August 2013

There is no better way to witness the impact of philanthropy than through the stories of people who are truly involved. In this article, actual donors share stories of generosity and reveal the origins of their philanthropy to Amistad. "Profiles of Philanthropy" is one way we share stories of generous donors from all ages and walks of life who are linked by their support and investment in Amistad. The stories are not necessarily about the extraordinarily large gift. They are about loyalty, meeting specific philanthropic goals, and about leaving a legacy for generations of future family members and friends to enjoy.

Doris J. Newton

A Model for Memorial Giving

Ms. Newton was born the youngest of five daughters after her parents moved the family from Burdett, Mississippi, to Chicago. Both parents shared a strong religious faith and belief in family. They instilled principles for appreciation of a solid work ethic, cultural heritage, and racial pride.

Doris has been an active member of the Chicago Friends of Amistad Research Center (CFARC) for over fifteen years. CFARC is an organization that is among Amistad's greatest assets. The group was organized in 1979 to support Amistad financially, encourage donations of collections to the Center, and to sponsor programs emphasizing the preservation of historically significant documents.

The family recalls making an annual gift to Amistad in memory of patriarch William Newton, dating back to 1999, a year after his death. The first gift in memory of their mother, Mrs. Haley Ford Newton, was made in 2010. Each year, Doris Newton and siblings encourage other family members, friends, and colleagues to contribute to the memorial fund that honors their parents and benefits Amistad. Contributors and contributions have grown significantly over the years.

Doris Newton, a retired school teacher, added that she is proud to be a part of an organization that is instrumental in collecting and preserving African American history and providing access to persons around the world. The Newton family's annual memorial gift is wholly appropriate and altogether fitting as a model for families to pay tribute to relatives and loved ones while dedicating support to Amistad Research Center.

Shirley Porter Washington

A Gift that Keeps on Giving

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina battered New Orleans and the Gulf Coast Region, becoming one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to hit the United States. Nearly 2,000 people were killed, mostly in Louisiana, and 705 persons are reported as still missing. The storm itself did a great deal of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. Levee breaches led to massive flooding, and hundreds of thousands of evacuees remain scattered far and wide.

During a phone conversation with Amistad's Executive Director Lee Hampton, the manner of the conversation and tone of Shirley Porter Washington's voice changed at the mention of Hurricane Katrina. She chronicled the sequence of events that led to her and her husband settling in Henderson, Nevada, after first seeking refuge in Baton Rouge, Little Rock, and Santa Clarita, California.

As early as 2006, Mrs. Washington renewed ties with the Amistad Research Center, gaining access to the papers of Countee Cullen for a book she wished to write. In large measure, because of gratitude for preservation of Cullen's important papers, and partly to assist Amistad during post Katrina recovery, Mrs. Washington made a special gift to the Center. She turned to Network for Good, a website that facilitates donations to charities and manages periodic payments of recurring gifts. Her 2008 donation continues to give the same amount every quarter. This is an excellent method of supporting Amistad for those who wish to give but find it inconvenient to mail checks or make periodic credit card payments. It also allows the donor to afford a larger gift by extending the period over which a manageable amount can be contributed.

Mabel Keaton Staupers displays the Mary Mahony Award for distinguished service in nursing to a group of nurses at the Harlem Hospital Nurses Residence in 1947.

At the Amistad Research Center, we receive new collections throughout the year. We also routinely revisit collections received in decades past to improve collection description and disseminate collection contents to facilitate global access to our unique holdings. Since the adoption of our online finding aid database in 2009, Amistad staff have added nearly 300 complete finding aids to this database. Below are some of the collections, both large and small, added to the database in the past few months.

The George Longe papers reflect his career as an educator and his longstanding interest in African American history; these two interests merged when Longe developed curricula to teach African American history in the public schools of New Orleans in the 1930s. Moreover, Longe served as Supreme Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of Louisiana for several decades. This collection also includes collected minute books, rituals, correspondence, photographs, and other Masonic documents dating from the 1840s in English, French, and Spanish.

The lives of African American women are chronicled in the Ida Cullen Cooper papers and the Mabel Keaton Staupers Papers. The Ida Cullen Cooper papers consist mainly of materials that reflect Cooper's marriage to poet Countee Cullen late in his life and Cooper's efforts to promote his legacy following the poet's death. The Mabel Keaton Staupers papers document the career of this Spingarn medalist, who worked over several decades to desegregate the nursing profession.    

New additions of family records include the Cecilia A. Barnett Rouss collection, which documents the family of Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and the Vining Family scrapbook consisting of photographs and newspaper clippings of the family of R. J. Vining, a New Orleans physician. The William Kincaid Newman collection reflects the affiliation of two of Newman's ancestors with the American Missionary Association and their work across the country.    

Slavery-related collections include the Margaret Aurelia Porter v. Reuben Reynolds records, which concern a relatively obscure fugitive slave case from the 1810s, while the C. B. Granniss Firm promissory note describes an 1839 loan in which slaves were used as collateral.

Two small, but outstanding collections related to musician W.C. Handy include the W. C. Handy letters and sheet music, which contains correspondence from Handy describing the operations of his Handy Brothers Music Company in great detail, and the Walter C. Reinhardt collection on W. C. Handy, which consists of letters from Handy to Reinhardt thanking the latter for his contributions to the career of the famed jazz and blues musician.