Pauline A. Young collection

The Pauline A. Young collection largely contains material either gathered or written by Pauline Young, much of which relates to Alice Dunbar-Nelson and Paul Laurence Dunbar. The collection itself consists of correspondence, periodical clippings and photocopies, photographs, brochures, programs, and ephemera. The collection is divided into four series: I. Correspondence, II. Articles and publications, III. Biography, and IV. Ephemera.

The first series spans the period 1924-1985 and primarily contains Pauline A. Young’s correspondence with publishing companies regarding works by Alice Dunbar-Nelson and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

The second series spans the period 1925-1988 and contains several complete journals, numerous clippings, and photocopies of articles, brochures, and programs for symposia and performances.

The third series spans the period 1971-1980 and contains biographical works about Alice Dunbar-Nelson, an autobiographical sketch by Pauline A. Young, and material concerning biographical stage performances of the life and work of Paul Laurence Dunbar.

The fourth series spans the period 1935-1983 and contains miscellaneous items pertaining to Pauline A. Young, such as personal notes, photographs, royalty statements, and material from Howard High School. Also included are items pertaining to Paul Laurence Dunbar and Alice Dunbar-Nelson, such as material from the Dunbar School in Washington, D.C., and the Pierians in Wilmington.

Much of the material in the collection pertains to Pauline Young, including a large body of correspondence that she maintained with various publishing companies, particularly with Dodd, Mead & Company. She waged a tireless campaign throughout much of her life to get works of both Alice Dunbar-Nelson and Paul Laurence Dunbar published, and this effort is reflected in these letters. In 1965, Pauline Young was embroiled in a copyright conflict over The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Little Brown Baby, which had been published by Dodd, Mead & Company. The copyright had expired, and Dodd, Mead & Company was no longer under any obligation to pay royalties to Pauline Young, which they subsequently stopped doing once they realized that the poems were being published elsewhere without permission. A disbelieving Young filed a request at the Library of Congress to search the copyright registry for Dunbar's works, and to get information regarding copyright law. The letters from this period primarily concern this conflict, as well as Young's correspondence with the U.S. Copyright Office. In addition, the correspondence, particularly that of her later years, reflects Young's varied political and social interests, and several letters are from researchers requesting historical information regarding the lives of both her aunt and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Much of the remaining material consists of clippings and photocopies of articles pertaining to Young, Dunbar-Nelson, and Dunbar, as well as institutions with which they had been associated. Several of the articles were written by Pauline Young herself. Articles dealing with issues of African American culture and history comprise a small but significant component of the collection, significant in that an understanding and appreciation of African American culture and history was the life's work of Pauline Young. Of interest are some of the complete publications of African American periodicals which are included in the collection, including Freedomways, Negro Digest, and The Crisis. In addition, the collection includes a 1935 issue of the Pittsburgh Courier, the most renowned African American newspaper of its time. As African Americans were excluded from working in the white press, newspapers like the Courier were important in training Black journalists, in focusing on affairs of the African American community that were largely ignored in the mainstream papers, and in advocating civil rights. The collection also contains a large number of programs, from symposia on the life and works of Paul Laurence Dunbar to a 1973 graduation ceremony at Howard High School and performances by Joseph Mydell, who portrayed Dunbar on stage in "Lyrics of the Hearthside." The brochures generally concern institutions or events dealing with African American culture and history, such as a catalogue of works from an African American art exhibition, or the Black Press Archives of Howard University. Moreover, Alice Dunbar-Nelson's life is minutely detailed in a biographical narrative, written as a master's thesis in 1977 for Lincoln University by Anita L. McGruder.