Black items for sale

[Irene Davis]

We have several black items for sale on www.icollect247.com.  There is a special Black Americana category

[labonnevivante.com]

WE HAVE FOR SALE AT LABONNEVIVANTE.COM Very Rare "Letters from Prison"; a compilation of Martin Sostre's correspondence from Erie County Jail, Buffalo, New York; and Green Haven Prison, Stormville, New York. Prepared by the Philosophical Society, State University of New York at Buffalo, in cooperation with the Martin Sostre Defense Committee. Includes photos, drawings. CONDITION: VERY GOOD- GOOD++ with stains (coffee) to bottom margin on some pages; some folded page corners; a few notes in margins. 76 pp.
Sostre was a member of the Black Power movement and operated the Afro-Asian Bookshop in Buffalo, NY, where he stocked Black Nationalist and other "controversial" materials. During the Black rebellion of June--July 1967 in Buffalo's East Side Ghetto, he was arrested and his shop wrecked by the authorities. He eventually served time in Attica, where he became a Muslim and waged the legal struggle that resulted in a court ruling allowing Muslim religious services in the prison. These letters are from the period when he was incarcerated in Erie County Jail, Buffalo, and Green Haven Prison, in Stormville, NY.

[labonnevivante.com]

labonnevivante.com offers a collectors grouping of twenty-nine African American photographs Parkside Y.M.C.A. Philadelphia?

CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL COMPLEMENT

Most or all of these photographs are extremely well composed and focused so the photographer was exceptionally talented or a professional. Several of the photographs are so attractive we feel they deserve to be enlarged, framed, reproduced, etc. Photos are probably ca. early to mid 1950's, and are images of children and adult activities at the Parkside Y.M.C.A.; probably in Philadelphia, PA., per rear inscriptions on many. Nice images, most very clear and focused, some are of dressmaking instruction, sewing, playground play, field trips, Powelton Avenue day camp, art class, swimming, pony rides, etc. Most of the photographs measure 3.50 x 5.00 inches; a few are slightly smaller. The photos do all have white borders. My scanner was playing tricks on me today!

AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE YMCA

Like most other U.S. entities, the YMCA was segregated, excluding African Americans. The first Black YMCA was established in the mid-19th century.

In 1853, the first Black Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was organized. The YMCA has long been a source for building community spirit and a sense of social responsibility among African-American Christian men.

When the YMCA movement began in America in 1851, black men were excluded from membership based on local practices of segregation. In 1854, when they joined with those from Canada to form the Confederation of North American YMCAs, U.S. racial policies grew to a serious issue. Slavery and the Civil War dissolved the Confederation and in America the YMCA stood by its assertion that local association's were autonomous bodies and could govern themselves. African-American men saw possibilities within the YMCA despite its failure to take a stand on discrimination.

The first black YMCA was organized in Washington D. C. and lasted through the Civil War. After emancipation black associations were founded in Charleston, S.C. and New York City among other cities. This occurrence, the interest of newly freed slaves, and the growth of YMCAs among black college students convinced the national YMCA to encourage the formation of black branches.

This movement began to thrive when the first black International Secretary for Colored Work was employed in 1891. William A. Hunton, who had worked in black YMCA branches in Ottawa, Canada, and Norfolk, VA., dedicated his life to the expansion of YMCA work among Black men. His staff grew to include Jesse Moorland, Channing H. Tobias and others. This group was against segregation in YMCA work yet understood the positive aspects of having the space and time to train young Black men for leadership through voluntary and paid positions at the “Y.”

World War I was a turning point for the YMCA, it was a time when the organization performed successful work with Black soldiers; dealing with health issues and on literacy training. Following the war the YMCA began to reassess its racial policies and encourage interracial dialogue. Yet it was not until 1946 that its national organization urged local branches to desegregate.

Desegregation closed many all-black branches however the national YMCA has since remained a force in black communities. The work of the "Y" has expanded to include both women and men of all religious backgrounds. Local branches sponsor summer camps, residence halls, adult education, job training, and a number of other activities and services. The YMCA continues to be relevant in America because of its standing commitment to creating functional communities and because of its ability to modify its approach in changing times.

Reference:
The Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage
by Susan Altman
Copyright 1997, Facts on File, Inc. New York
ISBN 0-8160-3289-0

[Memphis Attic]

i went from a house to an apartment so i have to part with him :(

[labonnevivante.com]

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labonnevivante.com has for sale,THE GREEN PASTURES NEGRO SPIRITUALS--SCORE FROM PLAY AND FILM OF THE SAME NAME.-ARRANGED BY HALL JOHNSON, REDUCED TO ARRANGEMENT FOR PIANO AND VOICE--1930 HARDCOVER BOOK- COPYRIGHT 1930. 40 PAGES. THERE IS SOME SLIGHT STAINING ON THE FRONT COVER THAT IS VISIBLE IN THE PHOTOS. THE BINDING IS TIGHT AND THE PAGES ARE CLEAN. SEE DETAILED PHOTOS.

