Archives of Mr. H. German Wilson


Collection 4140

Early 1900s-2016 (bulk 1970s-2000s)
(14.4 Linear feet ; 34 boxes, 19 volumes)

Summary Information

Repository
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Creator
Wilson, H. German, 1933 - 2014.
Title
Archives of Mr. H. German Wilson
ID
4140
Date
Early 1900s-2016 (bulk 1970s-2000s)
Extent
14.4 Linear feet ; 34 boxes, 19 volumes
Author
Finding aid prepared by Sara H. Nash.
Sponsor
Care of this collection was supported by Heidi Warren, a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and the Young Friends of HSP.
Language
English
Abstract
Harold Franklin Wilson was born on 4 December 1933 to George Wilson and Edmonia Jackson Wilson in Jeffersontown, Kentucky. Wilson studied fine arts at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where his fraternity brothers dubbed him “The Little German.” From then on, he was called German. During the 1960s, Wilson was active in the civil rights movement and participated in the August 1963 march on Washington. During this period, he taught art, English, drama, and speech at a segregated school in Nashville. As an offshoot of a HUD-funded youth project, he developed the Princely Players with a dozen of his students from Cameron High School. The teens used drama, dance, and music to share African American culture and history, performing around Nashville and touring to the Northeast. The group disbanded after graduation, but reformed in the mid-1970s and is still active today. Wilson landed in Philadelphia around 1970 to work as creative dramatic arts director for Arthur Hall’s Ile-Ife Black Humanitarian Center, which would prove to be the axis of Wilson’s career. In the 1970s and 1980s, Wilson taught college classes at several institutions. At the same time, he was performing, directing, and dancing in Philadelphia and New York. In 1991, he began to collaborate with Lily Yeh and the Village of Arts and Humanities on youth and community theatre projects. This work led to a position directing the Village’s Rites of Passage program in 1997. With the Village kids, Wilson staged two productions annually into the early 2000s. He retired when the Village was restructured in 2005. Wilson passed away in 2014 at the age of 81. The Archives of Mr. H. German Wilson span the early 1900s to 2016, although the bulk of the material is from the 1970s through the 2000s. Series one documents Wilson’s professional life and includes correspondence, scripts, playbills, programs, and teaching reference materials and notes. Series two documents his personal life and contains correspondence, journals, writing, and financial records. Series three consists of media, mostly photographs and slides related to theatre and the Village of Arts and Humanities. There are two albums of personal photos. Series four contains a few artifacts and miscellaneous items.

Preferred citation

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Archives of Mr. H. German Wilson (Collection 4140), Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

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Background note

Harold Franklin Wilson was born on 4 December 1933 to George Wilson and Edmonia Jackson Wilson in Jeffersontown, Kentucky. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother supported herself and her son. They lived in the projects of Louisville, Kentucky, until he was in his early teens, when his mother inherited a house from her aunt. Shortly after, she remarried and had three more children. Her first child’s abilities and interests appeared early, and Wilson recalled being punished for painting on his grandfather’s house. He expressed himself in constructive ways by singing in church and school, earning community recognition for his vocal talent.

In 1953, Wilson enrolled at Fisk University, a historically Black university in Nashville, Tennessee. In his first semester, he joined Alpha Phi Alpha. His fraternity brothers dubbed him “The Little German” because of his habit of raising a single eyebrow while listening to classmates or considering a response. From then on, he was known as German and would eventually change his name to Harold German Wilson. Membership in the Fisk Jubilee Singers was another formative experience. This elite choral group is dedicated to preserving and performing Negro spirituals. During this period, the singers made their last European concert tour and gave a private performance for Queen Elizabeth II. In the spring of 1957, Wilson interrupted his studies to enlist in the Army. After training, he served as a medical specialist stationed in Beirut, Lebanon. At the conclusion of his active duty obligations in 1959, he received the Good Conduct Medal. For reserve duty, he was assigned to an army hospital in Louisville until he was honorably discharged in 1963. The assignment allowed Wilson to return to the Jubilee Singers and Fisk, where he completed his bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 1960.

During the 1960s, Wilson was active in the civil rights movement. He worked with the Voter Education project and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). For the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), he taught in an academic support and activism program. Wilson was also one of the nearly 250,000 people who marched on Washington in August 1963, the occasion of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech.”

In 1964, he started his teaching career at Cameron High School, a segregated school in Nashville, where he taught art, drama, English, and speech. In the summer of 1967, he established the Players’ Coffee House with funding from the Office of Economic Development (now the Department of Housing and Urban Development). The coffee house provided a forum for Black youth to express their frustrations with society and the civil rights movement. As an offshoot of this initiative, he developed the Princely Players with a dozen of his students from Cameron High School. The teens used drama, dance, and music to share African American culture and history. For nearly a year, they toured and performed in various cities in Tennessee and beyond. The highlight of their travels was a concert tour of the Northeast which included Yale University. The Princely Players parted ways at graduation, but nine of the original members met at a 1978 reunion and brought the ensemble back together. The group remains active today.

The Princely Players’ tour created opportunities for Wilson. He was hired to teach drama at the Yale International Summer High School in 1968. As a result of his work there, he was made director of the Yale University-funded Hill Arts Theatre Community Project in New Haven. The program amplified the voices of the Black community and brought jobs to the neighborhood.

Wilson moved to Philadelphia around 1970 to work as creative dramatic arts director for Arthur Hall’s Ile-Ife Black Humanitarian Center in North Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Model Cities project, an expansion of the programs at Ile-Ife, was implemented the same year with Wilson as its first drama program director. Building further upon Ile-Ife’s efforts, he founded Theatre Advocate and Company in the spring of 1971. The new company of professional, student, and community performers staged works about Black life and culture.

