This series contains materials collected and created by Myra Lynn Cones and her wife, G. Yvonne Harris. The series includes photographs, emphemera, periodicals, magazines, programs and commemorative materials from musical groups (The Village People) and television shows (Queer as Folk) as well as materials relating to marches (A Simple Matter of Justice, 1993), the AIDS Quilt, the women's festival Sisterfire, and an original poem.
Biographical / Historical:
This short biography was submitted by the donors Myra Lynn Cones and G. Yvonne Harris in October 2022
"Short Biography from 1981-2022
We first met in 1980, at on a military base in Hampton, Virginia. We were both working at the Arts and Crafts Center. We became friends first, through our love of art and being artists ourselves.
Soon there after we discovered that this was not the first time we had met. While discussing one day about our lives in Hampton, we discovered that we went to the same kindergarten school, at the same time! The conversation started like this:
Yvonne: I went to Jones Kindergarten.
Myra: So, did I.
Yvonne: Do you remember the Humpty Dumpty play at the end of the year? I played one of the soldiers in the group.
Myra: Yep, I was a soldier too. Do you remember the Christmas party?
Yvonne: Yeah, I do.
Myra: Well, my dad played Santa.
That's when we knew this was too special to ignore.
In March of 1981 we moved in together as roommates. By May, we were a couple.
We were invited to our first lesbian bar, by a couple who could not believe in the three years we were together thus far, we had never been to one. We went to a place in Norfolk, Virginia called the Her She Bar. Funny how we describe the night like that scene in the Wizard of Oz, when the film is in black and white and the door of the bar opened up and there was color. And that was the start of our foray into the Gay and Lesbian scene in the 80's.
We came out to our family in the 80's. Considering both of us coming from Christian raised families, they did very well with their acceptance.
We became part of the community, by participating in art shows at the local women's bars, and women events at the local college. Later we ventured outside the area to do shows at other women's events in Norfolk, Richmond, and the famous Women's festival Sisterfire.
We decided that we wanted to move to Washington DC, because there was an active artists and LGBT community. We both worked retail, we found that we could transfer through our companies.
In 1990, we both moved to Washington DC. While starting out in DC Yvonne had a part-time job at the well known LGBT bookstore Lambda Rising, owned by Deacon MacCububbin, and then Lammas Women Bookstore, owned and operated by Mary Farmer. We were learning about the community, participating in Pride events, and living our best LGBT life. We stayed for 10 years in a little one-bedroom apartment and later bought our first home in 2000.
After Washington DC legalized gay marriage in 2010, We decided to jump the broom. We were first going to have the ceremony done at the justice of the peace. But remembered that we had a client, who was a patron of our work who was not only clergy, but was also Lesbian. We contacted the Reverend Bonnie Berger. Reverend Bonnie conducted many weddings, and after the announcement of legalized marriages came through, she was indeed a busy woman. So, we gave her a date and she was ready to do the ceremony on May 9, 2010. We had a boat at the time, and thought that having the ceremony at the marina would be great. So, we had our boat at the dock and the guests on the pier. Not only did the invited guess come, but we were surprised to see all the folks we knew at the marina, our fellow boaters. The guys and their wives and girlfriends showed up for support and love.
As of this year 2022, we have been together 41 years. And we have enjoyed being in the city, in the heart of the artistic world, galleries, and museum that continues to feed our creativity, and seeing the advances that have been made in rights and visibility in the LGBTQ community. We've seen a lot in these 40 odd years. One doesn't realize that until you have a conversation with a 20 something year old young gay man, who looks at you in astonishment when they discover that you've been an out lesbian in the 80's.
Co-worker: How long have you two been together
Yvonne: We've been together 41 years, married for 12
Co-worker: (eyes wide) Wow, that long. That was at a time when it was hard, being out in the 80's. Was it scary?
That is how far we've come. Wizard of Oz, black and white to color!"
Series Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.
Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Height x Width x Depth (Vial): 1 15/16 x 5/8 x 5/8 in. (4.92 x 1.59 x 1.59 cm) Height x Width x Depth (card): 3 x 2 9/16 x 1/16 in. (7.62 x 6.51 x 0.16 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (Spool): 1 3/4 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (4.45 x 3.81 x 3.81 cm) Height x Width x Depth (Bag): 9 1/2 x 6 x 2 in. (24.13 x 15.24 x 5.08 cm) Height x Width x Depth (Card): 2 9/16 x 5 1/16 in. (6.51 x 12.86 cm)
Zamora-Chinchipe. In the vicinity of the mining camp at the Rio Tundaime, along road to military base El Condor, Zamora, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador, South America - Neotropics
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm Collection focuses on the all-female, racially and ethnically diverse big band group that started in 1937 and disbanded in 1949. The collection contains news clippings, photographs, correspondence, ephemera from USO travels, and newsletters. Also included are books related to the group, as well as a tribute CD and a 33 rpm vinyl sound recording.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists mostly of photographs and news clippings documenting the International Sweethearts Band of Rhythm's performances, rehearsals, and travels. It also includes tribute materials to the band, including books and audio CDs.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into three series.
