Virginia L. White Collection

Collection

Identifier: SPC-2018-054

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Virginia L. White collection (1957-2016) contains primarily tour materials consisting of photographs, posters, programs, ephemera, and costumes related to Virginia White's tenure as a member and administrator of the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers (AMJS). The collection also contains several scrapbooks compiled by fellow Jubilee Singers member, Jacquelyn F. Sebastian, which documents AMJS' domestic and international tours.

Dates

1957-2016
Majority of material found within 1968-1979

Creator

White, Virginia L. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Historical Note

Virginia White is one of the original members of the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers (AMJS). She performed with the singers from their original concerts and tours in 1968 through the early 2000s.

The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, known as "America's foremost Negro choir," have played a significant role in the development of African American sacred music traditions in the United States and are among the most honored singing ensembles in the world. The AMJS was founded by choral director Albert McNeil. McNeil was inspired by the story of the Fisk University Jubilee Singers, an all-black college choir founded in 1871, made up of four black men and seven black women who gained international fame traveling throughout the United States and Europe giving concerts singing four-part acappella arrangements of sacred songs called spirituals.

In 1968, the AMJS went on their first European tour. Since then, they have traveled the globe on 18 sold-out European tours,12 tours of the United States and Canada, and tours of the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and South America. They were selected three times to serve the U.S. State Department and USIS Cultural Exchange Program, traveling to East Germany, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Iran, India, North and West Africa, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.

Extent

11 boxes

1 folder : (1 oversize folder)

12.63 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

Multiple languages

Additional Description

Abstract

The Virginia L. White collection (1957-2016) contains primarily tour materials consisting of photographs, posters, programs, ephemera, scrapbooks, and costumes that once belonged to former, long-time Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers (AMJS) members Virginia L. White and Jacquelyn F. Sebastian.

Arrangement

This collection is divided into two series in which one series features the materials that belonged to Virginia L. White and another series features the materials that belonged to Jacquelyn F. Sebastian. Materials within most folders are arranged chronologically.

Virginia L. White Collection Series Titles

Virginia L. White, 1961-2016, undated
Jacquelyn F. Sebastian, 1957-1977

Availability of Digital Reproductions

If you would like to view some of the archival materials from this collection that have been digitized already, please visit the Sacred Music Digital Collections Database site: Virginia L. White Collection.

Please keep in mind that some of the materials in our archival collections are still in the process of being digitized and are therefore not yet available to the public.

Related Materials

Albert J. McNeil Collection

Sacred Music Collections

This collection is part the Sacred Music Collection, also known as the Georgia and Nolan Payton Archive of Sacred Music, and is associated with the African Diaspora of Sacred Music and Musicians (ADSMM) Program. The Sacred Music Collection is made up of smaller collections that contain various primary source materials, such as sheet music, books, periodicals, photographs, audio visual materials, manuscripts, and more. ADSMM’s mission is to facilitate research, preserve, and make accessible collections documenting the lives of important figures within the sacred music community as well as its influence primarily within the Los Angeles Black community.

Interested in accessing other Sacred Music collections? If you would like to view these materials in-person, please make an appointment through the Gerth Archives and Special Collections website. If you would like to view these materials online, please visit the the Sacred Music Digital Collections Database website. Please keep in mind that some of the materials in our archival collections are still in the process of being digitized and are therefore not yet available to the public.

Processing Information

An accrual of new materials was processed and added to the Virginia L. White collection by archivist Lindsay Anderson in 2022.

Deaccessions

Pink concert poster featuring the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers in collaboration with the Compton Civic Symphony. Dated April 29, 1973. Digital copy available in Archives drive and uploaded onto CONTENTdm.
Concert programs featuring the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers from their 1968 Europe tour (2 programs), 1970 Europe tour (1 program), 1988 Israel tour (1 program), and 1992 Hong Kong/Asia tour (3 programs). Digital copies available in Archives drive.