Wilson’s career included several other firsts, including being the first Black director at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. He was the first director for the Philadelphia Museum of Art Eakins Workshop (1973 – 1974), which produced new plays centered on African American culture. As an outgrowth of this program, Wilson established the Philadelphia School of Performing Arts in 1975 and served as its artistic director until 1980.

The timeline of Wilson’s early stage career is fragmented and somewhat uncertain, but he performed in Nashville at Theater Nashville and the Circle Theater in the 1960s. In New York City in the 1970s, he was a member of the Negro Ensemble Theater Workshop, which was part of the groundbreaking Negro Ensemble Company. Additionally, he danced with Arthur Hall’s Afro-American Dance Ensemble and the John Hines Dance Company in Philadelphia. He studied dance under many eminent Philadelphia dance instructors, including Marion Cuyjet and Faye Snow. In the early 1980s, Wilson began to focus more on acting and directing, appearing in many Black Theater Festival productions as well as at the Wilma Theater. He also pursued a master’s degree in theater at Villanova University.

An active educator throughout his career, Wilson taught at several colleges and universities. In the mid-1970s, he taught Black theater arts at the University of Delaware. From 1976 through 1991, he served as a drama instructor and performing arts coordinator for the Community College of Philadelphia. He was an acting instructor at Temple University and West Chester University in the early 1990s. In addition to teaching in schools, Wilson also approached education from the performing arts side. With Betty Lindley, he co-founded Venture Theatre, a non-profit multicultural theater, in 1987. Venture’s mission included developing new plays and playwrights and using theater in public schools to enhance learning. He served as Venture’s artistic director until 1996, directing 10 world premieres.

In 1986, Arthur Hall of the Ile-Ife Black Humanitarian Center commissioned artist Lily Yeh to transform a vacant lot next to the center into a garden. The empty lot in North Philadelphia became both a sculpture garden with a large mural and the genesis of the Village of Arts and Humanities, which eventually would be housed in the old Ile-Ife site. Under Yeh’s direction, the Village grew into a year-round program of arts and leadership education for neighborhood youth and teens. In 1991, Yeh developed a project based on interviews with people in the neighborhood. In collaboration with Venture Theater, the project became It Pulls It All Apart, a three-act interdisciplinary musical directed and co-written by Wilson. Two more collaborative productions followed:  Aching to Belong (1995) and  A Different Place in Time (1996).

During production of the latter, Wilson was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He resigned from Venture Theatre and received treatment for his illness. Yeh then hired Wilson as director of the Rites of Passage teen program at the Village. He established the Village Youth Theatre and used the structure and tools of theater to help neighborhood teens grow into responsible young adults and polished performers. In 1997, Wilson’s professional life came full circle, when the Princely Players came to Philadelphia and performed with the kids of the Village Youth Theatre at Church of the Advocate. Over the subsequent years, Village teens performed not only in Philadelphia, but also Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Washington, D. C.

In 2004, director Lily Yeh left the Village. The transition resulted in restructuring and layoffs. When his position was eliminated in June 2005, Wilson retired. By this time, his health had begun to decline, and he was showing early symptoms of Alzheimer’s. When Wilson’s struggles with money, housing, and health became apparent in 2006, friends came together to support him. They organized his financial affairs and medical care and helped him move into assisted living. These friends, led by Heidi Warren and Lily Yeh from the Village, established the Friends of H. German Wilson. The group set up a fund to provide ongoing financial support, oversaw his care, and made sure his needs were met for the rest of his life. H. German Wilson passed away on 31 July 2014 at the age of 80.

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Scope and content note

The Archives of Mr. H. German Wilson span the early 1900s to 2016, although the bulk of the material is from the 1970s through the 2000s. Approximately three-quarters of the documents relate to Wilson’s professional life and include theater promotional materials, scripts, youth program documents, reference materials, and correspondence. A substantial portion of the collection consists of graphic material, mostly professional and candid photographs.

The collection is divided into four series. Series 1 (1942 – 2009) consists of Wilson’s professional documents, which include promotional materials, production documents, scripts, youth program materials, reference books and papers, resumes, correspondence, and a few theater posters. Of note is a group of scripts primarily written by Black playwrights.  Series 2 (early 1900s – 2016) contains Wilson’s personal documents including financial papers, correspondence, art, journals, writing, and vital records.  Series 3 (1933 – 2010) features albums of professional and candid photographs covering professional and personal subjects. Of particular note, are the professional production and candid photos which document Black theater and dance in Philadelphia the 1970s and 1980s. Many were taken by Ed Hudley.  Series 4 (1967 – 2009) includes a small number of artifacts and miscellaneous items.

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Overview of arrangement

1. Professional (1942 - 2009)

A. Theater - Village of Arts and Humanities (1991 - 2007)

B. Theater - Other (1967 - 2008)

C. Teaching (1942 - 1997)

D. Miscellaneous (1960 - 2009)

2. Personal (1933 - 2016)

A. Financial (2004 - 2014)

B. Medical (2006 - 2014)

C. Other (1933 - 2016)

3. Media (early 1900s - 2010)

A. Photographs, slides, and negatives (early 1900s - circa 2009)

B. Audio and video media (1990 - 2010)

4. Artifacts and miscellaneous (1967 - 2009)

A. Artifacts (1967 - 2009)

B. Miscellaneous (undated)

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Index to scripts in the collection

Scripts for Village of Arts and Humanities

It Pulls It All Apart (1991 - 1992): Box 1 folder 2

Aching to Belong (1995): Box 1 folder 3

A Different Place in Time (1996): Box 1 folder 5

Catch the Fire (1997): Box 1 folder 10

Do You Know Me? (2001): Box 2 folders 2 – 5

Who Wears the Necklace Now? (2002 – 2003): Box 2 folders 8 – 10

Waiting Room by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2002 – 2003): Box 2 folders 13 – 14

