Darcus Howe papers, 1965-2008

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Series I: C. L. R. James, 1974-1990, 2003

Series I documents Howe's close relationship with and efforts on behalf of his cousin C. L. R. James, from 1974 until shortly after the latter's death in 1989. The series includes audio recordings, transcripts, and photographs of lectures given by C. L. R. James, as well as lectures given in James' honor by other scholars and activists including Grace Lee Boggs, Tim Hector, and Darcus Howe. Among these events are C. L. R. James' 80th Birthday Lectures in 1981 and the opening lectures from the 1986 Focus on C. L. R. James exhibit. Correspondence, photographs, audio recordings, and print and video news coverage document C. L. R. James' 1989 funeral and burial in Trinidad. There is a small amount of correspondence related to Howe's involvement in managing James' personal affairs and settling James' estate. Materials related to the Race Today Collective's 1991 reconstitution as the C. L. R. James Institute are located in Series III.



Box 1 Folder 1 Correspondence, 1974-1988

Either mentioning or otherwise involving Darcus Howe and C. L. R. James.


Box 1 Folder 2 C. L. R. James and Darcus Howe correspondence, 1976-1983, undated


Box 1 Folder 3 Correspondence regarding C. L. R. James' divorce from Selma James, 1981-1985


Box 1 Folder 4-5 Photographs of C. L. R. James, circa 1980s, 2 folders

Including photographs of C. L. R. James' 80th Birthday Lectures and seminar at First International Book Fair of Radical, Black and Third World Books.



Box 13 Item 153-157 C. L. R. James, circa 1980s, 4 videocassettes (VHS)


Box 13 Item 158 C. L. R. James, Creation For Liberation, Adoor, Chinese waiters, circa 1980s, 1 videocassettes (VHS)

Partial copy. See item 159 below for a full copy.


Box 13 Item 160 C. L. R. James studio, circa 1980s, 1 videocassettes (VHS)


Box 13 Item 167 C. L. R. James BBC Late Show, circa 1980s, 1 videocassettes (VHS)


Box 13 Item 168 C. L. R. James talking to Stuart Hall, circa 1980s, 1 videocassettes (VHS)

Directed by Mike Dibb.


Box 13 Item 165 C. L. R. James cam 3 R 1, circa 1980s, 1 videocassettes (VHS)



Box 12 Item 108 C. L. R. James cam 3 R 2, circa 1980s, 1 audiocassettes


Box 12 Item 93 Nello, 1984 August 15, 1 audiocassettes

"Nello" was C. L. R. James' nickname, used by family and very close friends.


Box 12 Item 36-37 C. L. R. James: Pan Africanism and the Dub Poets, 1986 April 7, 2 audiocassettes

Interviewed by Stan Martin.



Box 13 Item 159 C. L. R. James: Creation For Liberation, Adoor, Chinese waiters, 1987 October 24, 1 videocassettes (VHS)


Box 13 Item 161 C. L. R. James, Jean Breeze, circa 1980s, 1 videocassettes (VHS)



Box 12 Item 136 Darcus Howe and Jean Binta Breeze on the life and work of C. L. R. James, circa 1980s, 1 audiocassettes



Box 13 Item 166 C. L. R. James classical music, circa 1980s, 1 videocassettes (VHS)


Box 13 Item 163 C. L. R. James lectures, circa 1980s, 1 videocassettes (VHS)

30 min x 6, Penumbra.


Box 13 Item 164 C. L. R. James rostrum, circa 1980s, 1 videocassettes (VHS)



Box 12 Item 124 Margaret Busby interview, circa 1980s-1990s, 1 audiocassettes



Box 1 Folder 6 C. L. R. James interview and lecture transcripts, 1981, undated

Typescripts and published.


Box 1 Folder 7-8 C. L. R. James' 80th Birthday Lectures transcripts, 1981, 2 folders

With annotations and corrections by Darcus Howe.



Box 13 Item 162 C. L. R. James, "Socialism or Barbarism?" lecture, 1981, 1 videocassettes (VHS)

Given at C. L. R. James 80th Birthday Lectures event.



Box 1 Folder 9 Programs and events honoring C. L. R. James, 1981-1986


Box 1 Folder 10 C. L. R. James, "Walter Rodney and the Question of Power" pamphlet, 1983

Includes draft with corrections by C. L. R. James and final printed version published by the Race Today Collective.


