The Negro Playwrights Company, Inc, presents "Big White Fog" by Theodore Ward : handbill, 1940 October 22
Scope and Contents
Handbill shows the cast of characters and the schedule of scenes. From dealer's description: this play was first produced by the Black unit of the Federal Theatre Project in Chicago in 1938.
Dates
- Creation: 1940 October 22
Language of Materials
English, French, German, Dutch, Italian
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research; access restrictions are noted with the item where they exist.
Extent
4.4 linear feet (3 boxes and 94 folders)Biographical / Historical
The term "Negro" appears here in the context of a Black American theatrical group. The term was adopted and preferred by members of the Black community starting in the latter half of the nineteenth century, becoming dominant in language in the United States by the 1950s. As the Civil Rights movement developed, the term was criticized for being imposed upon the Black community by white people, and a new term to self-identify was sought. By the mid-1960s, more progressive language shifted to the preference for the word "Black," with some arguing the ""Black"" referred to radical, progressive figures, while "Negro" was used for those who were "established" or more in keeping "with the status quo." (See Citation below.) Black grew in popularity over the latter half of the twentieth century and is the contemporarily preferred term at the time of writing (2024). The inclusion of the term "Negro" in this description is in keeping with the establishment usage throughout the 1950s-1960s, though Cummings was known to use derogatory and prejudicial language as well..
Citation: Smith, Tom W. “Changing Racial Labels: From ‘Colored’ to ‘Negro’ to ‘Black’ to ‘African American.’” The Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 56, no. 4, 1992, pp. 496–514. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2749204. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024.
Biographical / Historical
Big White Fog is a play by American playwright Theodore Ward and his first major work. Completed in 1937, it was first produced by the Negro Unit of the Chicago Federal Theatre Project in 1938 at the Great Northern Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. A 1940 revival of Big White Fog was the first production of the Negro Playwrights Company in New York.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2020MT-68. Purchased with funds from the Francis W. Hatch Book Fund, 2019 September.
Processing Information
This file was reviewed in 2024 to address outdated and harmful descriptive language. Given the context and placement of the term in the name of a Black American theatrical group, it has been left as is. If you have questions or comments about these revisions, please contact Houghton Library. For more information on reparative archival description at Harvard, see Harvard Library’s Statement on Harmful Language in Archival Description.
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
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