Shades of Gray by Carlo Diego, James Hamilton, Carlos Rodriguez, and Hameed S. Williams, ed. by Hameed S. Williams (2003 – 2004): Box 2 folder 16, box 3 folders 1 – 2

Other scripts

Blues from an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage (1997): Box 7 folder 7

Casting Shadows by Raye M. Cohen (undated): Box 7 folder 8

Heroes’ Feast by Henry Holtzman (2003): Box 6 folder 18

The Chair by Winston A. Jones (1998): Box 7 folder 9

A Conversation With the Devil by Richard LaMonte Peirce (1998): Box 7 folder 10

The Immortals by Richard LaMonte Pierce (1998): Box 7 folder 11

The Winter of Our Discontent by Richard Lamonte Pierce (2000): Box 7 folder 12

Freedoms’ Songs Part 3 by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2001): Box 7 folder 13

My Name is Sapphire… Damnit!!!!! by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2001): Box 8 folder 1

Le’PompLe’Muse by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2002): Box 8 folder 2

That Honeysuckled Summer by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2004): Box 7 folder 4

Don’t Start! by Richard LaMonte Pierce (undated): Box 8 folder 3

Reflections From a Park Bench by Richard LaMonte Pierce (undated): Box 8 folder 4

Untitled play (partial script) based on H. German Wilson’s life, by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2008): Box 8 folder 5

Untitled play based on H. German Wilson’s life by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2008): Box 8 folder 6

A Salt Water Oasis by Ed Shockley (undated): Box 8 folder 7

Sojourner Truth is My Name by Pat Sternberg and Dolly Beechman (2002): Box 6 folder 14

Solomon’s Song by Dwight Wilkins (2001): Box 8 folder 8

But I Know, adapted by H. German Wilson (undated): Box 5 folder 15

Alexander P. Mann (2003 – 2004): Box 7 folder 2

“The Myth of the Shoemaker and the Hood,” (undated): Box 8 folder 10

Twilight Time (undated): Box 8 folder 9

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 Historical Society of Pennsylvania March 2021.

1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200

Provenance

Gift of Heidi Warren, 2017.

Accession number 2017.074.

Processing note

A few items in the collection are water damaged and have been cleaned for mold. (Such items are noted in the collection inventory.) Researchers with mold sensitivities should exercise caution when working with these items.

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Related Materials

Related materials

Arthur Hall Collection, 1954 -1985, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • Village of Arts and Humanities.

Personal Name(s)

  • Hall, Arthur, 1934-2000.
  • Lily, Yeh.

Subject(s)

  • African Americans--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia--Theater.
  • Black theater--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.
  • Community arts projects
  • Community arts projects.
  • Community theater--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.
  • Theater--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.

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Collection Inventory

 Series 1.  Professional 

Scope and content note

Materials in Series 1 (1960 - 2009 are split into four subseries. Groups within subseries are organized chronologically. Subseries A relates to the Village of Arts and Humanities. Documents relating to productions include scripts, playbills, promotional materials, notes, and correspondence, which are organized chronologically by event. Other miscellaneous Village documents follow. Subseries B consists all non-Village theatre and performance-related materials, primarily playbills, programs, clipping, correspondence and promotional materials. This subseries includes a group of scripts by Black authors, published and unpublished. Richard LaMonte Pierce, a Philadelphia playwright, is especially well represented. See the Index to Scripts above for a comprehensive listing of scripts in the collection. Subseries C contains Wilson’s teaching materials, such as books, photocopies, and notes. The two subgroups are a reflection of the original filing system, and there is overlap is subject matter between the two. Subseries D is comprised of miscellaneous professional papers which include biographies, resumes, awards, documents related to Wilson’s education, and other ephemera.

A. Theater - Village of Arts and Humanities 

Productions, programs, events 

Box Folder

Village of Arts and Humanities, Festival Mythos, programs, flyer (1991) 

1 1

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, It Pulls It All Apart, script, supporting materials, clippings (1991 - 1992) 

1 2

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Aching to Belong, script, prompt list (1995) 

1 3

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Aching to Belong, headshots, promotional materials (1995) 

1 4

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, A Different Place in Time, scripts, sound plan, playbills, promotional materials (1996) 

1 5

Village of Arts and Humanities Rites of Passage handouts (1996, 1998 - 1999, undated) 

1 6

Village of Arts and Humanities, Kujenga Pamoja promotional and planning materials (1996 - 2003) 

1 7

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, miscellaneous scripts (1997, undated) 

1 8

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Catch the Fire partial script (1997) 

Processing note

Cleaned for mold.

1 9

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Catch the Fire scripts, promotional materials, photos (1997, 1999) 

1 10

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, "Catch the Fire" by Sonia Sanchez (undated) 

17 1

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Rites of Passage program (1997, undated) 

Processing note

Cleaned for mold.

1 11

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Rites of Passage poster (undated) 

Processing note

Cleaned for mold.

