Program for "A Medal for Willie": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a promotional pamphlet for the play "A Medal for Willie" by William Branch, presented by the Committee for the Negro in the Arts at the Club Baron. Made of white paper with black print, the cover features a graphics of a branch, helmet, rifle, music note, and star. Text on the cover reads "COMMITTEE FOR THE NEGRO / IN THE ARTS / presents / AN EXCITING NEW PLAY / A / MEDAL / for / WILLIE / By William Branch / and SWAN SONG BY ANTON CHEKOV / CLUB / BARON / every / Monday, Tuesday, / Wednesday & Thursday / Evenings / at 8:30 P.M. / 437 LENOX AVENUE at 132nd STREET · AU. 3-7554." The inside of the pamphlet contains "an open letter to the community" about the performance. The back features an image of an article from "The New York Age" and ticket price information.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1951
• Distributed by: Committee for the Negro in the Arts, American, founded 1947
• Subject of: William Blackwell Branch, American, 1927 - 2019
• Subject of: Club Baron, American
• Owned by: Clarice Taylor, American, 1917 - 2011
• Type: programs
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (closed): 7 × 4 3/16 in. (17.8 × 10.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (open): 7 × 8 7/16 in. (17.8 × 21.4 cm)
• Place used: Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Drama (Theatre)
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2013.188.11
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of William and James Thomas and family in memory of Clarice Taylor
• 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.