Virginia L. White Collection, 1957-2016, bulk 1968-1979

Summary

Creators:

White, Virginia L. and Sebastian, Jacquelyn F.

Abstract:

The Virginia L. White collection (1957-2016) contains primarily tour materials consisting of photographs, posters, programs, ephemera, scrapbooks, and costumes that once belonged to former, long-time Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers (AMJS) members Virginia L. White and Jacquelyn F. Sebastian.

Extent:

11 boxes, 1 folder, and 12.63 Linear Feet

Language:

Multiple languages .

Preferred citation:

For information about citing archival material, please consult the appropriate style manual or see the Citations for Archival Material guide: (https://libguides.csudh.edu/archives-citation)

Background

Scope and content:

The Virginia L. White collection (1957-2016) contains primarily tour materials consisting of photographs, posters, programs, ephemera, and costumes related to Virginia White's tenure as a member and administrator of the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers (AMJS). The collection also contains several scrapbooks compiled by fellow Jubilee Singers member, Jacquelyn F. Sebastian, which documents AMJS' domestic and international tours.

Biographical / historical:

Virginia White is one of the original members of the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers (AMJS). She performed with the singers from their original concerts and tours in 1968 through the early 2000s.

The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, known as "America's foremost Negro choir," have played a significant role in the development of African American sacred music traditions in the United States and are among the most honored singing ensembles in the world. The AMJS was founded by choral director Albert McNeil. McNeil was inspired by the story of the Fisk University Jubilee Singers, an all-black college choir founded in 1871, made up of four black men and seven black women who gained international fame traveling throughout the United States and Europe giving concerts singing four-part acappella arrangements of sacred songs called spirituals.

In 1968, the AMJS went on their first European tour. Since then, they have traveled the globe on 18 sold-out European tours,12 tours of the United States and Canada, and tours of the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and South America. They were selected three times to serve the U.S. State Department and USIS Cultural Exchange Program, traveling to East Germany, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Iran, India, North and West Africa, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.

Processing information:

An accrual of new materials was processed and added to the Virginia L. White collection by archivist Lindsay Anderson in 2022.

Arrangement:

This collection is divided into two series in which one series features the materials that belonged to Virginia L. White and another series features the materials that belonged to Jacquelyn F. Sebastian. Materials within most folders are arranged chronologically.

Virginia L. White Collection Series Titles

1. Virginia L. White, 1961-2016, undated
2. Jacquelyn F. Sebastian, 1957-1977

Physical facet:

(1 oversize folder)

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Related material:

Albert J. McNeil Collection

This collection is part the Sacred Music Collection, also known as the Georgia and Nolan Payton Archive of Sacred Music, and is associated with the African Diaspora of Sacred Music and Musicians (ADSMM) Program. The Sacred Music Collection is made up of smaller collections that contain various primary source materials, such as sheet music, books, periodicals, photographs, audio visual materials, manuscripts, and more. ADSMM's mission is to facilitate research, preserve, and make accessible collections documenting the lives of important figures within the sacred music community as well as its influence primarily within the Los Angeles Black community.

Interested in accessing other Sacred Music collections? If you would like to view these materials in-person, please make an appointment through the Gerth Archives and Special Collections website. If you would like to view these materials online, please visit the the Sacred Music Digital Collections Database website. Please keep in mind that some of the materials in our archival collections are still in the process of being digitized and are therefore not yet available to the public.

Alternative form available:

If you would like to view some of the archival materials from this collection that have been digitized already, please visit the Sacred Music Digital Collections Database site: Virginia L. White Collection.

Please keep in mind that some of the materials in our archival collections are still in the process of being digitized and are therefore not yet available to the public.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

African Americans -- California -- Los Angeles
African Americans -- Music
African American choirs
Jubilee singers
African American musicians
Church music
Gospel Music
Sacred music
Spirituals (Songs)

Names:

Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers
McNeil, Albert
Hairston, Jester, 1901-2000

Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions on this collection

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

For information about citing archival material, please consult the appropriate style manual or see the Citations for Archival Material guide: (https://libguides.csudh.edu/archives-citation)

Location of this collection:

California State University, Dominguez Hills, Archives and Special Collections

University Library, 5th Flr (5039)

1000 E. Victoria Street

Carson, CA 90747, US

Contact:

(310) 243-3895

archives@csudh.edu

Website