The Frank Schiffman Apollo Theater Collection documents the business endeavors of Frank Schiffman, and the Apollo Theater's contribution to American culture. The collection includes sound recordings, personal and business correspondence, photographs, business records, and printed material. The collection is arranged in six series as follows: Serie...

More than 300 reels of 16mm black and white and color film, silent and sound, fiction and documentary motion picture film documenting jazz and related musical performances, social and popular dance styles and performances, jazz musicians, performance locales, and documentation of African-American popular culture. A list of featured performers in the collection is shown below. The films are frequently compilations produced by Smith for lectures.

The papers of New York artist Lillian Kiesler and architect and sculptor Frederick Kiesler measure 49.1 linear feet and date from circa 1910s-2003, with the bulk of the material from 1958-2000. The collection documents their personal and professional lives and the legacy of Frederick Kiesler's work through biographical material, correspondence, legal, financial and business records, teaching files, exhibition and performance files, artwork, subject files, printed material, writings and interviews, monographs, photographic material, and sound and video recordings. Also found are papers related to Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann and the papers of artist Alice Hodges.

The International Sweethearts of Rhythm Collection focuses on the all-female, racially and ethnically diverse big band group that started in 1937 and disbanded in 1949. The collection contains news clippings, photographs, correspondence, ephemera from USO travels, and newsletters. Also included are books related to the group, as well as a tribute CD and a 33 rpm vinyl sound recording.

The papers of painter, photographer and sculptor Lowell Nesbitt measure 50.2 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from circa 1903-1993 (bulk 1950-1993). The collection documents Nesbitt's career through biographical material, correspondence, subject files, business and financial records, source material, artwork, photographs and audiovisual records, printed material and scrapbooks.

The collection consists of a single memorial program documenting the April 9, 1990 funeral of Sarah Vaughan at the Mount Zion Baptist Church, Newark, New Jersey.

The collection documents the history and development of the Wurlitzer Company and consists of company publications, business records, employee files, manufacturing records, sales and marketing records, product information, publicity, advertising, photographs, audiovisual materials, and organ installation drawings.

The papers of historian Henry P. Whitehead measure 156.91 linear feet and date from 1843 to 2010 (bulk 1945-1986). The collection documents Whitehead's careers, as well as his family and personal life. The collection also includes the personal papers of Tomlinson D. Todd, Elizabeth B. Delaney and the Howard Theatre Foundation. The combined collection is comprised of black theatrical memorabilia; materials relating to civil rights activities in the District of Columbia; and the African American experience in general. Included are playbills, sheet music, admission tickets, newspapers, magazines, books, photographs, clippings, flyers, brochures, pamphlets, sound recordings, research files, and other material.

The papers of muralist and sculptor, Pietro Lazzari, measure 12.84 linear feet and date from 1878 to 1998. The papers document Lazzari's life and career through biographical material, correspondence, business records, notes, writings, artwork, photographs, and printed material.

The papers of painter, writer, and dancer George Deem measure 18.2 linear feet and date from 1904-2015, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960-2008. The collection documents Deem's path from Midwestern farm child to New York City artist and teacher who specialized in recreating works of great masters, especially Johannes Vermeer. Correspondence, exhibition files, subject files, project files, writings by and about Deem, printed material and photographic materials all show the trajectory of Deem's development as an artist.