Anacostia Community Museum Archives

Velma Nesbit manuscript

Summary

Collection ID:
ACMA.06-127
Creators:
Nesbit, Velma, 1925-2002
Berking, Peter
Dates:
circa 2000
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
.5 Linear feet
1 box, 6 linear inches
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection, which dates from circa 2000, contains a 144-page typescript copy of the unpublished autobiography of Velma Nesbit, the daughter of an Alabama sharecropper. Also present are 14 audiocassettes, one diskette and four compact discs relating to Nesbit's life and career.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Velma Nesbit (1925-2002) was born in Fayette, Alabama. She was one of five children; her father was a sharecropper. During the 1950s and 1960s, Nesbit was a nightclub singer in and around New York City, sharing the same bill as Redd Foxx, Nipsey Russell and Dinah Washington. From 1966-1968, Nesbit worked as a governess for the Berking Family. Peter Berking recorded and transcribed Nesbit's oral history.

Administration

Custodial History
Gift of Peter Berking, 2004.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Certain portions of this collection are restricted. Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu for more information.
Preferred Citation
Velma Nesbit manuscript, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Peter Berking.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
African American women -- Biography Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Children of sharecroppers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sharecroppers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African Americans -- Social conditions Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audiocassettes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Compact discs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuscripts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oral histories (document genres) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nesbit, Velma, 1925-2002 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Anacostia Community Museum Archives
1901 Fort Place, SE
Washington, D.C. 20020
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-4853
ACMArchives@si.edu