Series 1: Piney Woods School, 1937-1944
Series 2: Rosalind Cron Materials, 1933-2005
Series 3: Dixie Hardy Moon Materials, 1935-1951
Biographical / Historical:
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm were a racially and ethnically mixed swing band, all of whose members were women. They were organized in 1937 by Laurence Clifton Jones, who started the Piney Woods School near Jackson, Mississippi. He formed the band from students at Piney Woods and the band toured to raise money for the school, performing at fairs, dance halls, churches, and theaters. In 1939, the band began to tour outside of Mississippi and traveled across the American South and Midwest. In 1941 they separated from Piney Woods, started out on their own as professional musicians and relocated to Arlington, Virginia. While in Arlington, the band recruited professional musicians to replace the underage students who stayed in school. The band's venues included the Apollo Theatre and Savoy Ballroom in New York and the Howard Theatre in Washington DC They performed frequently at military bases and were quite popular during World War II. In response to requests from GIs serving overseas, the Sweethearts undertook a six month tour of Europe starting in July 1945. The tour was supported by the United Service Organization (USO) Camp Shows. The band played in Paris, France and throughout Germany, including the cities of Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Munich, and Mannheim. The group disbanded in 1949, but reunited for a reunion in 1980 at the Third Annual Women's Jazz Festival in Kansas City.
Rosalin Cron was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1925 and began playing music at nine years old. She joined the band in 1943 and primarly played the alto saxophone, but was also trained to play the clarinet and flute. Cron was a part of the overseas tour. She was with the band until 1946. Dixie Hardy Moon is the niece of founder Laurence Clifton Jones. Catherine (Cathy) Hughes, was born in 1947 in Omaha, Nebraska. She is the granddaughter of founder Laurence Clifton Jones and her mother, Helen Jones Woods (1923-2020), played the trombone with the Sweethearts. Hughes is considered a media pioneer and founder of Radio One/TV One.
Provenance:
Collection donated to the Archives Center in 2011 by Rosalind Cron.
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.
2 Film reels (69 minutes, black-and-white silent; 2,500 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
1965
Scope and Contents:
Edited film documents travel in the South Pacific. Locales include: Waikiki, Maui, and Pearl Harbor in Hawaii; Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora in French Polynesia; Fiji in Solomon Islands; Vila, New Hebrides (Vanuatu); Guadalcanal, British Solomon Island; Savo Island; and Lae, Goroka, Western Highlands, and Waghi Valley and Mount Hagen in New Guinea (Papua New Guinea). Activities include dancing in Tahiti, a Kava ceremony and a meke in Fiji, and wedding preparations and celebration in New Guinea. Film includes 1942 footage shot by Soule's photo unit (1stMARDIV, USMC) in 1942 showing initial landing on Henderson Field on Guadalcanal and Navy footage shot in 1942 and 1962.
Supplementary materials: publicity materials, still photographs, sound recording of lecture
Legacy keywords: Tourism ; Marriage customs and rites g ; Rites and ceremonies ; Islands ; Military bases
General:
Local Numbers: HSFA 1991.20.25
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Thayer Soule Travel Lecture Films collection, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
1 Film reel (35 minutes, color silent; 1,234 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
circa 1950
Scope and Contents:
Footage shot by Laura Boulton in Nationalist China (Taiwan and Formosa). Features shots of the countryside and local peasantry, urban architecture and marketplaces, aerial shots of coastline, and various scenes of the Nationalist army performing readiness drills.
Legacy Keywords: Markets rural Taiwan ; Military Chinese Nationalists drills Taiwan ; Warfare preparations for Taiwan ; Looms use of Taiwan ; House construction thatching Taiwan ; Meals military base Taiwan ; Hospitals Taiwan ; Warfare fortifications weaponry Taiwan ; Agricultural practices Taiwan
General:
Local Numbers: HSFA 1987.9.11 - 9
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Laura Boulton films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
1 Film reel (11 minutes, color silent; 384 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
circa 1950
Scope and Contents:
Footage shot by Laura Boulton at an airport in India showing aircraft, landing strip, and her arrival in India. Coupled with footage shot in Taiwan (and/or Formosa) featuring scenes of countryside, local markets, peasants tending rice paddys, and military formation.
Legacy Keywords: Markets Taiwan ; Agricultural practices paddy cultivation rice Taiwan ; Weapons tanks Chinese Nationalists Taiwan ; Aircraft Air India India ; Communications military semaphore Taiwan ; Meals military base Taiwan ; Peasants paddy cultivation Taiwan ; Villages Taiwan
General:
Local Numbers: HSFA 1987.9.11 - 10 & 11
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Laura Boulton films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
![view Proud of Who I Am: Arts and Culture Championship Competition [Live in Limpopo, South Africa 2009] digital asset number 1](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gV-dzHu1juA/default.jpg)
