Daphne Muse Papers, 1817-2023, bulk 1960s-1990s

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Summary

Creator:
Muse, Daphne and John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture
Abstract:
Daphne Muse is an African American writer, educator, cultural event planner, and social commentator from Washington, D.C. Her papers include a portion of her typescript and handwritten correspondence collection; materials related to her time with Drum and Spear Bookstore and her involvement with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee; her ephemeral publications and materials related to the cultural and political experiences of African Americans and persons of African descent; her study of multiculturalism in children's literature; and her academic tenure at UC Berkeley.
Extent:
6.5 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English, Spanish and French.
Collection ID:
RL.13125

Background

Scope and content:

The collection features materials documenting Muse's employment at the Drum and Spear Bookstore, her involvement with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), her collection of correspondence and ephemeral material detailing cultural and political experiences of Black people across the diaspora, and her academic work with the African American Studies and English Departments at University of California, Berkeley. This includes handwritten and typed correspondence with figures such as Judy Richardson, Courtland Cox, Charlie Cobb, and representatives of the Pan African Congress covering topics such as race relations in America, Pan Africanism, and multicultural children's literature. One small folder also includes edits and notes from Muse related to Walter Rodney's works. Also included are photographs of Muse and the events she organized, along with civil rights protest images taken by photographer Matt Heron. The collection also contains audiovisual recordings of activists, musicians, and writers such as Paul Robeson, Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert F. Williams, and Langston Hughes.

Biographical / historical:

Daphne Muse is an African American writer, educator, cultural event planner, and social commentator from Washington, D.C. Muse began writing and collecting letters as a teenager. During her senior year at McKinley High School, she also became a member of "High School Students for Better Education" and had an opportunity to testify before Congress about the inequity of education in the D.C. public school system. In 1962, Muse graduated high school and left D.C. to major in English at Fisk University in Nashville, TN. At Fisk, she was hired as a research assistant by Harlem Renaissance writer, and the university's first Black head librarian, Arna Bontemps. Muse handled materials in the university's collection of African American literature and culture. These activities led to her meeting SNCC organizer Willie Ricks, who encouraged her continued involvement in civil rights work.

Muse returned to Washington, DC in 1967 and worked as a public school teacher before joining Drum and Spear Bookstore in 1968 as a salesclerk and manager. The bookstore, founded by SNCC members Charlie Cobb, Ralph Featherstone, Judy Richardson, and Courtland Cox, functioned as a cultural and literary center for the Black community. In 1969, Muse traveled to Quitman County, Mississippi at the invitation of SNCC organizer Ed Brown and worked with Jennifer Lawson and others in support of the Freedom Farm Cooperative, founded by Fannie Lou Hamer. From 1968 to 1971, Muse was involved in all aspects of Drum and Spear Bookstore's operations, often fulfilling book requests from numerous individuals, including persons who were incarcerated, and corresponding with her Drum and Spear colleagues during their time in Tanzania. It was at Drum and Spear that Muse says she "earned a PhD in Activism, working with some of the most logistically and tactically brilliant people."

In 1971, Muse relocated to California to work as secretary and research assistant for the legal defense team for the Angela Davis trial. Following Davis's acquittal in 1972, Muse settled in Oakland and joined the faculty at UC Berkeley (African American Studies) and Mills College (Ethnic Studies and English). She collaborated with scholars including Dr. VeVe Clark, Phyllis Bischof, and Dr. Erskine Peters, to organize events featuring Gwendolyn Brooks, James Baldwin, Shirley Graham DuBois, and Katherine Dunham. At Mills College, she taught courses on Black women writers, expository writing, and multicultural children's literature, developing related exhibits and festivals between 1978 and 2014.

Since 1959, Muse has collected approximately 5,000 handwritten and typed letters from friends, scholars, authors, socialites, and fellow activists. Correspondents include Charlie Cobb, Cleveland Sellers, Judy Richardson, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alice Walker, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and many more. These letters document the cultural and political experiences of individuals involved in the civil rights, Black Arts, and Black Power movements, as well as those leading initiatives in disability rights and prison reform. As the Inaugural Elder-in-Residence in the Department of African American Studies at the UC Berkeley, appointed in 2021, Muse continues speaking to various campuses and organizations about her collection of correspondence and ephemera.

Adapted from UC Berkeley's "150 Years of Women at Berkeley: Daphne Muse" https://150w.berkeley.edu/daphne-muse and Daphne Muse interview with John Gartrell, recorded October 24, 2024.

Acquisition information:
The Daphne Muse Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift from Daphne Muse in 2024 and 2025.
Processing information:

Processed by Krista Bradley, May 2025

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2024-0157, 2025-0017

Arrangement:

Materials are arranged into the following series: Correspondence, Drum and Spear Bookstore, Cultural and Political Experience Materials, Multicultural Children's Literature Teaching Materials

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Access note. Collection contains fragile audiovisual formats that may need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Daphne Muse papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m13q9v