Form letter for National Baptist Convention in Chicago: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Form letter for the 1943 National Baptist Convention in Chicago. The card has black printed text on a tan background. The title in bold at the top reads [Headquarters of the National Baptist Convention – Womans [sic] / Auxiliary – National Laymen’s Dept. and Youth Council]. The location information is listed below this [Held in the UNITED STATES ARMORY, 35th and Giles Avenue – OLIVET BAPTIST / CHURCH, 31st and So. Parkway – PILGRIM BAPTIST CHURCH, 33rd and Indiana Ave. / MONUMENTAL BAPTIST CHURCH, 729 Oakwood Boulevard – Sept. 7 to 12, 1943]. The data for the card was gathered by Prof. Clynedyke A. Baker. The lower portion of the card includes a short paragraph written in letter style from the perspective of a convention attendee. There is space for the letter to be addressed, dated, and signed individually. The body of letter begins [Arrived safely. Had a most enjoyable trip enroute, the scenery was beautiful; Chica- / go is a Metropolitan City, truly a great place for folk of our race to visit.] Details about the population of the city and the churches is included. The reverse is blank.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1943
• Created by: National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., American, founded 1895
• Subject of: Clynedyke Aldophus Baker, American, born 1895
• Subject of: Olivet Baptist Church, American, founded 1861
• Subject of: Pilgrim Baptist Church, American, founded 1922
• Subject of: Monumental Baptist Church, American, founded 1919
• Subject of: 8th Regiment Armory, American, 1914 - 1960s
• Type: form letters
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 3 1/2 × 5 7/16 in. (8.9 × 13.8 cm)
• Place depicted: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Baptist
• Topic: Religion
• Topic: Urban life
• Object number: 2017.14.9
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Stokes/Washington Family
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.