18 1

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Black History Month celebration with the Princely Players at Church of the Advocate, programs (1998) 

1 12

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Black History Month celebration with the Princely Players, promotional material, correspondence (1998) 

1 13

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Time Montage promotional materials, programs, reaction papers, photos (1998) 

1 14

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, We Wear the Mask promotional materials and miscellaneous materials (2000) 

1 15

Village of Arts and Humanities, programs, postcard, “Unimaginable Isolation: Stories from Graterford Prison” (2001) 

2 1

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Do You Know Me? promotional materials, clippings (2001) 

2 2

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Do You Know Me? script (2001) 

2 3-4

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Do You Know Me? H. German Wilson’s script (2001) 

2 5

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Do You Know Me? script for Act 2, scene list, teens’ original writings (2001) 

2 6

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, posters (2001 - 2004) 

18 2

Village of Arts and Humanities, Song of the Wounded Earth postcards and script structure (2002) 

2 7

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Who Wears the Necklace Now? H. German Wilson’s script (2002 - 2003) 

2 8

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Who Wears the Necklace Now? script (2002 - 2003) 

2 9-10

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Who Wears the Necklace Now? promotional and miscellaneous materials (2002 - 2003) 

2 11

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Waiting Room promotional materials, production documents (2002 - 2003) 

2 12

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Waiting Room script by Richard LaMonte (2002 - 2003) 

2 13

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Waiting Room director’s script (2002 - 2003) 

2 14

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Shades of Gray promotional materials, production documents (2003 - 2004) 

2 15

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, script for Shades of Gray by Carlo Diego, James Hamilton, Carlos Rodriguez, and Hameed S. Williams, ed. Hameed S. Williams (2003 - 2004) 

2 16

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Shades of Gray script (2003 - 2004) 

3 1

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Shades of Gray, Ms. Brenda’s script (2003 - 2004) 

3 2

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre, Choices promotional material, correspondence (2005) 

3 3

Miscellaneous 

Box Folder

Village of Arts and Humanities, periodical, The North Philadelphian  (1991) 

3 4

Village of Arts and Humanities, press clippings (1991 - 2003) 

3 4

Village of Arts and Humanities, press clipping color copy (2003) 

18 3

Village of Arts and Humanities, newsletter, “Connecting Through Walls” (1995) 

16 1

Village of Arts and Humanities, public relations materials (1996 - 2004, undated) 

3 6

Village of Arts and Humanities, promotional materials for other events (1997 - 2006, undated) 

3 7

Village of Arts and Humanities promotional material, department goals, correspondence (1999 - 2003) 

3 8

Village of Arts and Humanities, press, Pennsylvania Gazette (2000) 

3 9

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre promotional materials (2001 - 2002) 

3 10

Village of Arts and Humanities, promotional booklet (circa 2006) 

3 11

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre teen brochures (undated) 

3 12

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre handouts (1991 - 2003, undated) 

3 13

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre reference materials (1993 - 2004, undated) 

3 14

Village of Arts and Humanities youth writing (1996 - 2001, undated) 

3 15

Village of Arts and Humanities, Mayor’s Office of Community Service logo contest (1997) 

3 16

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre scripts, lyrics, clipping (1997 - 2007, undated) 

3 17

Village of Arts and Humanities, miscellaneous documents and materials (clippings, notes, correspondence, budgets, etc.) (1997 - 2005, undated) 

4 1

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre progress reports (1999 - 2004) 

4 2

Village of Arts and Humanities, reports and calendars (1999 - 2003) 

4 3

Village of Arts and Humanities, commitments to funders (2002) 

18 4

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre correspondence with parents and participants (2000 - 2002) 

4 4

Village of Arts and Humanities Youth Theatre meeting agendas and workshop notes (2000 - 2002, undated) 

4 5

Village of Arts and Humanities, grant application (2003 

4 6

Village of Arts and Humanities, professional correspondence (1998 - 2005, undated) 

4 7
Volume

Village Youth Theatre scrapbook with photos (1998 - 2006) 

1

Village Youth Theatre scrapbook (undated) 

2

Tegan Georges' journal (2002) 

3

B. Theater - other 

Productions, programs, events 

Box Folder

Cameron High School, program, Witness for the Prosecution (1967) 

4 9

Vanderbilt University, Angry Arts Festival poster (1968) 

17 2

Correspondence, photographs, and ephemera for the Princely Players (1968 - 2004, undated) 

4 10
Volume

The Princely Players: Photographs and Memories 1967 - 1968 (undated) 

4
Box Folder

Nashville African American Arts Association newsletter (June/July 1997) 

4 11

“Yale Summer High School 1967-1968,” history printout (2007) 

4 12

Arthur Hall’s Afro American Dance Ensemble, ILE IFE Black Humanitarian Center, program (circa 1970) 

4 13

Theatre posters 1970 - 2004 

17 3

Model Cities Cultural Arts Program, promotional materials (1970 - 1973) 

4 14

Theatre Advocate and Company, newspaper clippings, programs (1963 - 1978) 

4 15

Theatre Advocate and Company, promotional materials, programs (1969 - 1985) 

Processing note

Cleaned for mold.

4 16

Theatre Advocate and Company, posters (1974 - 1979) 

17 4

Philadelphia School of the Performing Arts (1974, undated) 

4 17

Philadelphia School of the Performing Arts (1975) 

Processing note

Cleaned for mold.

4 18

Theatre Advocate and Company, Who's Got His Own? poster (1977) 

17 5

Theatre Advocate and Company, The Shepherd (1977, 1980) 

4 19

Theatre Advocate and Company, But I Know programs (1979) 

Processing note

Cleaned for mold.

4 20

Theatre Advocate and Company, But I Know photo and poster (1979) 

Processing note

Cleaned for mold.

5 1

Theatre Advocate and Company, But I Know promotional material (1979) 

5 2

Theatre Advocate and Company logo (1970s) 

Note

Created by Charles Searles.

16 2

Artwork for unknown production (circa 1970s) 

16 3

Community College of Philadelphia, Performing Arts Festival poster (1979) 

17 5

Community College of Philadelphia, programs and promotional materials (1979 - 1988, undated) 

5 3

Community College of Philadelphia, program (1980) 

Processing note

Cleaned for mold.

