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Black Quotidian: Everyday History in African-American Newspapers

Indianapolis Recorder - May 9, 1964

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May - Archived Posts
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May 1, 1954: Montgomery hires first African-American police officers, reported in Chicago Defender. Guest post by Caitlin Sullivan, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.
May 1, 1954: NAACP criticizes federal housing plans, reported in Baltimore Afro-American. Guest post by Matthew Lee, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 2, 1957: Court rules Philadelphia’s Girard College must open to black students, reported in the California Eagle. Guest post by Blake Miller, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 3, 1919: WWI passport dispute reported in St. Paul Appeal. Guest post by Andrew Mullinnix, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 3, 1958: New York Amsterdam News reports on socialites canceling wedding. Guest post by Kelly Monfredini, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.
May 4, 1957: Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at rally in New York City, reported in New York Amsterdam News. Guest post by Charles Zazzera, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.
May 4, 1963: Martin Luther King Jr. and protesters sentenced to ten days in Birmingham jail, reported in Baltimore Afro-American. Guest post by Aaron Nostwich, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 5, 1945: Baltimore Afro-American reports on 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (the “Triple Nickels”). Guest post by Daniel Obren, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 6, 1943: California Eagle on discrimination in war industries. Guest post by Niccolo Peterson, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 6, 1922: Dallas Express calls for more roles for African-American actors. Guest post by Ariel Sumendap, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.
May 7, 1963: Washington Afro-American reports on black family fighting to keep land from developers. Guest post by Bryce Rooney, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 8, 1958: California Eagle reports on police brutality. Guest post by Paige Ross, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 8, 1929: Harlem teenager wins New York City oratory competition, reported in New York Amsterdam News. Guest post by Ellie Siwicki, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.
May 9, 1970: Mother claims squatter’s rights in vacant apartment building owned by Columbia University. Guest post by Paige Champman, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.
May 9, 1964: Black debutantes in the Indianapolis Recorder. Guest post by Lauren Sendlebach, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 10, 1947: Baltimore Afro-American profiles Darwin Turner, who was Phi Beta Kappa at fifteen and became a professor at the University of Iowa. Guest post by Andrew Spargo, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 10, 1919: Broad Ax reviews Eighth Regiment military band. Guest post by Katherine Garnett, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.
May 11, 1912: Chicago Defender reports on dispute in Georgia over black chauffeur using employer’s car. Guest post by Denver Studebaker, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 12, 1926: New York Amsterdam News on prohibition movement. Guest post by Filomena Matoshi, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.
May 12, 1899: Iowa State Bystander on lynching of Sam Hose. Guest post by Nathan Volkert, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 13, 1961: Cleveland Call and Post on deejay Eddie O’Jay and music in the city.
May 13, 1921: Baltimore Afro-American on racial disparities in teachers’ pay. Guest post by Jordan Washington, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 14, 1904: Booker T. Washington on African-American education in The Appeal (Minneapolis & St. Paul). Guest post by Shelby Worth, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
May 15, 1993: New York Amsterdam News celebrates Malcolm X’s birthday. Guest post by Bridget McEvoy, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.
May 16, 1935: Poet Arna Bontemps speaks at Vernon Library Book Club, noted in Los Angeles Sentinel.
May 17, 1932: Teacher and Fisk University graduate Chrystal Tulli direct play, “Ballet Beautiful,” featured in Atlanta Daily World.
May 18, 1954: Atlanta Daily World on the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision.
May 19, 1962: Advertisement for electric clothes dryers in Philadelphia Tribune.
May 20, 1948: Los Angeles Sentinel on lawsuit involving former boxing champion Henry Armstrong.
May 21, 1936: Federal Negro Theater Project production of “Macbeth” at New Lafayette Theatre in Harlem.
May 22, 1970: Atlanta Daily World reports on Essence, a new monthly magazine for black women.
May 23, 1953: Pittsburgh Courier reports that city newspapers adopted a code of classified advertising which eliminates reference to race, religious creed, color, national origin, or ancestry.
May 24, 1961: Chicago Defender reports that the Freedom Riders will continue their campaign against segregated interstate buses in the South.
May 25, 1933: Philadelphia Tribune reports on murder of evangelist G. Wilson Becton.
May 26, 1934: Torch singer Ivy Anderson in Norfolk Journal and Guide.
May 27, 1944: Recruiting black workers to war industries in Cleveland Call and Post.
May 28, 1955: Rebecca Stiles Dodson calls for release of Claudia Jones in Chicago Defender.
May 29, 1926: Pittsburgh Courier reports that U.S. Supreme Court dismisses Corrigan v. Buckley and upholds legality of racially restrictive covenants.
May 30, 1963: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads Freedom Rally in Los Angeles. Guest post by Mark Speltz.
May 31, 1940: Burt’s Shoes advertisement in Atlanta Daily World.
May 9, 1964 Guest post by Lauren Sendelbach, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

On May 9, 1964, the Indianapolis Recorder ran an article by Pat Williams Stewart titled “Lovely Debs Make Bow in Glamorous Cotillion.” “Socialites were awed with delight…upon seeing the exquisite entry of a bevy of 19 lovely girls into society” is the first line of the article, which captured the readers’ attention by describing this high-class, glamorous event at the college (click to view article).

This event, which was held annually at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, featured several “debs,” short for debutante, or a young girl from an upper-class family who has reached the age of maturity. As a rich tradition in the South originally adapted from the English, when a woman comes of age she is to dress in a floor-length white gown, elbow-length white gloves, and pearls and is then introduced to society at a ball or reception by making a formal “debut.”

Sponsored by the Clem Randolph III Chapter of ALSAC (Aiding Leukemia Stricken American Children), the ball hosted over 500 guests who fawned over the debs as they entered the room under the shine of a spotlight carrying bouquets of yellow flowers. Each girl met her escort, an eligible man, who led her to the dance floor. Throughout the night, debs, parents, friends, and visitors enjoyed music played by local musicians Donald Overby and the Dudley Storms Orchestra. However, the most anticipated portion of the program was soon to come: the crowning of the 1964 “Deb of the Year.” The winner, Miss Beverly Sharon Boone, was crowned by Miss Margaret Sanford, the previous Deb of the Year, and Miss Shirley Ann Mastin was awarded the ALSAC Merit of Honor Award as first runner-up.

The ALSAC Merit of Honor was presented by National Campaign Director, Rich White, in appreciation of the chapter’s fundraising efforts for St. Jude Hospital during the past year. Mr. White was also able to present to the chapter and their guests personal recorded messages from President Lyndon B. Johnson and Senator Birch Bayh, which must have been an honor for the chapter.

Although the tradition of a debutante ball is not commonly practiced today, it still holds strong through many wealthy and noble families from all backgrounds. Today, an International Debutante Ball is held on even numbered years in New York City over the winter holidays and features elite, college-aged women from around the world. Debutantes raise money for a desired charity as well as make personal and professional connections throughout their community.

The cotillion held by the chapter in 1964 in Indiana may not have had the glamour of a New York City setting, but it still had as much pomp and circumstance as debutante balls today. At the end of the day, no matter who was crowned, what background they were from, or where the event was held, it was held to honor the women that deserved recognition for their efforts in their charity, which was ALSAC at St. Jude Hospital in 1964.