Manet Harrison Fowler and Manet Helen Fowler papers
Collection
Call Number: JWJ MSS 59
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of material created and accumulated by Manet Harrison Fowler and her daughter Manet Helen Fowler. The Manet Harrison Fowler material documents her work as a singer, musician, and educator with the Mwalimu School and the Texas Association of Negro Musicians. The Manet Helen Fowler material documents her various research and professional activities with the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society and other organizations. Material includes photographs; printed material relating to the Mwalimu School and sound recordings of the Mwalimu Festival Chorus; programs for performances by and sound recordings of Manet Harrison Fowler; and oil paintings by Manet Harrison Fowler. Also included are correspondence, research files, and personal papers of Manet Helen Fowler. The collection provides documentation of African American musicians and music education, particularly African American women musicians and teachers, during and after the Harlem Renaissance.
Dates
- 1902-1984
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Box 5 (sound recordings): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Box 5 (sound recordings): Restricted fragile material. Reference copies may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Manet Harrison Fowler Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from William Reese Co. on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2009.
Arrangement
Arranged into five series: I. Correspondence. II. Photographs. III. Other Papers. IV. Sound Recordings. V. Art Work.
Extent
2.88 Linear Feet (9 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The collection consists of material created and accumulated by Manet Harrison Fowler and her daughter Manet Helen Fowler. The Manet Harrison Fowler material documents her work as a singer, musician, and educator with the Mwalimu School and the Texas Association of Negro Musicians. The Manet Helen Fowler material documents her various research and professional activities with the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society and other organizations. Material includes photographs; printed material relating to the Mwalimu School and sound recordings of the Mwalimu Festival Chorus; programs for performances by and sound recordings of Manet Harrison Fowler; and original oil paintings by Manet Harrison Fowler. Also included are correspondence, research files, and personal papers of Manet Helen Fowler. The collection provides documentation of African American musicians and music education, particularly African American women musicians and teachers, during and after the Harlem Renaissance.
Manet Harrison Fowler (1895-1976)
Manet Harrison Fowler was an African American singer, musician, and educator from Fort Worth, Texas. She graduated from the Tuskegee Institute in 1913 and studied at the Chicago College of Music. She co-founded the Texas Association of Negro Musicians and in 1928 founded the Mwalimu School in Texas, later relocating it to Harlem. The school was associated with the Harlem Renaissance, providing educational opportunities in the arts for Harlem's residents. Under the direction of Fowler, the Mwalimu School choir regularly performed and recorded. Fowler was also a painter whose style incorporated religious and civil rights themes.
Manet Harrison Fowler was the wife of Stephen H. Fowler, and the mother of four children: Manet Helen (b. 1918), Stephen Hamilton (b. 1918), George Harrison (b. 1920), and Carroll Lacy (b. 1924).
Manet Harrison Fowler was the wife of Stephen H. Fowler, and the mother of four children: Manet Helen (b. 1918), Stephen Hamilton (b. 1918), George Harrison (b. 1920), and Carroll Lacy (b. 1924).
Manet Helen Fowler (b. 1918)
Manet Helen Fowler was the eldest daughter of Manet Harrison Fowler and Stephen H. Fowler. In 1952, she became the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from a university in the United States.
Processing Information
Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections as they are acquired, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.
This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization. Information included in the Description of Papers note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and minimal organization. Information included in the Description of Papers note and Collection Contents section is drawn from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- African American music teachers
- African American musicians
- African American women musicians
- African American women teachers
- African Americans -- Music
- Arts -- Study and teaching
- Audiovisual materials
- Fowler, Manet Harrison, 1895-1976
- Fowler, Manet Helen, b. 1918
- Harlem Renaissance
- Music -- New York (State)
- Music teachers
- Musicians
- Mwalimu Festival Chorus
- Mwalimu School (New York, N.Y.)
- Oil paintings (visual works)
- Phonograph records
- Photographs
- Sound recordings
- Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society
- Texas Association of Negro Musicians
- Title
- Guide to the Manet Harrison Fowler and Manet Helen Fowler Papers
- Author
- by Jennifer Meehan
- Date
- 2009
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.