Finding Aid for the League of Allied Arts Records
LSC.1856
Finding aid prepared by Tiffany Dawn Jones, 2012.
The processing of this collection was supported by
Arcadia
funds.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Online finding aid last updated 2021 January 11.
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: League of Allied Arts records
Creator:
League of Allied Arts
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.1856
Physical Description:
8 Linear Feet
(16 document boxes, 2 flat boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1940-2011
Abstract: This collection documents the history
and administration of the League of Allied Arts, one of the oldest existing Black women's
non-profit arts organizations in Los Angeles. Founded in 1939 by Dorothy Vena Johnson and
Juanita Miller, the League was established to promote and support the arts in Los Angeles by
providing cultural enrichment programs for the community, honoring the creative
accomplishments of Black artists, and awarding scholarships to talented students from Los
Angeles pursuing scholarly studies in the arts. The collection consists of administrative
documents such as meeting minutes and agendas, financial reports, ephemera from various arts
programs and events, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and media.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access
special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on
this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in
advance using the request button located on this page.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains both processed and unprocessed
audiovisual materials. For information about the access status of the material that you are
looking for, refer to the Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note at the
series and file levels. All requests to access processed audiovisual materials must be made
in advance using the request button located on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All
other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not
hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], League of Allied Arts records (Collection Number 1856). UCLA
Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California,
Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of the League of Allied Arts, 2012.
The following League of Allied Arts members retained documents, photographs, ephemera, and
other materials on behalf of the organization:
Haroldine Brewington, Kathryn Carr, Jean Davis Clements, Mary Ann Greene, Carol Hall
Holliday, Bertha Hurd, Beverly Ryder, Patricia Ryder, Shirley Starke-Wallace, Dorothy
Thornhill.
Processing Information
Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make
them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and
resources, competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of
preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts
more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to
national and local standards and best practices.
Processed by Tiffany Dawn Jones in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT),
under the supervision of Jillian Cuellar, 2012. The processing of this collection was
supported by
Arcadia
funds.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biographical / Historical
The League of Allied Arts is one of the oldest existing Black women's non-profit arts
organizations in Los Angeles. Founded in 1939 by Dorothy Vena Johnson, a poet and creative
writing teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Juanita Miller, a social
worker for the County of Los Angeles and wife of distinguished civil rights attorney Loren
Miller, the League of Allied Arts was established to support and promote the arts in Los
Angeles. Langston Hughes was one of the League's first beneficiaries. When the young Harlem
Renaissance poet and playwright came to Los Angeles to visit friends, he wanted to present a
play. However, due to racism, no theater would allow Hughes to present his work. The
industrious and civic-minded Juanita Miller and Dorothy Vena Johnson thereby pooled their
resources together to help support Langston Hughes successfully present his play,
Don't You Want to Be Free? at his recently established New Negro Theater.
From this experience, Johnson and Miller went on to officially establish the League of
Allied Arts whose mission is to promote and support the arts in Los Angeles. The League
provides cultural enrichment programs for the community, honors the creative accomplishments
of Black artists, and awards scholarships to talented students from Los Angeles pursuing
scholarly studies in the arts. The League estimates that since its inception it has given
away over $500,000 in scholarships and charitable donations to students and various
organizations in Los Angeles and nationwide.
The League of Allied Arts is a volunteer organization with a long history of distinguished
membership and leadership. In addition to Juanita Miller and co-founder Dorothy Vena
Johnson, who served as the League's president for over 25 years, another notable and early
member of the League of Allied Arts was Miriam Matthews, the first credentialed Black
librarian in the state of California and a librarian for the Los Angeles Public Library.
The League of Allied Arts has provided numerous cultural enrichment programs for the Los
Angeles community since its founding.
The League of Allied Arts awarded its first scholarships in the early 1940s. In the same
decade, the League was part of a consortium of community organizations that promoted Jacob
Lawrence's
The Migration Series, a sequence of paintings
depicting the mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North
between World War I and World War II. The paintings were lent by the Museum of Modern Art
and presented at the Music Town Gallery in Los Angeles. The League also sponsored
The Art of Aaron Douglas exhibit at the Chabot Art Gallery on
Robertson Boulevard.
In the 1950s, the League presented a poetry reading by Langston Hughes with accompaniment
by the Buddy Collette Quintet. In addition, the League donated funds to the Lester Horton
Dance School, Our Author's Study Club, and the Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP.
