Items

• Lancaster Productions International press release for Byard Lancaster
  This press release invites the public to gather in support of and celebrate the birthday of Mrs. Mattie Humphrey, also known as “Sister Majida,” at Morgan’s Jazz Club located at 17 East Price Street in Germantown, Philadelphia.
• The diary of Sallie Sanders Venning (1890)
  The diary presented here is the first of three diaries written by Sallie Sanders Venning between 1890-1892. Sarah Sanders Venning, known as Sallie, was born in Philadelphia on March (or August)13, 1872. She was the daughter of Julia Sanders and Edward Y. Venning. She was a substitute teacher during the time the diary was kept. She married William B. Holden in 1903 and was widowed in 1928. She was active in St. Thomas African Episcopal Church and in various women's clubs. She died in 1959.
• Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School charter and certificate of incorporation
  This charter and certificate of incorporation legitimized the Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School in Philadelphia on April 10, 1896. The charter includes the hospital and school’s purpose, leadership, and articles and conditions. The Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School was a Black owned and operated institution existing to serve the Black community (National Library of Medicine, n.d.).
• The A.M.E Minister's Wives Alliance of Philadelphia and Vicinity Fellowship Christmas Dinner
  This program is for The A.M.E. Ministers’ Wives Alliance of Philadelphia and Vicinity Fellowship Christmas Dinner held on Thursday, December 28, 1950 at 6:30pm. The event “To Us A Child Of Hope Is Born” was held at the Pyramid Club Dining Room at 1517 Girard Avenue, Philadelphia.
• "Pickle Your Easter Eggs"
  The front and back of a clipping pasted in a scrapbook from the Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. The clipping contains a recipe for pickling dyed Easter eggs written by culinary journalist Clementine Paddleford. The back contains various advertisements.
• [Joe Louis on Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey]
  A black and white photograph taken by John W. Mosley (1907-1969). The photo features heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (1914-1981) who sits in the center socializing with eight people on Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey. From 1937 to 1949, Joe Louis reigned as the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He defended his title 25 times and was beaten only three times (Martha Louis 1991).
• Gloria Phillis, Butch Williams, and Cheryl Steele on Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey
  A black and white photograph taken by John W. Mosley. The image features five young Black people at the famous Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
• Joseph E. Hill School war bond certificate
  Certificate of Joseph E. Hill School buying U.S. war bonds through a systemic purchase plan.
• Citation. Thanks and Appreciation to Christine Howell
  This citation from the Legal Defense and Educational Fund sends “thanks and appreciation” to Christine Howell for her involvement with The Links, Incorporated USA.
• The Griot Press, premiere issue (May 1992)
  The Griot Press was a minority owned and published lesbian and gay magazine.
• Memorial collage of Jaci Adams photographs / typed biography of Jaci Adams
  This memorial collage of Jaci DuBoise Adams features eight overlapping color photographs– two of Adams alone smiling, and the remaining of Adams smiling in small groups of people. On the back of the frame is a biography of Adams’ life, highlighting her resilience, many accomplishments, and relentless leadership and advocacy for the Philadelphia trans community and HIV/AIDS issues.
• Tribute to Jaci Duboise Adams
  This tribute was written by City of Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter on March 21, 2014 to honor the life and legacy of Jaci DuBoise Adams, a leader, advocate, and educator in the Philadelphia LGBT community.
• Gospel Songs and Spiritual Poetic Poem Book
  The book “Gospel Songs and Spiritual Poetic Poem Book” by Rev. J. F. Hamlette has four parts and is 56 pages. It has handwritten inscriptions of Ada and George Hightower's names on cover and inside, who were members of the First Colored Church in Hopewell, NJ and were among the first African Americans to live on Columbia Avenue in Hopewell.
• Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church Sunday School
  This photograph of the Bethel African Methodist Episopal Church Sunday School of Pennington, NJ features nineteen children, some siblings. All of the children in the photograph have been identified by Patricia (née True) Payne (see reverse).
• Wooden collection boxes (two)
  Original to Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. A booklet printed in 1966 in honor of the church’s 150th anniversary says: “Two of the original collection boxes are prize possessions of the church and are still used on special occasions.” On loan to the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM) from the members of Bethel AME Church in Pennington, NJ
• Woven peach basket, early-20th century.
  This woven peach basket was manufactured in the early 1900s by African American workers in the Sourland Mountain peach orchards, a large employer for the local Black community, according to the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum. Peach baskets were used to collect peaches during harvest, until the San Jose scale peach blight occurred in the late 1800s.
• Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church (structure)
  Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, built in 1899
• [African American basketball team]
  This photograph is a group portrait depicting members of an African American basketball team with their coach, likely in Philadelphia, taken in or around 1920.
• Base-ball-to-day Philadelphia Giants the fastest colored team in base ball vs Dixfield A.A.
  A handbill for a baseball game between the Philadelphia Giants and the Dixfield A.A. Formed in 1902, the Philadelphia Giants were a powerhouse independent Black team until disbanding in 1911, a move forced by player defections (Brack, 2025).
• Mrs. Gene Upshur Willis news clippings
  This collection of news clippings are about Upshur family achievements, including: Georgine Upshur and a Y.W.C.A. baby contest, her Philadelphia High School for Girls graduation and coming out parties, and passing of the state mortician’s exam circa 1949.