DACS

davisgriff Inventory of the Griffith J. Davis Photographs and Films, 1947-1991 and undated Processed by: Meghan Lyon, Paula Jeannet Mangiafico; machine-readable finding aid created by: Meghan Lyon, Paula Jeannet Mangiafico David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Duke University Durham, N.C., USA

Aleph Number: 002565777

Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: February 2009Processed by Meghan Lyon, February 2009; finding aid encoded by Meghan Lyon, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University, February 2009 Description is in English Finding aid was prepared using DACS and local Style Guide Preliminary Inventory of the Griffith J. Davis Photographs and Films, 1947-1991 and undated David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Duke University Durham, North Carolina 27708-0185 USA

Descriptive Summary David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University Davis, Griffith J. Griffith J. Davis Photographs and Films, 1947-1991 and undated Material in English 6.0 Linear Feet 476 Items For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog. Photojournalist, diplomat, and film maker from Atlanta, Georgia. Collection dates from 1949-1991 and comprises photographs, negatives, and contact prints and related materials assembled by African American photojournalist Griff Davis, concerning Langston Hughes, Hale Woodruff, and Charles Alston, all prominent African American writers, poets, or artists, and the Palmer Memorial Institute, a private junior and senior high school for African Americans in Sedalia, N.C. The audiovisual components include home movies and nine color and black and white 16mm films dating from the fifties, taken in Liberia by Davis during part of William V.S. Tubman's presidency. Films depict a wide range of subjects, activities and events, including the country's people, industry, leaders, and rural life. Other Griff Davis images in the collection are found in an album entitled "Progress in Liberia, November 1949 - February 1950," containing twenty large black and white gelatin silver prints with typed captions; the album was assembled to promote a partnership between the government of Liberia and Liberia Mining Company. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Portions of the collection are restricted. Original audiovisual materials and negatives are closed to use. Viewing copies are available in the collection.

Collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.

Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Griffith J. Davis Photographs and Films, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Provenance

The Griffith J. Davis Photographs and Films were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as gifts and a purchase from 1999 to 2011.

Processing Information

Processed by Meghan Lyon, February 2009

Encoded by Meghan Lyon, February 2009

Addition 2011-0104 processed and finding aid updated by Paula Jeannet Mangiafico, December 2011

This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.

Accessions from 1999, 2003-0247, and 2011-0104 are represented in this finding aid.

Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our local Style Guide.

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.

Biographical Note

Griffith Davis was born on the campus of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia April 18, 1923. He was introduced to photography during high school. After serving in WWII, Davis returned to Atlanta where his photojournalism career flourished as he worked while at Morehouse College for the Atlanta Daily World, Time, and Ebony, who authorized him to do a photojournalism spread on his sister's high school, the Palmer Memorial Institute, a private boarding school in North Carolina. Davis' journalistic career introduced him to many political and cultural players of the time, including Langston Hughes, who was one of his earliest mentors. Davis received his M.A. in journalism from Columbia in 1949, the only black student in the program. As a journalist for the Black Star photo agency, New York Times, Ebony, and many other publications, Davis traveled in the United States, Africa, and Europe during the forties and fifties. In 1952 the Republic of Liberia sponsored Davis' one-man show "Liberia, 1952," at the American Museum of Natural History, and the years that followed he produced three documentary films including one narrated by the then unknown actor Sidney Poitier. In 1952 he also joined the Foreign Service, spending most of his time advancing Truman's Point 4 program for foreign aid (later USAID), chiefly in Liberia. He also served in Tunisia and Nigeria, and retired in 1985. In 1993, Morehouse College awarded Davis the Bennie Trailblazer Award, named for his former mentor and president of Morehouse, Benjamin Mays, for personal and professional achievements.