During the 1960s, the League honored William Grant Still on his seventieth birthday at the
Los Angeles Music Center, donated funds to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and
Museum, and purchased a seat in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
The League joined the Ahmanson Foundation, Charles Drew Medical Society Auxiliary, and the
Los Angeles chapter of the Links in providing funds for the presentation of a Richard Hunt
sculpture at LACMA in the 1970s.
In the 1980s, the League sponsored the musical
Ain't
Misbehavin'
at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood and honored artists Richmond
Barthe, Melonee Blocker, Elizabeth Catlett, Alonzo Davis, Maren Hassinger, Varnette
Honeywood, William Pajaud, Betye Saar, Ruth Waddy, and Yvonne Meo, who was also a member of
the League.
In 2000, the membership of the League of Allied Arts traveled to Paris, and in 2009 it
celebrated its 70th anniversary by hosting a reception in honor of actor Laurence Fishburne
for his performance in the play
Thurgood which was presented at
the Geffen Playhouse. The League made tickets available for 100 students to see the play and
discuss their experience.
The League of Allied Arts remains a pillar in the Los Angeles community by continuing to
support and promote the arts.
Scope and Contents
The League of Allied Arts records consist of administrative documents such as meeting
minutes and agendas, financial reports, ephemera from various arts programs and events,
correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and media.
Highlights of the collection include meeting minutes, which record the major activities of
the League; correspondence from First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy; and scrapbooks which detail
the League's early activities.
The collection covers the years 1940 to 2011, with the bulk of administrative records
ranging from 1981 to 2011.
Arrangement
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Administrative Records, 1981-2011, 1934-2018
- Series 2: Financial, 1969-2011
- Series 3: Public Relations, 1940-2010
- Series 4: Correspondence, 1980-2010
- Series 5: Historical Information, 1943-2007
- Series 6: Photographs and Media, 1967-2008
Series are arranged chronologically by year.
Related Materials
Subjects and Indexing Terms
African Americans -- California -- Los Angeles
Arts -- California -- Los Angeles -- Societies, etc. --
Archives.
League of Allied Arts
Series 1: Administrative Records
1981-2011
Scope and Content
Series 1: Administrative Records contains meeting minutes, agendas, and notices
primarily from general membership meetings. Also included are records from the Executive
Board and various committees, such as the Membership, Program, Ways and Means, Cultural
Projects, Scholarship, and Closing Event Committees.
Organized chronologically by year, this series reveals the organization's focus,
administrative functioning, and event planning activities, as well as information about
its arts advocacy and community outreach efforts in Los Angeles and beyond. Information
about League membership and scholarships are also included in this series.
box 1, folder 1
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1981, 1982
box 1, folder 2
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1984, 1985,
1986
box 1, folder 3
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1987, 1988
box 1, folder 4
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1989
box 1, folder 5
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1990
box 1, folder 6
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1991
box 1, folder 7
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1992
box 1, folder 8
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1993
box 1, folder 9
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1994
box 1, folder 10
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1995
box 1, folder 11
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1996
box 1, folder 12
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1997
box 1, folder 13
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1998
box 1, folder 14
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
1999
box 1, folder 15
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2000
box 2, folder 1
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2001
box 2, folder 2
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2002
box 2, folder 3
Meeting Minutes and Agendas: Retreat
2002
box 2, folder 4
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2003
box 2, folder 5
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2004
box 2, folder 6
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2005
box 2, folder 7
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2006
box 2, folder 8
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2007
box 3, folder 1
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2008
box 3, folder 2
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2009
box 3, folder 3
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2010
box 3, folder 4
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
2011
box 3, folder 5
Membership: Poetry, Recipes
Undated
box 3, folder 6
Membership: Yvonne Meo
Undated
box 3, folder 7
Membership: Rosters
1989-2008
box 3, folder 8
Membership: Questionnaires
2001, 2007
box 3, folder 9
Membership: Questionnaires
2005
box 3, folder 10
Membership: Obituaries
2006, 2009
Series 2: Financial
1969-2011
Scope and Content
Series 2: Financial contains information about the fiscal activities of the League.
