Program and thank you card for Alpha Kappa Alpha event for Etta Moten Barnett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a program (a) for Alpha Kappa Alpha for an event honoring Etta Moten Barnett November 11, 1936, and a notecard with handwritten text tucked into the margin of the booklet (b) . The slim booklet (a) has a faded green cover bound with green and pink silk ribbons tied in a bow through two holes at the spine. On the front cover at the top margin is pre-printed black text that reads “ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA / HONORING / ETTA MOTEN.” At the bottom in gold text it reads “NOVEMBER 11, 1936 / LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS.” Inside the booklet the first page is white with green text that lists the “Sorors.” At the top of the page is handwritten script in pencil that reads “Etta Moten’s.” The following pages list the program for the evening and the menu. Tightly tucked under the central ribbons binding the booklet are two pieces of paper. One is pink and appears to have been torn off another, larger sheet of paper. It has handwritten text in pencil that reads “Anna Lyte[illegible] 802 State St. /Pine Bluff.” The other sheet of paper has been folded over several times. Both pieces of paper are firmly fixed in place under the ribbon bindings. The back of the booklet is blank. The small card (b) tucked against the ribbon binding is pale green and rectangular in shape. It has cursive handwriting in blue ink covering all of one side and part of the other. The text reads “Accept these flowers / as a token of appreciation / from the mission study / class of 1st M. & C. South / for your appearance / this afternoon – it / was an experience, an / inspiration which we / shall never forget!”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: November 11, 1936
• Issued by: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, founded 1908
• Owned by: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Type: notes
• Type: programs
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product) with ribbon
• Dimensions: H x W (a: open): 6 15/16 × 10 in. (17.7 × 25.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (a: closed): 6 15/16 × 5 1/16 in. (17.7 × 12.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (b): 1 15/16 × 3 3/8 in. (5 × 8.5 cm)
• Place used: Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Broadway Theatre
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Sororities
• Topic: Women
• Object number: A2022.13.1.39ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.