5 4

Expressions '80: A festival of Black and Hispanic arts, promotional booklet (1980) 

5 5

Artisan 3 Productions, promotional materials (circa 1980s) 

5 6

Black Theater Festival ‘84, photo and programs from Colored People’s Time (1984) 

5 7

Black Theater Festival ’85, programs and flyers, To Be Young, Gifted, and Black; The First Breeze of Summer. (1985) 

5 8

Theater Center Philadelphia, program, flyer, Carrier and  The Box (1985) 

5 9

Theater Center Philadelphia, flyer, Carrier and  The Box (1985) 

17 6

Wilma Theater, Happy End playbills (1985) 

5 10

Wilma Theater, season flyer (1985 - 1986) 

18 6

Black Theater Festival ’86, programs (1986) 

5 11

Black Theater Festival ’86, programs, artwork, clippings, Do Lord Remember Me (1986) 

5 12

Black Theater Festival '86, clippings for Do Lord Remember Me (1986) 

16 4

Black Theater Festival '86, review for Do Lord Remember Me (1986) 

17 7

Eta Phi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, programs, The Fabulous Club Fifty (1986) 

5 13

Kopia Theatre, promotional materials, programs (1986 - 1987, undated) 

5 14

Kopia Theatre, script for But I Know, adapted by H. German Wilson; programs, clipping (1988, undated) 

5 15

Philadelphia Drama Guild, playbill for The Amen Corner (1986) 

5 16

Venture Theatre, playbills, promotional materials (1987 - 1996) 

5 17

Venture Theatre, handwritten bio for Ira Aldridge (undated) 

5 18

Black Theater Festival ’88, programs, flyers, clippings The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Mighty Gents  (1988) 

5 19

Philadelphia Drama Guild, playbill for Julius Caesar (1988) 

6 1

Freedom Theatre, programs, Ceremonies in Dark Old Men  (1988) 

6 2

University of the Arts, programs, The Shadow Box, In White America, Hedda Gabler (1988 - 1993, undated) 

6 3

Venture Theatre, promotional materials (1990 - 2000, undated) 

6 4

Notes and reference material for Langston Hughes production (1991, undated) 

6 5

Venture Theatre, promotional materials, clipping for Heroes’ Feast, by Henry Holtzman (1992) 

6 6

Venture Theatre, promotional materials (1993 - 2000, undated) 

6 7

Venture Theatre, French scene breakdown for The African Company Presents Richard III  (1993 - 1994) 

6 8

Venture Theatre, promotional material for The African Company Presents Richard III, clipping (1993) 

6 9

Venture Theatre, art for Q Cumber (undated) 

17 8

Penumbra Theater Company, season flyer (1993 - 1994) 

18 7

Mercyhurst College, Deep River flyers and clipping, photos (1994) 

6 10

Venture Theatre, Balch Institute Symposium on civil rights (1995) 

6 11

Philadelphia Black Theatre Festival 2000 program (2000) 

6 12

Theater of the Seventh Sister, promotional material, playbills, clippings, for Sojourner Truth is My Name 

6 13

Theater of the Seventh Sister, photos, set design, script for Sojourner Truth is My Name by Pat Sternberg and Dolly Beechman (2002) 

6 14

Theater of the Seventh Sister, clipping and set design for Sojourner Truth is My Name (2002) 

17 9

Clipping, Sojourner Truth is My Name  (2002) 

6 15

Six Blocks Off Broad, clipping, promotional materials, study guide for Heroes’ Feast, by Henry Holtzman (1998, 2003) 

6 16

Six Blocks Off Broad, study guide for Heroes’ Feast by Henry Holtzman (2003) 

6 17

Six Blocks Off Broad, script for Heroes’ Feast by Henry Holtzman (2003) 

6 18

Celestial Theatre Company, promotional materials, production documents, clippings for Boesman and Lena  (2003 - 2004) 

6 19

Celestial Theatre Company, photo shoot for Boesman and Lena  (2003 - 2004) 

6 20

Celestial Theatre Company, documents, notes and scripts for Drinking in America by Eric Bogosian  (undated) 

6 21

A. P. Productions, pre-production documents, score for Alexander P. Mann  (2003 - 2004) 

7 1

A. P. Productions, script for Alexander P. Mann  (2003 - 2004) 

7 2

First World Theatre Ensemble, promotional postcards for Survival Strategies: A Tale of Faith (2003) 

7 3

First World Theatre Ensemble, programs and script for That Honeysuckled Summer (2004) 

7 4

First World Theatre Ensemble, programs for Soujourner (2004) 

7 5

Theater of the Seventh Sister, season playbill (2004 - 2005) 

7 6

Scripts 

Box Folder

Venture Theatre, letter and script for Blues from an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage (1997) 

7 7

Letter and script for Casting Shadows by Raye M. Cohen (undated) 

7 8

Letter and script for The Chair by Winston A. Jones (1998) 

7 9

Script for A Conversation With the Devil by Richard LaMonte Pierce 

7 10

Script for The Immortals by Richard LaMonte Pierce (1998) 

7 11

Script for The Winter of Our Discontent by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2000) 

7 12

Script for Freedoms’ Songs Part 3 by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2001) 

7 13

Script for My Name is Sapphire… Damnit!!!!! by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2001) 

8 1

Script for Le’PompLe’Muse by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2002) 

8 2

Script for Don’t Start! by Richard LaMonte Pierce (undated) 

8 3

Script for Reflections From a Park Bench by Richard LaMonte Pierce (undated) 

8 4

Partial script for untitled play based on H. German Wilson’s life by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2008) 

8 5

Script with notes for untitled play based on H. German Wilson’s life by Richard LaMonte Pierce (2008) 

8 6

Script for A Salt Water Oasis by Ed Shockley (undated) 

8 7

Script and supporting documents for Solomon’s Song by Dwight Wilkins (2001) 

8 8

Script for Twilight Time (undated) 

8 9

Scripts for YWCA of Trenton, “The Myth of the Shoemaker and the Hood” (undated) 

8 10

C. Teaching 

Black history and drama reference 

Volume

Harriet Tubman: Negro Soldier and Abolitionist , Earl Conrad (1942) 

5
Box Folder

Material removed from volume 5 (undated) 

8 11

Nashville Magazine, Volume 5 Number 3 (March 1967) 

9 1

Black Americans from Colonial Days to Present  (1969) 

9 2

Black Americans from Colonial Days to the Present  (1969) 

Processing note

Photocopy.