Organized chronologically by year, this series includes treasurer's reports, budget
reports, closing event reports, charitable donations, statements of income and expenses,
requests for payments, and breakdown of funds.
box 6, folder 6
Expenses: Ledger
1969-1973
box 6, folder 11
Expenses: Ledger
1993-1998
box 6, folder 13
Expenses
1995, 1996,
1997
Series 3: Public Relations
1940-2011
Scope and Content
Series 3: Public Relations contains ephemera such as programs, announcements,
invitations, response cards, and fliers from League events. Some highlights include
invitations for the League's yearly closing events; a program for the art exhibit
Treasures of Ancient Nigeria at the California Museum of
Science and Industry; announcements for Patti LaBelle and Althea Waites concerts as well
as receptions in honor of opera singer Denyce Graves and civil rights activist Roy
Wilkins; and programs for the League's 60th and 65th Anniversary galas. This series also
contains information about art related events in the Los Angeles community as well as
newspaper clippings featuring the League of Allied Arts.
box 8, folder 6
Events: William Grant Still
1965
box 8, folder 7
Events: The 5th Dimension
1974
box 8, folder 8
Events: Dr. Joseph H. Howard
1975
box 8, folder 9
Events:
Ain't Misbehavin'
1979
box 8, folder 10
Events:
Treasures of Ancient Nigeria, Roy
Wilkins
1980, 1981,
1982
box 8, folder 11
Events
1985, 1986, 1987,
1988, 1989
box 8, folder 12
Events: Althea Waites
1990, 1991
box 8, folder 17
Events: Gertrude Rivers Robinson
1996
box 8, folder 18
Events: Patti LaBelle
1997
box 9, folder 2
Events: 60th Anniversary
1999
box 9, folder 4
Events: BEEM Foundation, Marion Maddox
2000
box 9, folder 7
Events: Denyce Graves
2003
box 9, folder 8
Events: 65th Anniversary, Langston Hughes
2004
box 9, folder 9
Events: August Wilson
2005
box 9, folder 11
Events: Long Beach Museum of Art
2006
box 9, folder 12
Events: The Huntington Library, Langston Hughes
2007
box 10, folder 3
Events: 70th Anniversary
2010
box 10, folder 5
Newspaper Clippings
1941, 1963,
1979
box 10, folder 6
Newspaper Clippings
1973,
1978-1985
box 10, folder 7
Newspaper Clippings
1984-2009
box 10, folder 8
Newspaper Clippings
1991-1992
box 10, folder 15
Newspaper Clippings
2001-2007
box 10, folder 16
Newspaper Clippings
2002-2003
Series 4: Correspondence
1980-2010
Scope and Content
Series 4: Correspondence contains letters, memos, cards, and printed emails sent by the
League to its membership, political figures, and various vendors. Also includes internal
correspondence from League presidents Antoinette Atkinson, Dorothy Thornhill, and Carol
Hall Holliday.
box 10, folder 24
Correspondence
2000- 2002
Series 5: Historical Information
1943-2007
Scope and Content
Series 5: Historical Information contains various versions of the history of the League
of Allied Arts written by members as well as the organization's constitution. This
series also contains scrapbooks created by League members, which visually presents the
League's chronological history through photographs, event ephemera, and newspaper
clippings.
box 11, folder 8
League Constitution
Undated
box 11, folder 9
League Constitution
Undated
box 11, folder 10
League History: Miriam Matthews
Undated
box 11, folder 11
League History: Marion Maddox
Undated
box 11, folder 14
League Constitutions and Membership
1978
box 11, folder 15
League History
1993-1995, 1997-2001,
2003, 2004
box 12, folder 1
League History: Dorothy Vena Johnson
Undated,
2006
box 12, folder 3
Scrapbooks: William Grant Still, Jacob Lawrence, Aaron Douglas, Alice Taylor
Gafford
1943-1956
box 12, folder 4
Scrapbooks: Langston Hughes, Buddy Collette, Jacqueline Kennedy
1957-1965
box 12, folder 5
Scrapbooks: Loren Miller, Alice Taylor Gafford
1966-1969
box 12, folder 8
Scrapbooks: Mrs. Ralph J. Bunche
1975
box 13, folder 1
Scrapbooks: Thelma Houston, Jane Aileen Floyd, Our Authors Study
Club
1976, 1977
box 13, folder 2
Scrapbooks: Treasures of Tutankhamun
1978
box 13, folder 3
Scrapbooks: Richard Hunt, Frances Johnson Barnes
1978
box 13, folder 4
Scrapbooks:
Ain't Misbehavin'
1979, 1980
box 13, folder 6
Scrapbooks
1982, 1984,
1986
box 15, folder 1
Scrapbooks (1 of 9)
1990, 1991
box 15, folder 2
Scrapbooks (2 of 9)
1991-1994
box 15, folder 3
Scrapbooks (3 of 9)
1994-1996
box 15, folder 4
Scrapbooks (4 of 9)
1996, 1997
