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ALEX HALEY'S 1964 PERSONAL DIARY AND LOGBOOK -
Contains notes
and comments on a MLK interview, the Autobiography of Malcolm
X, and articles about other notable figures in black history such as
Miles Davis and even interviewing
George Lincoln Rockwell, head of the American Nazi Party |
ALEX HALEY, journalist, author and lecturer (1921-1992) |
ALEX HALEY - THE BEGINNINGS OF "ROOTS" - The above page mentions an auspicious lunch meeting with Doubleday in which Haley verbally outlined a new work to be entitled, "Before This Anger", which Haley used as the working title of what finally became the great novel "ROOTS", some 12 years later, and a hit TV series one year later. |
THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN NEWSPAPER (1827-1829)--A
first-year (1827), Volume I issue
published by Samuel E. Cornish and John Brown Russwurm in New York
City. The men pointedly expressed their intentions in the premiere issue
stating,
"We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for
us."
The Mitchell Collection copy (pictured above) is thought to be the only original still in private hands.
THE LEGENDARY NORTH STAR
An original issue of Frederick Douglass' North Star newspaper - Published in Rochester, this Volume I edition contains a front page printing of the "Declaration of Sentiments" from the recently-concluded historic first women's rights convention at Seneca Falls, NY which Douglass himself attended. The publication's famous motto was, "RIGHT IS OF NO SEX--TRUTH IS OF NO COLOR--GOD IS THE FATHER OF US ALL--AND ALL WE ARE BRETHREN." The above newspaper is thought to be one of only two known issues of this date.
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THE LIBERATOR--THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ABOLITIONIST NEWSPAPER IN HISTORY - Founded by white abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison (1805 - 1879), the goal of this remarkable newspaper was the total elimination of slavery in the United States. Appearing weekly from 1831-1865, Garrison wrote in his first issue: “I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject [slavery]...I will not retreat a single inch‑‑AND I WILL BE HEARD!” The Mark E. Mitchell Collection contains an astounding 1,564 different issues--roughly 88% of the entire Liberator output. |
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 Founded in Chicago by Johnson Publishing, EBONY (1945) and JET (1951) are arguably the two most widely known and read Black American magazines in the world. |