Who is Hall Johnson?

Francis Hall Johnson was born in Athens, Georgia on March 12, 1888. His father was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal church and his grandmother, who was born a slave, sang spirituals to him. In 1910 he received his B.A. Degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Later he attended Juilliard School and the University of Southern California. Around 1914 he settled in Harlem in New York City, where as a working musician he played violin and viola in various groups including the Negro String Quartet, a touring company and several orchestras. He and William Grant Still, also an important composer, were in the Broadway orchestra for the first black musical, Shuffle Along, with Josephine Baker in the chorus.

The preservation of the uniqueness of the spiritual was his passion. He gathered eight like-minded singers and founded the Hall Johnson Negro Choir. The choir grew to twenty and in February 1928 made its debut at Pythian Temple and a month later sang at New York's Town Hall. The choir became very popular, both in live performance and in radio, and soon had a recording contract with RCA Victor.

Two years later Johnson's choir sang spirituals that he had arranged for the Broadway play The Green Pastures. His own folk drama Run Little Children was on Broadway in 1933. When The Green Pastures was made into a movie (1936), Johnson took his choir to Hollywood to sing in the production. He worked there for many years as chorus director and sometimes arranger for other films including Lost Horizon (1937), Way Down South and Birth of the Blues. His last film, Cabin in the Sky (1943), had an all-black cast including Lean Horne, Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. MGM lost money because southern theaters would not show the film.

Back in New York he composed an Easter Cantata, Son of Man (1946) premiered by Johnson's new Festival Negro Chorus, which gave concerts on a regular basis. In 1951 he and his chorus were invited by the State Department to represent the U.S. at the International Festival of Fine Arts in Berlin. Afterward the group continued to tour Europe for several months.

Two books of his arrangements, The Green Pastures Spirituals (1930) and Thirty Negro Spirituals for Voice and Piano have shaped what we today know as spirituals. By preserving the authenticity of these folk songs he has given us a great gift of emotionally fulfilling, or should I say soul-satisfying, experience through song.

He died on April 30, 1970 in an apartment fire in New York city. He was 82 years old. He was eulogized by Marian Anderson in the New York Times on May 24: "Hall Johnson was a unique genius. For although he invented no new harmonies, designed no new forms, originated no new melodic styles, discovered no new rhythmic principles, he was yet able to fashion a whole new world of music in his own image."

Chronology of Hall Johnson's Life
1888 Born March 12, Athens, Gorgia. Grandmother sang slave songs to him.
1910 First music degree, B.A., Univerisity of Pennsylvania; Later studied at Juilliard School and University of Southern California.
1914 Played violin and viola in James Reese's European Orchestra and had a studio where he taught.
1921 Shuffle Along, the first Black musical on Broadway. He and William Grant Still played in the orchestra with Josephine Baker in the chorus.
1925 In September organized Hall Johnson Negro Choir (later becoming famous).
1928 His Choir performs in New York's Town Hall and later that year records first album for RCA Victor.
1930 His Choir sings his spiritual settings in the musical Green Pastures (popular Bible stories retold with an all Black cast) on Broadway. The Green Pastures Spirituals book is published.
1933 His folk drama Run Little Children produced on Broadway.
1934 Honorary Doctor of Music from Philadelphia Academy of Music.
1936 His Choir in film The Green Pastures, score composed by Johnson.
1937 His Choir in film Lost Horizon. White cast, he did not write music.
1943 His Choir sings in film, (he did not write music) Cabin in the Sky. Black cast, with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. MGM lost money because southern theaters would not show film.
1946 Easter Cantata Son of Man premiered by Johnson's Festival Negro Chorus of New York at New York City Center. Mixed a cappella choir, soloists, narrator with some accompaniment by organ, brass choir, harp and percussion.
1949 Schirmer publishes his book Thirty Spirituals Arranged for Voice and Piano.
1951 His Choir selected by State Department to represent U.S. at International Festival of Fine Arts in Berlin. The group continues to tour Europe for several months.
1956 Composed Ain't got Time to Die and other art songs in the style of spirituals.
1970 Died on April 30 during a fire at his NYC apartment at age 82. On May 24 Marian Anderson eulogizes him in the New York Times. Inducted into Black Film-makers Hall of Fame.
2003 Carl Fischer Publisher produced The Hall Johnson Collection, a massive compilation of traditional African-American spirituals and traditional songs for voice and piano with two CDs (catalogue #VF5, $34.95) . Shirley Verrett's autobiography tells how he coached her to superb effect in French and German.
2006 First CD devoted exclusively to his solo songs, He'll Bring it to Pass (Albany/ Videmus - Troy 846) with soprano Louise Toppin, pianist Joseph Joubert.
-----? Does anyone know the date his operetta Fi-Yer was written?

