]> PUBLIC "-//The New York Public Library//TEXT (US::NN::Sc MG 73::Bessye B. Bearden Papers, 1922-1944)//ENG" "scmg73bb.xml" Inventory of the Bessye B. Bearden Papers, 1922-1944 Processed by Debra Carter; machine-readable finding aid created by Apex Data Services; revised by Terry Catapano.

© 2000 The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. All rights reserved.

 Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, April 1999. Description is in English October 16, 2006 EAD v1.0 finding aid converted to EAD 2002 using UC Berkeley's eadv1to2002.pl perl script. Inventory of the Bessye B. Bearden Papers, 1922-1944 Sc Mg 73 Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The New York Public Library New York, New York Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. New York Public Library. 515 Malcolm X Boulevard New York, NY 10037-1801 (212) 491-2224 scmarbref@nypl.org http://nypl.org/research/sc/scm/marb.html Debra Carter June 1983 Apex Data Services; Terry Catapano

©2000 The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. All rights reserved.

 Descriptive Summary Bessye J. Bearden Papers 1922-1944. Sc MG 73 Bearden, Bessye J. 1/2 box (.2 lin. ft. The New York Public Library Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture English Administrative Information Source

SCM76-14

 Biography

Bessye J. Bearden was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1891, the youngest child of George and Carrie Banks. She attended local schools in North Carolina, Hartshorn Memorial College in Richmond, and Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute from which she graduated. In later years Mrs. Bearden did graduate work at the University of Western Pennsylvania and Columbia University.

At the age 20, Bessye Banks married R. Howard Bearden. They had one son, Romare, who became an internationally renowned artist.

Mrs. Bearden managed the New York office of the E. C. Brown Real Estate Company of Philadelphia for many years. She was also the New York representative for the Chicago Defender, starting in 1927, and did free lance writing for other publications. On June 11, 1935 Mrs. Bearden was appointed Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, serving first in the Processing Division, and later, as an auditor. In 1922 she was the first black woman to be elected to local School Board No. 15 in New York City where she served until 1939.

Mrs. Bearden was involved in numerous civic activities and belonged to several organizations, among them the New York Urban League, where she served as secretary of the executive board, the Council of Negro Women where she served as treasurer, and the executive boards of the Harlem Community Council and the Colored Women's Democratic League, of which she was the first president.

Mrs. Bearden died in September 1943 at Harlem Hospital in New York City.

 Scope and Content Note

The Bessye J. Bearden Papers, 1922-1944, is a small collection which nevertheless reflects her membership in and activities with numerous civic and political organizations. While the papers consist mostly of incoming correspondence, there is also a small amount of personal papers and speeches.

 Series Descriptions/Container List 1 1 Personal Papers, 1931-1942

The file includes one of Mrs. Bearden's resumes and an obituary.

 Correspondence

The file consists of letters from the various organizations Mrs. Bearden was involved with and one folder of condolence letters sent to the family upon her death.

 1 2 1922-1939 1 3 1940-1942 1 4 1943-1944, n.d. 1 5 Condolences, 1943, September 1 5 Speeches, 1942-1943, n.d.

The folder includes a newspaper article advertising a lecture-concert at which Mrs. Bearden introduced Mary McCleod Bethune and Mrs. Bethune in turn introduced Eleanor Roosevelt.