Program for "Light in the Southern Sky": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is program for the play "Light in the Southern Sky" by William Branch, performed at The National Council of Negro Women's Victory Luncheon and Drama on Sunday, June 8, 1958. Made of white paper with black typeface, the front reads "THE / NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN / New York - New Jersey - Connecticut / Victory Luncheon and Drama / "LIGHT IN THE SOUTHERN SKY" / BY WILLIAM BRANCH / DYNAMIC DRAMA / BASED ON THE LIFE OF / MARY McLEOD BETHUNE / FEATURING THE ORIGINAL NBC TELEVISION CAST / CULMINATING THE / 1958 MOBILIZATION / SUNDAY, JUNE 8, 1958 - - ONE-THIRTY O'CLOCK / STARLIGHT ROOF / THE WALDORF-ASTORIA / PARK AVENUE AT FORTY-NINTH STREET / NEW YORK CITY."

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1958
• Written by: William Blackwell Branch, American, 1927 - 2019
• Subject of: Clarice Taylor, American, 1917 - 2011
• Subject of: National Council of Negro Women, American, founded 1935
• Subject of: Mary McLeod Bethune, American, 1875 - 1955
• Type: programs
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (closed): 9 3/16 × 5 3/4 in. (23.3 × 14.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (open): 9 3/16 × 11 7/16 in. (23.3 × 29.1 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Drama (Theatre)
• Topic: Societies
• Topic: Television
• Topic: Theatre
• Topic: Women's organizations
• Object number: 2013.188.12
• 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.