The season of goodwill and gift giving is officially upon us, and our thoughts routinely turn to holiday celebrations and time with family. Please consider a special gift to the Amistad Research Center. Your 2009 year-end gift can significantly reduce income taxes while providing meaningful support for Amistad. 
 
Giving is, of course, much more than tax savings and deductions. Our unrestricted annual gifts are dedicated to funding the preservation of collections, technology and equipment upgrades, and they provide a dependable and recurring income stream for unanticipated opportunities. 
 
This year, it is clear that the country's financial crisis is more severe than any that we have recently experienced, and it is likely to be protracted. Amistad's highest fund raising priority is the support of a strong annual fund to offset effects of diminished corporate and foundation budgets and increased competition for charitable dollars.  
 
For your convenience you can make a secure online donation by following the "Make a Donation" link in this newsletter. You can also go to our website or mail directly to the Center at Tilton Hall, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118. However you choose to give, you can be confident that your charitable gift will make an important difference in what we are able to accomplish, and it will be very much appreciated.

 

Mr. Smith moved to New York and worked as an advisor, copyright consultant, University of Connecticut professor, and arranger, as well as performing as a jazz pianist. Eclectic in his tastes and interests, Mr. Smith also became distinguished for his composition and performance of classical music. Chamber ensembles, string orchestra works, large orchestra pieces, compositions for jazz ensembles andchoirs, and incidental music were all part of his creative output. Among Hale Smith's friends, students, and colleagues are an impressive and legendary list, including Chico Hamilton, Dizzy Gillespie, Eric Dolphy, Randy Weston, Melba Liston, Ahmad Jamal, Oliver Nelson, Regina Harris Baiocchi, Marilyn Harris, Isaac Hayes, Quincy Jones, Abbey Lincoln, Jessye Norman, Horace Silver, and Howard Swanson. 

 

 

 

The African Diaspora has many global dimensions - geographical, cultural, artistic, linguistic, and others.  The Amistad Research Center recently hosted a delegation of twelve cultural and educational leaders from various Latin American countries who visited New Orleans as part of a tour sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and coordinated locally by the New Orleans Citizen Diplomacy Council. The tour allowed the delegation to explore the artistic heritage of the African Diaspora in the U.S., learn methods for building public awareness of the Diaspora and its cultural contributions, and discuss with museum curators and archivists best practices in documentation, digital preservation, and archival management.
 
During the visit, staff spoke about the history of the Amistad Research Center, the scope of its collections, and ways in which Amistad is using technology to provide greater access to its holdings. Amistad staff and the visiting individuals also exchanged ideas on possible future collaborations. As a result of the visit, Amistad also added a new title to its library collection - economist and historian Juan Angola Maconde donated a copy of his book on Afro Bolivian culture, Raices de un Pueblo: Cultura Afroboliviana.

 

 

 
Prior to her passing, Ms. Faulkner began dispersing her collection. With the assistance of a generous donor, the Amistad Research Center has been fortunate to acquire over 500 examples of sheet music from the Ethnic Notions Collection, which date from the 1860s to the 1960s and include music from African American and non-African American composers in the genres of jazz, classical, and musical theater. However, according to Christopher Harter, Amistad's Director of Library and Reference Services, the significance of the collection lies in the lyrics and cover illustrations found among the musical works, "While many of the illustrations, song titles, and lyrics are quite disturbing, they provide a lens through which we see the way in which African Americans have been depicted in popular culture during the 19th and 20th centuries. Unfortunately, we still see such examples today."

In her book, Ceramic Uncles and Celluloid Mammies, Patricia A. Turner summarized the educational potential of Ms. Faulkner's collection: "Although not an educator by profession, Faulkner was convinced that if handled correctly, these artifacts and information surrounding their creation would prove to be an invaluable tool with which teachers could demonstrate the enormous impact of racism in American history."

The Amistad Research Center is currently seeking funding to fully catalog the Janette Faulkner Ethnic Notions Sheet Music Collection. An inventory of the collection is available for use at the Center and the collection is currently available for research.