Cleveland, Ohio: Nation’s Oldest African American Producing Theatre and Cultural Arts Center is Donating Archives to Kelvin Smith Library, Case Western Reserve University

From The Daily, Case Western Reserve University:

The Karamu House guest book alone is extraordinary, with such signatories as Martin Luther King Jr., Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, musicians from Duke Ellington’s Orchestra and visitors from across the globe.

The theatre’s historic register—photographs, drawings, programs, posters and the collected letters of Karamu alumnus and playwright Langston Hughes—will soon have a new, permanent home.

Karamu House, the nation’s oldest African American producing theatre and cultural arts center, is donating its archives to Case Western Reserve University. The special collection will be preserved at the Kelvin Smith Library, where the public will be able to access it for research, education

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Featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the theater’s core programs include socially relevant and professional-quality theater and arts education for all ages. Karamu also offers extensive community programming—including comedy, live jazz and spoken-word performances—that invites participation and engagement, reflection and a re-commitment to cultural values.

Learn More, Read the Complete Article

See Also: Some Digitized Items From the Karmu House Archive are Accessible Online via the Cleveland Public Library’s Digital Gallery

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Libraries, News, Public Libraries