9 3
Volume

Negro Mother, Langston Hughes (1971) 

6
Box Folder

Philly Talk, Volume 5 Number 7 (October 1973) 

9 4A
Volume

jambo means hello: Swahili Alphabet Book, Muriel Feelings (1974) 

7
Box Folder

Material removed from volume 7, Swahili vocabulary sheet (undated) 

9 4B
Volume

The Drama Review: African Performance Issue (1981) 

8

Book Two: Patterns of Racism, Institute of Race Relations (1982) 

9
Box Folder

Blacks Before America II, Mark Hyman, radio scripts (undated) 

9 5

Blacks Before America III, Mark Hyman, radio scripts (1983) 

9 6

Program, speech, and other materials for “A Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.” (1986) 

9 7

American Visions, Volume 1 Number 1 (January/February 1986) 

9 8

Ebony, Volume 41 Number 3 (January 1986) 

9 9
Volume

An Actor’s Workbook: Introduction to Character Analysis, Raymond Smith (1989) 

10
Box Folder

Philadelphia Daily News supplement, “Henry Ossawa Turner: The Life and Work of a Pioneering African-American Artist” (15 January 1991) 

9 10

Life, “The Bill of Rights,” fall special issue (fall 1991) 

16 5

Grio’, “The Praise Singer,” volume 6 (1992) 

9 11

Newspaper clippings related to Black history (1994) 

9 12

“Art and Architecture of the Church of the Advocate” (undated) 

9 13

Instructional materials and notes 

Box Folder

Teaching materials, notes, poems (1985, undated) 

9 14

Teaching materials, copies of Langstong Hughes poems (undated) 

16 6

Lecture notes and syllabi for “Acting for the Non-Major” (1990, undated) 

9 15

Girls’ High, lesson plan and supporting materials (1996) 

9 16

Instructional notes for “Read It-Play It” (undated) 

9 17

Poems (undated) 

9 18

"The Chitlin Circuit," Henry Louis Gates, Jr., photocopy; color print of "The Piano Lesson," Romare Bearden (1997, undated) 

9 19

Poems, notes, reference materials for teaching (undated) 

9 20

Promotional and teaching materials for “The Magical Power of Theater” workshops (undated) 

10 1

Reference materials and notes for teaching (undated) 

10 2

Reference materials for teaching, African American history and drama (undated) 

10 3

Scripts and reference materials, Black drama (undated) 

10 4

'In White America,' Martin B. Duberman (undated) 

10 5

Scripts, “Don’t Get Old,” Karen Vicks; “Think Young,” Gladys Nitzberg (undated) 

10 6

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, August Wilson (undated) 

10 7

D. Miscellaneous 

Awards, biographies, resumes 

Box Folder

Awards, biographies, and related papers (circa 1980s - 2000s) 

10 8

Award acceptance speech on 6 notecards (2002) 

10 9

Artist of the City Awards program (7 June 2009) 

10 10

Resumes, business cards (circa 1980s - 2000s) 

10 11

Resumes, biography (1987, undated) 

10 12

“Photos and Other Supporting Materials, H. German Wilson, Lifetime Achievement Award,” scrapbook (undated) 

16 7

Material removed from scrapbook for lifetime achievement award (undated) 

16 8

Education 

Box Folder

Fisk University General Alumni Association membership certificate in presentation folio (1960) 

10 13

Printouts of histories of the Fisk Jubilee Singers (undated) 

10 14

Fisk Jubilee Singers 125th anniversary (1996) 

10 15

Fisk Jubilee Singers Alumni reunion (1997) 

10 16
Volume

Fisk University 2000 Alumni Directory (2000) 

11
Box Folder

Class notes (1983, 1986) 

10 17

Villanova University Theatre Department, performance programs, graduate department materials (1984 - 1993, undated) 

10 18

Villanova University, Dramaturgy: "Classical and Modern Traditions" (1992 - 1993) 

Processing note

Cleaned for mold.

10 19

Villanova University, “Dramaturgy: Classical and Modern Traditions” (1992 - 1993) 

Processing note

Cleaned for mold

11 1

Other 

Box Folder

Papers related to Deering Theme Conference (1964) 

11 2

University of Delaware Black Students Union newsletter (1974) 

11 3

“The Scar of Shame,” Discover, Sunday Bulletin (17 November 1974) 

16 9

Professional correspondence (1976 - 2005) 

11 4

Speech for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (1986) 

11 5

Ephemera, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (circa 1982 - 1993) 

11 6

Collage, “H. German and the Children;” caricature (1986, undated) 

11 7

Academy of Music, All Star Forum, Leontyne Price, playbill (1988) 

11 9

“Joyous Images: The Artistry of John W. Mosley,” Temple Review (summer 1993) 

11 9

Barrymore Awards, programs, ticket stub (1995) 

11 10

Professional correspondence (1996 - 2005) 

11 11

Clippings (2002, undated) 

11 12

Newsletter for Painted Bride Art Center (fall 2009) 

11 13

Sugar Cane Alley, film promotional material (undated) 

11 14

Frederick Wright Jones’ sculpture photos, reference notes (undated) 

11 15

Return to Table of Contents »


 Series 2.  Personal 

Scope and content note

Series 2 (1933 – 2016) is comprised of documents related to Wilson’s personal life. Subseries A consists of financial records, and subseries B contains documents related to Wilson’s medical care in the last decade of his life. Subseries C consists of Wilson’s artwork, writing, journals, correspondence, family documents, vital records, and materials related to his spiritual life.

