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.
• Keep Us Flying poster
  Poster created by the U.S. Treasury Department during World War II to encourage war bond purchase.
• American Federation of Musicians application
  This application for the American Federation of Musicians Local No. 274 was submitted by Byard Lancaster on March 5, 1966 and signed by secretary Frank T. Fairfax.
• Letter, William J. Goggans to Miss Anderson, January 26, 1957
  A typed letter from then soldier, educator, and musician William James Goggans (1933-2003) to globally renowned contralto Marian Anderson Fisher (1897-1993). In his letter, Goggans expresses his admiration for Marian Anderson. He congratulates her for being selected as one of the 10 most admired women in the world and asks her to inform him if she plans to perform in the Washington, D.C. area in the near future.
• Dra Mu, Carmen (photograph)
  This is a photograph of the Dra-Mu Opera Company Orchestra at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia taken in 1947.
• Joseph E. Hill Public School
  This is a photograph of an entrance to the Joseph E. Hill Public School, located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA taken by the Germantown Courier Tuesday September 8th, 1950 at 8am. The size of the photo is 2x5 inches.
• How a Big Business Pays Off In Philadelphia
  The article “How a Big Business Pays Off In Philadelphia” about George Alfonso Price of Price Beauty Products company was featured on page 42 of Color magazine in February 1950.
• A Survey of Witherspoon YMCA of Princeton N.J. May and June 1930
  This 104-page report entitled “A Survey of Witherspoon Young Men’s Christian Association of Princeton, N.J.” was produced in May and June of 1930 by Director Joseph Van Vleck, Jr of Montclair, NJ.
• Paul Robeson with Christine Moore Howell and a child.
  Paul Robeson with Christine Moore Howell and a child, in front of William Moore’s furniture store on Spring Street.
• 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.
• Council of the City of Philadelphia, Resolution Honoring the Rich Life and Loving Memory of Jaci Adams
  **Honoring Jaci Adams: A Legacy of Advocacy and Leadership** Jaci Adams (1956 - 2014) was a remarkable transwoman whose life embodied resilience and the "American Dream." Born in Beckley, WV., and raised in North Philadelphia, Adams overcame a history of abuse, addiction, and incarceration to become a fierce advocate for social justice, particularly for the trans community (Staff 2014).
• 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.
• 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).
• Moses Truehart and Eliza Truehart - charcoal drawing, framed (replaced tintype of Corinda) - 2' x 3'
  This charcoal drawing is of Moses Truehart and Eliza Truehart, a married couple with deep roots in the Sourland Mountain region of New Jersey.
• Handwritten Stoutsburg Cemetery Ledger
  This handwritten ledger was kept by Herbert Albert Hubbard (June 7, 1875-July 11, 1948), Beverly Mills's (co-founder of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum) great-grandfather, at the Stoutsburg Cemetery. It includes minutes from Stoutsburg Cemetery Association meetings, including hymns sung and fundraising efforts, from 1912 through the 1920s.
• 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.
• “Meet the Hinksons.”
  “Meet the Hinksons of Philadelphia, Penna.” is a six-page magazine article published in the Ladies’ Home Journal series “How America Lives” in August 1942. The article highlights the everyday life of the Hinkson family, including education, careers, fashion, travel, and home, and the impact of various wars on their lives.
• Letter. Paul B. Moses to Violette de Mazia
  This correspondence from Paul Moses to Violette de Mazia on January 21, 1951 details an acceptance from Moses to begin teaching art appreciation for Lincoln University students at the Barnes Foundation.
• William Upshur on phone at desk
  A black and white photograph taken by John W. Mosley (1907-1969) featuring William “Bill” Arthur Upshur Jr. (1894-1963) on the phone at his office desk. His business card for his funeral home is stapled to the photo. Another photo flipped right side down sits above. It has handwritten inscriptions.
• Letter to Georgine Upshur informing her of her nomination for membership in the University of Pennsylvania Delta Chapter of the National Social Science Honor Society – Pi Gamma Mu, October 23, 1942
  This letter was sent to Miss Georgine “Gene” Elizabeth Upshur on October 23, 1942 from Pi Gamma Mu, the National Social Science Honor Society’s Delta Chapter at the University of Pennsylvania notifying her of her nomination for membership. The daughter of a prominent, affluent Philadelphia African American family, Gene became an undertaker like her father (The Library Company of Philadelphia 2025).
• Pi Gamma Mu certificate issued to Georgine Elizabeth Upshur, October 31, 1942
  A certificate verifying Georgine Elizabeth Upshur’s membership in Pennsylvania University’s Delta Chapter of the National Social Science Honor Society of Pi Gamma Mu. The certificate is damaged at the top. More information is available in the annotation of the document.
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction Bureau of Professional Licensing Pre-Professional Qualifying Certificate
  This certificate from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction’s Bureau of Professional Licensing Pre-Professional Qualifying Certificate was granted to Georgine E. Upshur for completion of a four-year secondary school course in 1941. This was a modified certificate given to Black educators.
• The Philadelphia High School for Girls commencement announcement
  The 157th Graduating Class: June 16, 1939. The Girls Normal School, aka, Philadelphia High School for Girls was established in 1848 as the first publicly supported high school for girls in Pennsylvania (The Alumnae Association of the Philadelphia High School for Girls, 2025).
• Invitation to the graduation of the University of Pennsylvania classes of 1943
  This invitation card is part of a collection that also includes “Diary of the Women of the Class of 1943, University of Pennsylvania, The 1943 Almanack” containing inserts of correspondence, documents, and programs related to Georgine E. Upshur’s college education at University of Pennsylvania (Georgine E. Upshur Willis Collection n.d.). Georgine Elizabeth Upshur-Willis (September 3, 1921-December 30, 1998) was born to William Arthur Upshur Jr. (January 8, 1984-May 5, 1963) and Agnes (née Chew) Upshur (1896-June 28, 1984). The Upshurs were a prominent, affluent African-American family with connections in Philadelphia politics, community, education, and culture. Georgine Upshur became a licensed mortician and planned to join her father as partner in his business. Her father ran a funeral home (“The William A. Upshur Funeral Home” at 21st and Christian Street) in addition to being a recording secretary for the Republican City Committee, republican leader of the 30th ward, a member of the NAACP and Urban League, and an active alumni member of the University of Pennsylvania (The Philadelphia Inquirer 1963). Georgine married Dr. William Shedrick Willis Jr. (July 11, 1921-August 8, 1983) in 1949 (The Library Company of Philadelphia 2025).