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Ruth Beckford papers, 1918-2015 (bulk 1984-2011)
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Collection Overview
Title:
Ruth Beckford papers, 1918-2015 (bulk 1984-2011)Creator/Contributor:
Beckford, Ruth, creator, creator.Abstract:
Contains professional and personal materials mostly from Ruth Beckford's later life, 1990-2011. Career related materials include
her journal, notes, programs, ads, clippings, of projects and activities, posters, etc. Personal material includes family
documents such as original birth certificates, school certificates, citizenship papers, and copies of other legal documents.
Audio-visual materials mostly cover her career and include oral histories and interviews on VHS cassette tapes, audiocassettes,
1/4 inch audiotapes, and one 8mm reel of film.
Date:
1984 (issued)Subject:
n-us-ca -- n-us---African American women choreographers -- United States
African American women choreographers -- California -- Oakland
African American women dancers -- United States
African American women dancers -- California -- Oakland
Danseuses noires américaines -- États-Unis
Danseuses noires américaines -- Californie -- Oakland
African American women choreographers
African American women dancers
California -- Oakland
United States
Beckford, Ruth -- Archives
Beckford, Ruth -- Diaries
Beckford, Ruth
Note:
Carton 2-3: UNARRANGED COLLECTION. UNAVAILABLE FOR USE. Inquiries regarding these materials should be directed, in writing,
to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library.
Purchase ; Ruth Beckford ; 20151104.
Pictorial material transferred to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.
Ruth Beckford was born on December 7, 1925, in Oakland, California, to Cora and Felix Beckford. She began dancing at age three
with Florelle Batsford, who taught Beckford ballet, flamenco, hula, baton, toe-tap and acrobatics over the next 15 years.
In 1943, Beckford toured with the legendary Katherine Dunham. In 1947, Beckford became the first black member of the Orchesis
Modern Dance Honor Society at the University of California, Berkeley. She founded the first recreational modern dance department
in the United States at the Oakland Department of Parks and Recreation that same year. In 1950, she helped found the Oakland
Dance Association. In 1953, Beckford taught at the Katherine Dunham School in New York and opened the Ruth Beckford African-Haitian
Dance Company. In 1990, Beckford turned her attention toward serving the less fortunate members of society. She counseled
homeless people at the Berkeley office of the Department of Social Services until 1997, when she became a life skills counselor
at the Oakland Private Industry Council. In 2000, she became the president of the African American Museum Library Coalition.
Preferred citation: Ruth Beckford papers, BANC MSS 2015/206, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
In English.
Type:
Archives.Diaries.
Diaries.
Physical Description:
3.76 (3 1
Language:
English
Identifier:
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/libraries/bancroft-library/unprocessed-collections-form
Origin:
CaliforniaCopyright Note:
Carton 2-3: UNARRANGED COLLECTION. UNAVAILABLE FOR USE. Inquiries regarding these materials should be directed, in writing,
to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library.