A. Financial 

Box Folder

Bank statements (2004 - 2012) 

11 16-27

Friends of German Wilson 

Box Folder

Friend of German Wilson, to-do list (2005) 

11 28

Friends of German Wilson correspondence (2006) 

11 29

Friends of H. German Wilson, members, correspondence, minutes (2007 - 2012, undated) 

11 30

Friends of German Wilson bank account (2006) 

11 31

Friends of German Wilson correspondence (2007) 

11 30

Friends of German Wilson bank account (2007) 

12 1

Friends of German Wilson contributions (2007 - 2008) 

12 2

Friends of German Wilson bank account (2008 - 2010) 

12 3-5

Friends of German Wilson fund raiser (2010 - 2011) 

12 6

Friends of German Wilson contributions (2010 - 2011) 

12 7

Friends of German Wilson bank account (2011 - 2012) 

12 8-9

Hayes Manor 

Box Folder

Hayes Manor (2006 - 2012) 

12 10-18

Miscellaneous 

Box Folder

Automobile sale documents (2006) 

12 19

Bankruptcy (2006 - 2009) 

12 20

Retirement savings account 

Box Folder

Retirement savings account, TIAA CREF (2002 - 2006) 

12 21-25

Taxes 

Box Folder

Tax returns (2004 - 2006) 

13 1-3

Internal Revenue Service, offer in compromise (2006) 

13 4

Tax returns (2007 - 2008) 

13 5-6

B. Medical 

Health insurance 

Box Folder

Health insurance, United Healthcare/AARP (2009 - 2014) 

13 7-11

AARP membership (2014, undated) 

13 12

Medical bills 

Box Folder

Medical bills (2010 - 2014) 

13 13-17

Medicare claims 

Box Folder

Medicare claims (2010 - 2014) 

13 18-22

Miscellaneous 

Box Folder

Care management notes (2010 - 2011, undated) 

13 23

Jackson-Brown Associates bills (2012) 

13 24

Senior Helpers bills (2012) 

13 25

Prescription drug insurance and bills 

Box Folder

Pennsylvania Department of Aging, PACE/PACENET enrollment (2006 - 2008) 

13 26

Prescription drug insurance statements, Community CCRx PDP (2009 - 2010) 

13 27

Prescription drug bills, Medcare LTC (2010) 

13 28

Prescription drug insurance statements, WellCare (2010 - 2011) 

13 29

Prescription drug bills, Medcare LTC (2011 - 2012) 

14 1 - 2

Prescription drug insurance statements, Community CCRx PDP (2012) 

14 3

Prescription drug bills, Medcare LTC (2013) 

14 4

Prescription drug insurance statements, Community CCRx PDP (2013) 

14 5

Prescription drug insurance statements, Envision Rx Plus (2012 - 2013) 

14 6

Prescription drug bills, Medcare LTC (2014) 

14 7

Prescription drug insurance statements, Envision Rx Plus (2014) 

14 8-9

Veterans' Affairs (VA) 

Box Folder

Copy of military service record (2008) 

14 10

Copies of military service record, correspondence (2007 - 2008) 

14 11

VA healthcare enrollments, advanced directive, notes (2009, 2013, undated) 

14 12

VA bills (2009 - 2011) 

14 13-15

C. Other 

Correspondence 

Box Folder

Personal correspondence (1976, 1999, undated) 

14 16

Greeting cards (2001, 2010, undated) 

14 17

Artwork, correspondence, photographs from Jombi Supastar (Jeffrey Stovall) (circa 2003 - circa 2009) 

14 18

Personal correspondence (2003) 

14 19

Material removed from photo album labeled "German personal at Fisk University" (undated) 

14 20

Art, journals, creative writing 

Box Folder

Creative writing by H. German Wilson (1983, undated) 

14 21
Volume

Spiral-bound journal (1983, undated) 

12

Journal (1993 - 2002) 

Processing note

Labelled: “Started Nov. 6, 1993, H. German Wilson, ‘Thoughts.’”

13
Box Folder

Creative writing by H. German Wilson (1994, undated) 

14 22
Volume

Journal (1996 - circa 2009) 

14
Box Folder

Material removed from volume 13 (undated) 

14 23

“BEAUTY,” painting (2003) 

14 24
Volume

Notebook (2003) 

15

Sketchbook (circa 2010) 

Processing note

Only four pages used.

16
Box Folder

Artwork for tattoo (undated) 

14 25

Artwork, unsigned (undated) 

14 26

Sketch of German in concert, unsigned (undated) 

17 10

Inventory of H. German Wilson’s art work donated to Fisk University (2016) 

14 27

Family 

Box Folder

Correspondence, family trees, memorial program for Edmonia Jackson Howard (1990 - circa 2008) 

15 1

Documents related to mother’s estate (Edmonia Howard) (1977, 1990 - 1997) 

15 2

Edmonia Jackson death certificate (1995) 

15 3

Miscellaneous 

Box Folder

Business cards and contact information (2000s - 2010s) 

15 4

Journal entry, therapy notes (2003, undated) 

Processing note

Cleaned for mold.

