The Richard Wright Papers contain manuscripts, correspondence with other writers such as Nelson Algren, Arna Bontemps, Ralph Ellison, Chester Himes, Langston Hughes, Gunnar Myrdal and Margaret Walker, photographs, financial and legal documents and printed materials relating to the life and work of Richard Wright. Included are drafts of such works as Black Boy and Native Son, photographs of trips to Spain and Ghana, various items of personal memorabilia such as Wright's Spingarn Medal, and a film of Wright's screen test for the movie version of "Native Son".
The Langston Hughes Papers contain letters, manuscripts, personal items, photographs, clippings, artworks, and objects that document the life of the well-known African-American poet.
The Claude McKay Collection consists of correspondence, writings, personal papers, photographs and memorabilia documenting the life and work of Claude McKay. Series I, Correspondence, consists of two subseries for General and Publishers Correspondence. There is correspondence with many well known writers and figures in the African American community from the first half of the 20th century, including Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, Carl Van Vechten, Countee Cullen and Harold Jackman. Series II, Writings, contains a variety of writings: articles, essays, short stories, novels, book-length autobiographical and non-fictional work, individual poems and collections of poems, and writings of others. There are holograph and typescript drafts of My Green Hills of Jamaica, and typescript drafts of Harlem: Negro Metropolis, an unpublished novel (Romance in Marseilles), and collections of poems, including The Selected Poems of Claude McKay. Series III, Personal Papers, is organized into eight subseries: Books, Clippings, Financial and Legal Records, Invitations and Announcements, Material Relating to McKay's Death and Burial, Medical and Health Records, Postcards and Other. Series IV, Subject Files, consists chiefly of clippings dating from the 1920s and 1930s on liberal politics, labor issues, race, and the countries in which McKay resided while abroad. Series V, Photographs, consists of five subseries: Family, Snapshots of McKay, Other People, Places and Other. There are photographs from Soviet Russia in the early 1920s, and studio portraits of well known musicians and figures in the African American community. Series VI, Memorabilia, contains clippings, photographs, program material and souvenirs from four separate commemorative events in honor of McKay from 1979-1990.
The James Weldon Johnson and Grace Nail Johnson Papers provide evidence of the personal and professional lives of James Weldon Johnson, Grace Nail Johnson, and to a lesser degree, the Johnson and Nail families, spanning the years 1850 to 2005, with the bulk of material dating between 1900 and 1976. The papers chronicle Johnson's writing career and involvement in education, politics, and cultural affairs and consist of a variety of documents, including correspondence, writings, personal papers, scrapbooks, photographs, artwork, objects, and audiovisual materials. Johnson was involved in a number of significant movements and organizations during his lifetime, and, as a result, the Papers also provide insight into broader topics in American and African-American history during the twentieth century.
The James Weldon Johnson Collection Files contain manuscript correspondence, literary works and other documents relating to African Americans, dating from 1809 to 1979. The collection contains several letters to James Weldon Johnson from aspiring poets asking for feedback on their writing. Correspondence sent to Langston Hughes, Harold Jackman, Grace Nail Johnson, and Carl Van Vechten is also prominent in the collection. The collection includes broadway actress Rose McClendon's scripts used when performing in various productions. Some early documents relate to slavery; these include bills of sale and an estate inventory dating from 1856. Writings by Sterling Allen Brown, George Washington Carver, Ralph Ellison, and J. Saunders Redding can be found in the collection. African-American women authors are also represented; most notably in writings and correspondence of Elizabeth Ross Haynes and Margaret Walker.
Connecticut's Archives Online