Collection Overview

The Griffith J. Davis Photographs and Films collection dates from 1949-1991 and comprises photographs, negatives, and contact prints and related materials concerning Langston Hughes, Hale Woodruff, and Charles Alston, all prominent African American writers, poets, or artists, and the Palmer Memorial Institute, a private junior and senior high school for African Americans in Sedalia, N.C. The audiovisual components include home movies and nine color and black and white 16mm films dating from the fifties, taken in Liberia by Davis during part of William V.S. Tubman's presidency. Davis was asked by Tubman to take films of Liberia in 1952. In 1956 and 1957 he made films while stationed in Liberia with the United States technical assistance mission and the Liberian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Films depict a wide range of subjects, activities and events, including the country's people, industry, leaders, and rural life. Included are three videocassettes and one DVD produced from the original 16mm films, and miscellaneous non-audiovisual items.

Photographic materials include two sheets of photographic contact prints taken by Davis when he visited Methodist missionaries Mr. and Mrs. George Way Harley in Ganta, Liberia. Subjects include African masks and the Ganta Mission. A letter written by Davis describes his visit with the Harleys. Other Griff Davis images in the collection are found in an album entitled "Progress in Liberia, November 1949 - February 1950," containing a map of Liberia and twenty large black and white gelatin silver prints with typed captions. Subjects feature Liberian landscapes, construction projects, bridges, railroads, and port scenes, with some images featuring native Liberian workers. The album was assembled to promote the partnership with the Liberian government and the Liberia Mining Company; in the first image, President Tubman is signing a contract with mining officials.

The addition (2003-0247) (6 items, .6 lin. ft.; dated 1952-1956) comprises a digital beta cam videocassette and a DVD viewing copy of Liberia 1956 Presidential Inauguration of William V. S. Tubman & William R. Tolbert made from a 16mm print produced by Davis. Also includes a betacam SP video tape of Pepper Bird Land and three VHS viewing copies of all seven Griff Davis films: Liberia 1956, Presidential Inauguration of William V. S. Tubman & William R. Tolbert, President and the Press Exhibit (1956), Gold Coast Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah Visits Liberia (1953), Pepper Bird Land (1952), Progress Through Cooperation (1957), Cocktails for Dorothy Monrovia Children's Birthday Party (1956), and Night Village Dancing in Liberia (1956). The viewing copies are stored onsite in the repository.

Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

[Original audiovisual materials and negatives are closed to use. Viewing copies are available in the collection. Please contact a reference archivist before coming to use this collection.]

Subject Headings

These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.

Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University) Alston, Charles Henry, 1907-1977. Davis, Griffith J. Harley, George W. (George Way), 1894-1966. Hughes, Langston, 1902-1967. Tubman, William V. S., 1895-1971. Woodruff, Hale, 1900-1980. Ganta United Methodist Mission. Liberia Mining Company. Palmer Memorial Institute (Sedalia, N.C.) African American artists. African American authors. African American diplomats. African American poets. African Americans--Education (Secondary)--North Carolina. Masks, African. Liberia--Economic conditions--1944-1971. Liberia in motion pictures. Liberia--History--1944-1971. United States--Foreign relations--Liberia. Cellulose nitrate film. Contact prints. DVDs. Films. Negatives. Nitrate negatives. Photograph albums. Videocassettes. Contents of Collection Griffith J. Davis Photographs and Films, 1947-1991 and undated (6 boxes, 3 reels)

[Original audiovisual materials and negatives are closed to use. Viewing copies are available in the collection.]

This material has not been fully processed and includes both the original collection and an addition from 2003. Materials have been reboxed but may not have not been described or arranged beyond their original condition.

1Correspondence, contact sheets, and photographic prints 2Copy negatives (CLOSED to use) 3Nitrate negatives (CLOSED to use) 4Original video cassettes

[Original audiovisual materials are closed to use. Use of these materials may require production of listening or viewing copies. Please contact a reference archivist before coming to use this collection.]

5Viewing copies on VHS (3) and DVD (1) 6Photo album, "Progress in Liberia, Nov. 1949-Feb. 1950"(20 black and white prints, approx. 10.75" x 12.75") 1-3Film masters (including Acc. 2003-0247)

[Original audiovisual materials are closed to use. Use of these materials may require production of listening or viewing copies. Some viewing copies are available. Please contact a reference archivist before coming to use this collection.]