

IBWC

1978

Box 11

Folder 083

Eugene Winslow at IBWC, photograph by Barbara Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 084

Alice Browning, unidentified, and Vernon Jarrett at IBWC, photo by Barbara Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 085

IBWC dinner, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 086

IBWC dinner, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 087

Alice Browning at IBWC dinner, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 088

IBWC dinner, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 089

IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 090

IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 091

Gwendolyn Brooks and Nora Brooks at IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 092

Nora Brooks at IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 093

Sam Greenlee at IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 094

IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 095

Vernon Jarrett at IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 096

IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 097

Jesse Evans and unidentified at IBWC dinner, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 098

IBWC dinner, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 099

Alice Browning at IBWC dinner, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 100

Sam Greenlee and Alice Browning at IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 101

Sam Greenlee and Alice Browning at IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 102

Gwendolyn Brooks at IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 103

Glennette Turner at IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 104

IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 105

IBWC, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 106

Lake Shore Drive from McCormick Place, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 107

Lake Shore Drive from McCormick Place, photo by B. Cordell [?]

1978

Box 11

Folder 108

Alice Browning at IBWC

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 109

Alice Browning at IBWC, photo by Ruby Dee [?]

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 110

IBWC

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 111

IBWC

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 112

IBWC

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 113

Glennette Turner and Mildred Johnson at IBWC

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 114

IBWC

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 115

unidentified funeral

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 116

unidentified funeral

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 117

unidentified funeral

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 118

negatives from unidentified funeral

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 119

negatives from unidentified funeral

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 120

unidentified funeral

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 121

negative from unidentified funeral

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 122

negative from unidentified funeral

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 123

Colostine Boatwright

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 124

Colostine Boatwright

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 125

Colostine Boatwright

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 126

Colostine Boatwright

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 127

Colostine Boatwright

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 128

Colostine Boatwright

[n.d.]

Box 11

Folder 129

Harsh Collection Exhibit: Chicago's Black Writers and Publishers

Box 11

Folder 130

Harsh Collection Exhibit: Chicago's Black Writers and Publishers

Box 11

Folder 131

Harsh Collection Exhibit: Chicago's Black Writers and Publishers

Box 11

Folder 132

Harsh Collection Exhibit: Chicago's Black Writers and Publishers

Box 11

Folder 133

Harsh Collection Exhibit: Chicago's Black Writers and Publishers

Box 11

Folder 134

Michael Flug at desk of Harsh Collection

Box 11

Folder 135

Harsh Collection Exhibit: Chicago's Black Writers and Publishers

Oversize

Box 12

VHS tape, Tribute to Alice Browning IBWC 1986

1986

Box 12

VHS tape, IBWC 15th anniversary, July 1, 1985

1985

Box 12

Folder 1

The Browning Letter

1953

Box 12

Folder 2

The Browning Letter

1954

Box 12

Folder 3

The Browning Letter

1955

Box 12

Folder 4

Zip

1963

Box 12

Folder 5

Zip

1964

Box 12

Folder 6

Browning Letter fragments

n.d.