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Aleane Fitz-Carter Papers

 Collection — Box: MISC-16, Folder: MSS-0159
Identifier: MSS-0159

Content Description

The papers of Aleane Fitz-Carter document her life as an entertainer and educator. Through her life's work, she fought racism, taught music and Black history and culture, and entertained audiences. See the biographical note for more comprehensive information about her life and accomplishments. In this small collection are two dozen documents including correspondence related to positions she held, news clippings with biographical information and stories of her life's work, a headshot with acting resume, copies of photographs, and other material.

New material added October 2022: Copies of a leaflet distributed by Black Minority Interest Action Committee on Campus (BMIAC), a program and other information about the Soul Choir at UNO, news clippings, and photos of Mrs. Fitz Carter during her visit to Archives and Special Collections on October 14, 2022 during a visit to Omaha to be honored by the NAACP.

Dates

  • circa 1969-2022

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

The Conditions Governing Access policy of UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections is available at https://www.unomaha.edu/criss-library/about-us/library-policies/archives-policies.php.

Conditions Governing Use

The Conditions Governing Use policy of UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections is available at https://www.unomaha.edu/criss-library/about-us/library-policies/archives-policies.php.

Biographical / Historical

Aleane Fitz-Carter was a poet, pianist, teacher, choir director, storyteller, actress, and so much more. She was born in Council Bluffs in 1929 and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and the University of Omaha, majoring in music and education. An early paying job came at age 11 when she played for and directed the choir at Beulah Baptist Church in Council Bluffs.

Among her work in Omaha from the 1950s through 1980s, Fitz-Carter served as Minister of Music at Cleaves Temple C.M.E., teacher in the Omaha Public School District for fourteen years (including at Saratoga Elementary School), instructor at the Omaha Opportunities Industrialization Center, and presenter on Black history for local television. She taught Black history and directed the Soul Choir at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the 1970s. From 1970 to 1974, Fitz-Carter taught courses for the UNO History Department and Black Studies Department. In 1970-1971, she taught a night course in Black history and when she was not rehired for the 1971-1972 year, students successfully petitioned the UNO administration that she be rehired. Her last class at UNO was "Soul Choir in the Black Experience" in spring 1974.

Later after moving to California, she taught music in the California Community College system and Music Appreciation to adults in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was Minister of Music at Olivet Lutheran Church in Los Angeles. She also created and hosted a show based around African dishes (for which she was introduced as an African Cuisine Artist, Soul Food gourmet, and Food Historian) for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and worked as an actress. Fitz-Carter continued to contribute late in life; at age 89 in 2018, she could be found directing the Men's Chorus at Park Windsor Baptist Church in Los Angeles.

During her professional life, Fitz-Carter traveled throughout the United States to conduct instrumental music workshops for pianists and organists, along with choral workshops in contemporary, soul gospel, and spirituals. She held artist-in-residence posts in school districts across Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri supported by those states' arts councils. As a professional storyteller, she performed her work nationally; one of her stories surrounded the emancipation of her paternal great grandfather in Texas. During travel to South Africa, Ghana, Morroco, and Nigeria, she recited poems and taught rhythm games of children who had been enslaved in the colonies and later the United States.

Extent

0.06 Cubic Feet (1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Custodial History

UNO professor Preston Love, Jr. and Martha Parker Love received the material from Aleane Fitz Carter and passed it to the archives.

New material added October 14, 2022: recieved from Mrs. Fitz Carter during her visit to Archives and Special Collections.

General

The Statement on Harmful Materials of UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections is available at https://www.unomaha.edu/criss-library/about-us/library-policies/archives-policies.php.

Processing Information

Collection has been arranged and described.

Source

Title
Aleane Fitz-Carter Papers
Status
Completed
Author
Amy Schindler; Director of Archives and Special Collections; Angela Kroeger, Metadata Coordinator; Lori Schwartz, Hagel and Technical Services Archivist
Date
2022-05-18
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Edition statement
2nd edition

Repository Details

Part of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Archives & Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Archives & Special Collections
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
6001 Dodge St.
Omaha Nebraska 68182-0237 United States
402-554-6046