box 15, folder 7
Scrapbooks (7 of 9)
1996, 1997
box 16, folder 2
Scrapbooks: Misty Copeland
1999
box 16, folder 8
Scrapbooks
1999, 2000,
2007
Series 6: Photographs and Media
1967-2008
Scope and Contents
Series 6: Photographs & Media contains photographs of the League of Allied Arts
members and events, including closing events. The series also contains photographic
slides as well as audio and video recordings of a limited number of League events.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains both processed and unprocessed
audiovisual materials. For information about the access status of the material that you
are looking for, refer to the Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note
at the series and file levels. All requests to access processed audiovisual materials
must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
box 14, folder 3
Photographs: Alice Taylor Gafford, Ruth Warrick
1967
box 14, folder 4
Photographs
1970, 1975,
1978
box 14, folder 6
Photographs: Closing Event
1990
box 14, folder 7
Photographs: Closing Event
1991
box 14, folder 14
Photographs: August Wilson
1989, 2003
box 14, folder 15
Photographs
2003-2006,
2008
box 18, folder 4
Media: Open Reel Tapes
Undated
box 18, case 4
Dorothy Vena Johnson Memorial Program yrlsc_1856_018_004_001a
circa
1970
Physical Description: 1 Sound
Recordings(1 1/4 inch audiotape; Duration:
0:55:45)
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Audiovisual materials are available for access. All
requests to access digital materials must be made in advance using the request
button located on this page.
Scope and Contents
Content Note: Memorial program for founder and first president of the League of
Allied Arts, Dorothy Vena Johnson
box 18, case 4
Dorothy Vena Johnson Memorial Program yrlsc_1856_018_004_001b
circa
1970
Physical Description: 1 Sound
Recordings(1 1/4 inch audiotape; Duration:
0:28:19)
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Audiovisual materials are available for access. All
requests to access digital materials must be made in advance using the request
button located on this page.
Scope and Contents
Content Note: Memorial program for founder and first president of the League of
Allied Arts, Dorothy Vena Johnson.
box 18, case 4
Robert Watt French Horn Demonstration yrlsc_1856_018_004_002
1975 February
13
Physical Description: 1 Sound
Recordings(1 1/4 inch audiotape; Duration:
0:47:29)
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Audiovisual materials are available for access. All
requests to access digital materials must be made in advance using the request
button located on this page.
Scope and Contents
Transcribed from container: "Lecture on French Horn, accompanied by three of his
students for League of Allied Arts."
box 18, folder 5
Media: DVDs and VHS
Undated, 2004, 2006,
2007
Scope and Content
4 DVDs: "League of Allied Arts, October 17, 2004, DVD Presentation, Created by South
Street Studios," 10/17/2004 2 DVDs: "League of Allied Arts Corporation, Founded 1939,
62nd Scholarship Awards Luncheon 6/11/2006," 2006 VHS tape: "Krista Selico
626.844.6994," Undated
box 18, folder 6
Media: Compact Audio Cassettes
Undated,
1999
Scope and Content
Audio: Compact Cassette: Untitled, Undated, 60 MIN, TDK Audio: Compact Cassette:
"League of Allied Arts 10/10/1999" (CD 1: Cuts 1-13), 10/10/1999, 60 MIN, Unknown
Manufacturer Audio: Compact Cassette: "League of Allied Arts 10/10/1999" (CD 2: Cuts
1-16), 10/10/1999, 60 MIN, Unknown Manufacturer
box 18, folder 7
Media: CDs and 3.5 inch Floppy Disks
Undated, 2003, 2004,
2007
Scope and Content
CD: "League updated history," Undated 2 CDs: "Langston Hughes" photos by Hamilton,
Undated CD: Untitled (Los Angeles Women's Appointment Collaboration – Photos – Carol
Hall Holliday, League president), 11/6/2003 CD: "2004 Langston Hughes Gala Kit," 2004
CD: Untitled (League 65th Anniversary PR docs), 2004 CD: "League of Allied Arts:
Langston Hughes Tribute & 65th Anniversary Celebration," 10/17/2004 CD: "League of
Allied Arts: 65th Gala & Tribute to Langston Hughes event photos," 10/17/2004 CD:
"Photography by Hamilton, 2007 League Members," 2007 3.5 inch Floppy Disk: "League of
Allied Arts Finances (Quicken) 98 Version", Undated 3.5 inch Floppy Disk: "League of
Allied Arts 'Save the Date'", Undated 3.5 inch Floppy Disk: "League 2004," Undated
