I love being an archivist.
I get to go through the boxes in which a collection is donated and organize the material so that they can be more easily used in research. I learn so much. Even in the most mundane and/or "boring" collections I can usually find at least one item that is fascinating.
Just over a year ago I began processing a collection that has changed my life, completely altering the way I view the world around me. This collection was material from the life of Marian Bruce Logan.
 |
| Marin Bruce Logan circa 1978. |
Marian Bruce was a cabaret singer who performed in New York, London, and Paris. She moved from Philadelphia to Harlem to begin her career. At one point she was considered the "next Lena Horne." She was also frequently a topic in the gossip column of Jet magazine. From scans of Jet on Google I learned that when she went to Paris to perform, her then beau in New York cabled several dozen roses for her dressing room. He also shipped his car over so she could drive around while there! I'm guessing their relationship didn't last as Jet also reported that Marian was having a "woo-mance" with a maharajah.
I swear I'm not making any of this up.
At one point Marian's New York apartment caught fire and she lost over $150,000 worth of evening gowns. That's a lot of money even now, but for the 1950s? That's the equivalent of about $1,400,000 when adjusted for inflation.
Marian recorded one record, "Halfway to Dawn." You can listen to the tracks of the record on YouTube. I like her voice. It's very smooth and pleasant.
After marrying Dr. Arthur Logan, Duke Ellington's personal physician, Marian retired from the stage.
She began working with Jackie Robinson on his charity, the Student Emergency Fund. This fund was set up to help African-American students pay their tuition so that they could stay in college and earn their degrees.
 |
| A canceled check signed by both Marian Bruce Logan and Jackie Robinson. |
While working with Robinson, Marian learned of the diner sit-in protests where college students would sit in the "whites only" sections of diners to bring attention to the problems of segregation. Marian began asking her friends and neighbors for donations to purchase books, magazines, and food to send to keep the protesters fed and entertained. She quickly raised over $1,000 for this purpose.
Raising this money brought Marian to the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He asked her to join the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Marian quickly became instrumental in raising funds to support the group's non-violent protests. She became the first Northern member of the SCLC's board of directors. She and her husband developed a close friendship with Dr. King and Coretta. The friendship was close enough that Marian was invited to travel with Dr. King's group to Oslo, Norway where Dr. King received his Nobel Peace Prize. While with the SCLC, Marian also participated in the famous March on Washington.
 |
| Here is Marian (in white) with Coretta Scott King. |
 |
| Marian also had a close relationship with Dr. King's parents, here expressing condolences to her on the occasion of the death of her husband. Note how they signed the telegram "Momma and Daddy King." |
After Dr. King's assassination, Marian remained with the SCLC for a year, parting ways as she felt the group was starting to stray from Dr. King's ideals.
In 1977, Marian was appointed New York City Human Rights Commissioner by Mayor Abraham Beames. She worked in the position for two years to better the living conditions of the citizens of New York.
While Commissioner she also became involved with BASIC (Black Americans in Support of Israel Committee). BASIC was formed to help better the situation of Black Hebrews living in Israel. Marian traveled to Israel in 1978 and again in 1981 as part of the group. She worked with prominent Israeli leaders to help stop the mistreatment of the Black Hebrews who were living in the country.
Marian Bruce Logan lived an amazing life, the majority of which was spent in trying to help create a better situation for others. She used her position of privilege to become a voice for those who didn't share her advantages.
As Marian Bruce Logan doesn't have much of a presence on the internet, I wrote this post as a warm-up of sorts to write a substantial Wikipedia article about her. I would love to see a "Hidden Figures" type book written about her, as I feel she deserves that sort of attention.
The information in this post was drawn from the Marian Bruce Logan Collection of Civil Rights Activism held at the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of South Carolina. Here is a link to the catalog listing of the collection.
Pictures for this post were pulled from the same collection, scans of which can be found at this link.