Box 1 Folder 11 C. L. R. James, "Tomorrow and Today: A Vision" article, undated

Photocopy from magazine, with annotations by C. L. R. James



Box 14 Item 177 Omnibus, Beyond A Boundary, 1976 July 8, 1 videocassettes (VHS)

Mike Dibb film on C. L. R. James.



Box 12 Item 49 Focus on C. L. R. James exhibit lectures: Wilson Harris opening, 1986 February 17, 1 audiocassettes



Box 1 Folder 12 Focus on C. L. R. James exhibit lecture transcripts: Wilson Harris, "C. L. R. James as Writer and Literary Critic", 1986 February 19

With annotations and corrections by Darcus Howe.



Box 12 Item 87-88 Focus on C. L. R. James exhibit lectures: Wilson Harris, "C. L. R. James as Writer and Literary Critic", 1986 February 19, 2 audiocassettes



Box 1 Folder 13 Focus on C. L. R. James exhibit lecture transcripts: Grace Lee Boggs and Martin Glaberman, "Organising in the USA, 1938-1953", 1986 February 20

With annotations and corrections by Darcus Howe.



Box 12 Item 118 Grace Lee Boggs and Martin Glaberman, "Organising in the USA, 1938-1953", 1986 February 20, 1 audiocassettes



Box 1 Folder 14 Focus on C. L. R. James exhibit lecture transcripts: John Archer, "C. L. R. James and Trotskyism in Britain, 1934-1938", 1986 February 21

With annotations and corrections by Darcus Howe.



Box 12 Item 76, 135 Focus on C. L. R. James exhibit lectures: John Archer, "C. L. R. James and Trotskyism in Britain, 1934-1938", 1986 February 21, 2 audiocassettes



Box 2 Folder 1 Focus on C. L. R. James exhibit lecture transcripts: Tim Hector, "C. L. R. James the Cricket Writer", 1986 February 22

With annotations and corrections by Darcus Howe.



Box 12 Item 70, 115, 135 Focus on C. L. R. James exhibit lectures: Tim Hector, "C. L. R. James the Cricket Writer," chaired by Darcus Howe, 1986 February 22, 3 audiocassettes


Box 12 Item 5-8 Focus on C. L. R. James exhibit lectures: Tim Hector, "C. L. R. James, Man of the People", circa 1986 February, 4 audiocassettes



Box 2 Folder 2 Presentation of the Trinity Cross to C. L. R. James, 1987


Box 2 Folder 3 C. L. R. James' finances, 1987, undated


Box 2 Folder 4 Obituaries and other clippings about C. L. R. James, 1978-1990


Box 2 Folder 5 Correspondence regarding the death of C. L. R. James, 1989


Box 2 Folder 6 Condolences to Darcus Howe on the death of C. L. R. James, 1989


Box 2 Folder 7 Funeral of C. L. R. James, 1989



Box 13 Item 174-175 News coverage of C. L. R. James' coffin and funeral, 1989 June 9, 12, 2 videocassettes (U-matic)

AVM Television, Morvant, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.


Box 13 Item 172-173 C. L. R. James funeral video, 1989 June 12, 2 videocassettes (VHS)



Box 2 Folder 8-9 Photographs of C. L. R. James' funeral, 1989 June 12, 2 folders


Box 2 Folder 10 Memorials and tributes to C. L. R. James, 1989-1990


Box 2 Folder 11 C. L. R. James, A Tribute Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, 1989



Box 13 Item 170 Tribute to C. L. R. James, 1989 June 19, 1 videocassettes (VHS)



Box 12 Item 14 C. L. R. James Memorial Programme, School of Music, 1989 June 29, 1 audiocassettes


Box 12 Item 95 C. L. R. James Memorial: Darcus Howe, Introduction and Without Fuss or Fanfare, 1989, 1 audiocassettes


Box 12 Item 113 C. L. R. James Memorial: speech by Darcus Howe and performance by David Rudder, 1989, 1 audiocassettes


Box 12 Item 34 C. L. R. James Memorial: Astin Rudder and Tim Hector's speeches, 1989, 1 audiocassettes


Box 12 Item 48 Darcus's Intro and Speech at C. L. R. James Memorial, circa 1980s, 1 audiocassettes



Box 13 Item 171 Darcus Howe speech on C. L. R. James, circa 1989, 1 videocassettes (VHS)



Box 2 Folder 12 Estate of C. L. R. James, 1989-1991, 2003



Box 12 Item 119 Unidentified speaker discusses Haitian Revolution, Black Jacobins, undated, 1 audiocassettes