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How It Feels To Be Free | History Film Forum

Creator:
National Museum of American History  Search this
Type:
Interviews
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2021-04-23T21:33:56.000Z
YouTube Category:
Entertainment  Search this
Topic:
American History  Search this
See more by:
SmithsonianAmHistory
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
YouTube Channel:
SmithsonianAmHistory
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_qEtR4hLp4_4

Jeni LeGon Papers

Author:
LeGon, Jeni, 1916-  Search this
Names:
Robinson, Bill, 1878-1949  Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot (3 boxes, includes photographs)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Letters (correspondence)
Programs
Photographs
Clippings
Itineraries
Advertisements
Date:
1930-2002, undated
Summary:
Collection documents the career of Jeni LeGon as a dancer, dance instructor, and actress.
Scope and Contents:
Collection documents LeGon's career as a dancer, dance instructor, and actress. Materials include biographical information, correspondence, photographs, early travel itineraries, schedules, personal calendars, printed advertisements, invitations to dance events, programs, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and awards. The collection is arranged into four series: Series 1, Biographical Information and Publicity, 1930s; Series 2, Theatre and Motion Picture Film, 1935-1945, undated; Series 3, Dance Instruction and Performances, 1953-2002, undated; and Series 4: Tributes and Awards, 1979-2002.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series:.

Series 1, Biographical Information and Publicity

Series 2, Theatre and Motion Picture Film, 1935-1945

Series 3, Dance Instruction and Performances, 1953-2002, undatred

Series 4, Tributes and Awards, 1979-2002
Biographical / Historical:
Jeni LeGon was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1916. Her long, successful career as an African American dancer and actress began in musical theatre and vaudeville. In the 1930s she traveled across the southern United States performing first with the Whitman Sisters company and then with her half-sister, Willa Mae Lane, as the LeGon and Lane song-and-dance team. By 1935, LeGon was working under contract with Fox Studios, RKO Pictures, and MGM performing with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Waters and Al Jolson, and Fred Astaire. Throughout the years she performed on Broadway and in other theaters and clubs including the Apollo, Cafe de Paris, Howard, Paramount, and Lincoln. Beginning in the 1950s she offered dance instruction in Los Angeles, California at the Jeni LeGon Dance Studio and Drama and Dance Playhouse; and in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she taught tap and pointe. She died on December 7, 2012 at the age of ninety-six.
Related Materials:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program Collection (AC0808)

Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection (AC0491)

Program in African American Culture Collection (AC0408)

Frank Schiffman Apollo Theatre Collection (AC0540)
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center by Jeni LeGon in 2002.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
African American women entertainers  Search this
African American women  Search this
Dance in motion pictures, television, etc.  Search this
Dance, Black  Search this
Dancers  Search this
Actresses  Search this
Tap dancing  Search this
Genre/Form:
Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century.
Programs -- 1930-2000
Photographs -- 20th century
Clippings
Itineraries
Advertisements -- 20th century
Citation:
Jeni LeGon Papers, 1930s-2002, undated, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0829
See more items in:
Jeni LeGon Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b5972ffb-e9ea-40ec-baa7-7fc43d772a76
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0829
Online Media:

Catherine Burt vertical file on Black women

Creator:
Burt, Catherine  Search this
Names:
Alexander, Sadie Tanner Mossell, 1898-1989  Search this
Bethune, Mary McLeod, 1875-1955  Search this
Brooks, Gwendolyn, 1917-2000  Search this
Cobb, Jewel Plummer, 1924-  Search this
Coppin, Fanny Jackson  Search this
Davis, Angela Y. (Angela Yvonne), 1944-  Search this
Dunham, Katherine  Search this
Harper, Frances Ellen Watkins, 1825-1911  Search this
Lee, Jarena, b. 1783  Search this
Parks, Rosa, 1913-2005  Search this
Parsons, Lucy E. (Lucy Eldine), 1853-1942  Search this
Powers, Harriet, 1837-1911  Search this
Rudolph, Wilma, 1940-  Search this
Smith, Bessie, 1894-1937  Search this
Truth, Sojourner, d. 1883  Search this
Tubman, Harriet, 1820?-1913  Search this
Walker, Alice, 1944-  Search this
Walker, Maggie  Search this
Wells-Barnett, Ida B., 1862-1931  Search this
Wright, Jane Cooke., Dr., 1919-  Search this
Extent:
1.42 Linear feet ((2 boxes))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Articles
Photocopies
Correspondence
Pamphlets
Brochures
Clippings
Date:
circa 1980s
Summary:
The collection, which dates from the 1980s and measures 1.42 linear feet, was compiled in the course of preparations for the "Black Women: Achievements Against the Odds" exhibit, which was staged at the Anacostia Museum from February 1976 to December 1976. This collection documents the lives and achievements of African American women in a variety of fields, including law, medicine, education, politics, science and the arts. The collection is comprised of documents, magazine and newspaper clippings, correspondence, photocopies, brochures and pamphlets.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Topic:
African American women educators  Search this
African American women jazz singers  Search this
African American women executives  Search this
African American women journalists  Search this
African American clergy  Search this
African American abolitionists  Search this
African American women artists  Search this
African American women athletes  Search this
African American women authors  Search this
African American women civil rights workers  Search this
African American women scientists  Search this
African American women political activists  Search this
African American women poets  Search this
African American women physicians  Search this
African American women librarians  Search this
African American women legislators  Search this
African American women lawyers  Search this
African American women judges  Search this
African American women singers  Search this
African American women social reformers  Search this
Women clergy  Search this
African American military personnel  Search this
African American women  Search this
African American women entertainers  Search this
Genre/Form:
Articles
Photocopies
Correspondence
Pamphlets
Brochures
Clippings
Citation:
Catherine Burt vertical file on Black women, circa 1980s, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Catherine Burt.
Identifier:
ACMA.06-065
Archival Repository:
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa72f05569f-6fb5-427f-836d-79558d0d8eb9
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-acma-06-065

American cocktail : a "colored girl" in the world / Anita Reynolds with Howard M. Miller ; edited and with introduction and notes by George Hutchinson ; foreword by Patricia Williams

Author:
Reynolds, Anita Thompson Dickinson 1901-1980  Search this
Miller, Howard M  Search this
Editor:
Hutchinson, George 1953-  Search this
Subject:
Reynolds, Anita Thompson Dickinson 1901-1980  Search this
Physical description:
viii, 333 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Type:
Biography
Place:
United States
Date:
2014
Topic:
African American women  Search this
Motion picture actors and actresses  Search this
African American women entertainers  Search this
African American psychologists  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1031608

How it feels to be free : black women entertainers and the civil rights movement / Ruth Feldstein

Author:
Feldstein, Ruth 1965-  Search this
Physical description:
296 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Type:
Music
Place:
United States
Date:
2013
20th century
Topic:
African American women political activists--History  Search this
African American women entertainers--Political activity--History  Search this
Performing arts--Political aspects  Search this
African Americans--Political aspects--History  Search this
African Americans--Civil rights--History  Search this
Race relations  Search this
History  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1020507

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