This chronology and the song list are a work in progress. If you have corrections and additional information send them to Artsong Update and we will post any new information on our website.

Hall Johnson Song List
We have compiled a list of some ninety song titles. We have heard live and on CD about one-third of this list. In our area of Tidewater Virginia Patricia Saunders Nixon and Lisa Relaford Coston sing his songs often. The list will remain on our website and will be revised as we and our readers discover more songs. Do send us your finds.

*Thirty Negro Spirituals (1949)
+The Green Pastures Spirituals (1930)

At the Feet of Jesus (Lanston Hughes)
Ain't Got Time to Die
*Belshazza' Had a Feas'
+Cert'ny Lord
City Called Heaven
The Courtship (art song)
Crossing the Bar
Crucfixion (from cantata Son of Man)
*Dat Suits Me
David (Dwight Strickland)
+Death's Gon'ter Lay His Col' Icy Hands on Me
+De Blin' Man Stood on de Road an' Cried
+De Ol' Ark's Moverin'
+Dere's No Hidin' Place Down Dere
+Doncher Let Nobody Turn You Roun'
*Done Written Down My Name
*Every Time I Feel the Spirit
Ezekiel Saw de Wheel
Fix Me Jesus (published 1940)
Fi-yer! (Fire) (from the Operetta Fi-yer)
The Foundling (text Hall Johnson)
Give Me Jesus
*Glory Hallel to de Newborn King
+Go Down Moses
Good News
*Gospel Train is Coming
*Great Day
+Hail! De King of Babylon! (Babylonian National Anthem)
+Hallelujah!
+Hallelujah! King Jesus
He'll Bring it to Pass
Heaven is One Beautiful Place
His Name So Sweet
Hol' de Light
Hold On (Keep Your Hand on that Plow)
Honor, Honor
*How Long Train Been Gone?
I'm Callin' (text Oscar O. Cozad)
+I Can't Stay Away
I Cannot Stay Here by Myself (a slave's lament)
*I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray
I Got to Lie Down (from cantata Son of Man)
I'm Gonter Tell God All of My Troubles
+In Bright Mansions Above
+I Want to Be Ready
I've Been 'Buked
Jesus Lay Your Head in the Window
John Henry
+Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho
*Keep a-Inchin' Along
*Let de Heb'n Light Shine on Me
Let's Have a Union
+Lord, I Don't Feel No Ways Tired
*Leanin' on Dat Lamb
+March On
*Mary Had a Baby
Mother to Son (Langston Hughes)
My Good Lord Done Been Here
+My God is So High
+My Lord's a-Writin' All de Time
*My Lord What a Morning
*Oh, Freedom
Oh, Glory
*Oh, Graveyard
+Oh, Mary, Doncher Weep
+Oh, Rise an' Shine
On the Dusty Road (Langston Hughes)
O Stan' Still Jordan
*Over Yonder
*Po' Mo'ner Got a Home at Las'
*Prayer is de Key
*Religion is a Fortune
*Ride On, King Jesus
River Chant
Roll Jerd'n Roll
+Run, Sinner, Run!
*Scandalize My Name
*Sinner-Man So Hard to Believe
+Some o' Dese Days
Steal Away (fold drama Run Li'l Chillun')
*Standin' in de Need of Prayer
*Stan' Still, Jordan
*Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Take My Mother Home (St. John 19: 26 - 27) (cantata Son of Man)
*There is a Balm in Gilead
*This is de Healin' Water
+You Better Min'!
Wade in the Water
*Were You There?
What Kinder Shoes
+When de Saints Come Marchin' In
*When I Lay My Burden Down
+Witness (1940)

(SOURCE:http://www.artsongupdate.org/PrinterFriendly/HallJohnsonPF.htm)

[labonnevivante.com]

labonnevivante.com has for sale, an ART COMICS POSTCARD NO 2067 -BLACK CANNIBALS AND CAPTIVE. CREASE ACROSS CARD WIDTH.

[labonnevivante.com]

labonnevivante.com has for sale, a GEM TINTYPE HAND TINTED- FRAMED IN COPPER--AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTH. THESE MINIATURES WERE OFTERN USED FOR DECORATION IN DOLLHOUSES, AND THE LIKE. PRISTINE CONDITION, 1X.75"--SEE SCANS!

[labonnevivante.com]

ITEMS FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO HAVE JUST BEEN POSTED FOR SALE ON OUR WEBSITE, LABONNEVIVANTE.COM. PLEASE PAY US A VISIT!
http://blip.tv/file/4126781