Howard "Stretch" Johnson Papers, 1923-2011 [Bulk Dates: 1980-2000].

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Howard "Stretch" Johnson Papers, 1923-2011 [Bulk Dates: 1980-2000].

http://findingaids.cul.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-rb/ldpd_9681555

The Howard "Stretch" Johnson Papers document the life of Howard Johnson, known for most of his life as "Stretch." Johnson was a tap dancer with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and performed in Harlem at the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater in the 1930s. After joining the Communist Party of the United States of America in 1940, Johnson went on to engage in social activism for most of his life, living in a number of places, including Brazil, Galveston, Texas, Hawaii, Paris, and St. Croix. The Papers contain correspondence, both personal and work related, as well as a nearly finished typescript of Stretch's autobiography. There are a number of photographs, mainly copies of the various performers at the Cotton Club, as well as audio and videocassettes, and ephemera. Additionally, the collection contains a family scrapbook with photos from the late 1940s and early 1950s.

5 linear ft. (6 document boxes, 2 flat boxes, 1 index card box)

Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6347720

Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Related Entities

There are 5 Entities related to this resource.

Communist Party of the United States of America

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r31rnp (corporateBody)

The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), a Marxist-Leninist party aligned with the Soviet Union, was founded in 1919 in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution by the left wing members of the Socialist Party USA. These split into two groups, with each holding founding conventions in Chicago in September 1919: one which established the Communist Labor Party, and a second which established the Communist Party of America. In a 1920 Joint Unity Convention, a minority faction of t...

Cotton Club

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qr9q01 (corporateBody)

Johnson, Howard E., 1935-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61x0q21 (person)

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Howard "Stretch" Johnson was born in 1915 in Orange, New Jersey. He lived a colorful life, tap dancing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at the Cotton Club and the Apollo in Harlem, serving in World War II in the army's segregated Buffalo Soldier unit, joining the Communist Party USA in 1940, and finally teaching about the history of jazz and engaging in social activism. Johnson was given the nickname "Stretch" for his long and lanky frame, which he maintained thro...

Apollo Theatre (New York, N.Y.: 42nd Street).

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sc971h (corporateBody)

Duke Ellington Orchestra

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6615jqz (corporateBody)