Audio recordings of taped radio show episodes, primarily from the series The Afro-American in Indiana, but also including the additional programs Reflections in Black and Black Heritage , as well as a radio special and recordings from a NAACP convention. The radio shows, hosted by Fr. Boniface Hardin, featured multiple high-profile guests. The episode topics includes sports, music, education, historiography, slavery, the American Civil War, Reconstruction, segregation, the Indiana Constitution, the United States Constitution, church, religion, the NAACP, WWI, WWII, medicine, black businesses, the Institute of Afro American Studies, prison, labor history, and more.
Content types:
Performed music and Spoken word
Formats:
Analog audiocassette and Open reel tape (unknown material)
Jack "The Rapper" Gibson was a pioneer in Black radio, as well as an innovator, a leader, and a mentor to many in the radio and music industries. His work as a Black radio deejay spanned the early days of Black radio in the 1940s through the Civil Rights Movement, and included stints at WERD-Atlanta, WLOU-Louisville, WMBM-Miami, WCIN-Cincinnati, and WABQ-Cleveland. After retiring from radio in 1961, he became a successful music industry executive working for Motown, Decca, and Stax Records. In 1976, he launched the industry magazine Jack the Rapper, the oldest Black trade publication targeted to radio, and for the next twenty years organized the annual "Jack the Rapper’s Family Affair," a Black music convention drawing generations of performers and music industry executives. His professionalism, continuous fight for racial equality and justice, and endearing human qualities made him a legend in the industry. This collection documents his long career in radio and music through personal correspondence, clippings, memorabilia, photographs, publicity materials, airchecks, interviews, lecture materials, and over 500 issues of his trade magazine "Jack the Rapper's Mellow Yellow."
Content types:
Two-dimensional moving image, Performed music, Spoken word, Still image, and Text
Formats:
Analog audiocassette, Open reel tape (unknown material), VHS (including SVHS and VHS-C), Optical disc (Including CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, VCD), Text document, and Photographic print