15 5

Notes from therapy and for autobiographical play (2007, undated) 

15 6

Bethany Baptist Church, materials related to discipleship classes (2007) 

15 7

Hayes Manor, stories, photos, correspondence (2010 - 2011) 

15 8

Reminder note (2011) 

15 9

Note (undated) 

15 10

Religion quiz (undated) 

15 11
Volume

God's Promises and Answers for Your Life (2003) 

17
Box Folder

Material removed from volume 16 (undated) 

15 12
Volume

H. German Wilson’s Bible in monogrammed zippered case (undated) 

18
Box Folder

Material removed from volume 17 (2011) 

15 13
Volume

A Book of Personal Prayer (undated) 

19
Box Folder

Material removed from volume 18 (undated) 

15 14

“Footprints” poem (undated) 

15 15

Vital and other records 

Box Folder

Photos, notes, correspondence relating to H. German Wilson’s military service (2006 - 2009) 

15 16

Passport, birth certificate, death certificate (1933 - 2014) 

15 17

Wallet contents, driver’s license; emergency contacts, voter registration, and library card (2002 - 2007, undated) 

15 18

Memorial program and obituary for H. German Wilson (2014) 

15 19

Death certificates, cremation certificate, estate papers (2014 - 2016) 

15 20

Return to Table of Contents »


 Series 3.  Audio-visual items 

Scope and content note

Series 3 consists of the media in the collection, mostly photographs. Subseries A is comprised mostly of albums of photos and negatives of Philadelphia theater and dance in the 1970s and 1980s and Village of Arts and Humanities events, participants, and staff in the 1990s and 2000s. Wilson’s family and personal photographs are in the final two albums. For inventory, see the first page of each album. Subseries B contains a small amount of audio and video media in the form of audio cassettes, CDs, a DVD, and an EP.

A. Photographs and negatives 

Photographs and slides 

Box

Photo album - Village Youth Theatre production and events 1 (1991 - 2001) 

19

Photo album - Village Youth Theatre productions and events 2 (2002 - 2004, undated) 

20

Photo album - Village Youth Theatre trips (1999, undated) 

21

Photo album - Village of Arts and Humanities: Korogocho, Kenya trip (1997) 

22
Box Folder

Village of Arts and Humanities photos, Korogocho, Kenya (undated) 

17 11
Box

Photo album - Village Youth Theatre trips and miscellaneous (1994 - 2002, undated) 

23

Photo album - Village of Arts and Humanities - Miscellaneous photo groups 1 (1994 - 2001, undated) 

24

Photo album - Village Youth Theatre and Village of Arts and Humanities miscellaneous by subject 2 (1999 - 2003, undated) 

25

Photo album - Village Youth Theatre and Village of Arts and Humanities miscellaneous by subject 3 (1986 - 2002, undated) 

26

Photo album - Village Youth Theatre and Village of Arts and Humanities miscellaneous 4 (1997 - 2001, undated) 

27
Box Folder

Village of Arts and Humanities, mounted photos (undated) 

16 10
Box

Photo album - Theatre Advocate and Company (1970s - early 1980s) 

28

Photo album - Theatre Advocate and Company, miscellaneous other theatre, and dance (1974 - 1979, undated) 

29
Box Folder

Photograph (circa early 1970s) 

16 11

Theatre Advocate and Company, Who Took the Weight photo (1973) 

16 12

Theatre Advocate and Company photos (5) (1974, undated) 

16 13

Theatre Advocate and Company, photos, unknown production (circa 1970s) 

16 14

Theatre Advocate and Company, Who's Got His Own? photo (1977) 

16 15

Theatre Advocate and Company, But I Know photo (1979) 

16 16

Mounted photos (5), unknown production (undated) 

16 17

Photo, unknown proudction (undated) 

16 18

Photograph of Faye Snow, modern dance teacher (undated) 

16 19

Dance Theater U. S. of A., John Jones, director; company photos (4) (undated) 

16 20

Dance photos (4) (undated) 

16 21

Dance photos (3), mounted (undated) 

16 22

Photograph proof sheets, early theatre (undated) 

18 8

Photographs, early theatre (undated) 

18 9
Box

Photo album - Other theater and dance (1970s - 2000s, undated) 

30

Photo album - Personal and family photos (1920s - 2000s) 

31

Photo album - Personal photos from albums (1938 - 1980s, undated) 

32

Negatives 

Box
16
Folder
23
Box

Negatives in film canisters (7) (undated) 

33

B. Audio and video media 

Box

“Children of Korogocho, Kenyah,” audio cassette (undated) 

33

“Do You Know Me, Jungle Symphony, Master, Number 4,” Maja Audio Group, audio cassette (undated) 

33

“Earth Tribe Rhythms: The Ultimate Drum Experience,” audio cassette (1990) 

33

“Lifesongs for Kids,” audio cassette (1995) 

33

“The Primitive Truth,” Brent Lewis, audio cassette (1992) 

33

“S. O. T. W. E, Fan Fare, Spring, Fall, Death March,” audio cassette (undated) 

Note

Song of the Wounded Earth.

33

“Sounds of Blackness: The Evolution of Gospel,” audio cassette (1991) 

33
Box Folder

Princely Players EP (undated) 

15 21

“Walk Right In: The Story of the Yale Summer High School," DVD (2010) 

15 22

CD, Sojourner photos (undated) 

15 23

CD. unlabeled (undated) 

15 24

Return to Table of Contents »


 Series 4.  4. Artifacts and miscellaneous 

Scope and content note

Series 4 (1967 – 2009, undated) includes a small number of artifacts and miscellaneous items. Subseries A consists of artifacts, which are primarily awards. Subseries B consists of a few items of unused stationery.

A. Artifacts 

Box

Plaque from the cast of Witness for the Prosecution (1967) 

34

Framed photo of Edmonia Wilson, H. German Wilson's mother (undated) 

34

Community College of Philadelphia award to H. German Wilson for work as advisor to the Drama Club (1991) 

34

Artist of the City Award presented to H. German Wilson, ceramic (2009) 

34

Medallion for Fisk University Jubilee Singers (undated) 

Note

“Harold F. Wilson” engraved on back.

34
Box Folder

Engraved plastic name plate, “H. GERMAN WILSON” (undated) 

15 25
Box

Signature stamp, “H. German Wilson” (undated) 

34

B. Miscellaneous 

Box Folder

Unused stationery by Villagecrafts and other (undated) 

15 26

Return to Table of Contents »