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Archives of Mr. H. German Wilson
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, r...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Collection: | Archives of Mr. H. German Wilson |
| Collection Number: | 4140 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
| Item Description: |
Processing Information: 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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| Physical Description: |
14.4 Linear feet ; 34 boxes, 19 volumes |
| Summary: |
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.
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. |