Harriet Gibbs Marshall

Harriet Gibbs Marshall (1868 – February 21, 1941) was a musician, writer, and educator best known for opening the Washington Conservatory of Music and School of Expression in 1903 in Washington, D.C. An African American, she was born in Canada.[1]

Harriet Gibbs Marshall
1936 photo
Born1868
Victoria, British Columbia
DiedFebruary 21, 1941
Washington, D.C.
NationalityCanadian-born African American
Alma materOberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio
OccupationMusician, writer, educator
founder of Washington Conservatory of Music and School of Expression
Spouse(s)Napoleon Bonaparte Marshall (married 1906)
Parent(s)Mifflin Wistar Gibbs
Maria Ann Alexander Gibbs
RelativesSister, Ida Alexander Gibbs
Harriet Gibbs Marshall, from a 1902 publication

Early years and education

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Harriet Aletha Gibbs was the daughter of Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, a lawyer in Little Rock, Arkansas, who became the first African-American city judge in the United States, and the former Maria Ann Alexander, a school teacher.[2] Gibbs was born in Canada because her father, along with hundreds of others, left California during the Gold Rush because of the race badges they were forced to wear and moved en masse to Victoria.[3]:30m55s She had a sister, Ida Alexander Gibbs.[4]

In 1889, Gibbs became the first African-American woman to graduate from Oberlin Conservatory with a degree in music.[1]

Biography and work

Early years

In the last years of the 19th century, she began to appear in newspapers in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in October and into December 1889 teaching music, known as Hattie A. Gibbs.[5] By 1891[6] she founded the music program at Eckstein Norton University in Cane Springs in Bullitt County, Kentucky.[1] In 1894 Gibbs played at a recital in Little Rock, Arkansas before an integrated audience.[7] In September 1898 Gibbs, now called Harriet regularly, returned to St. Paul, also appearing in Minneapolis, and was fundraising for a conservatory some day.[8] In December she appeared in Pensacola, Florida.[9]

Washington, DC

In 1900 Gibbs began to appear in Washington, D.C. newspapers, noted as the first colored graduate of Oberlin.[10] She offered recitals in January 1902 which garnered some praise even from far away,[11] as well as being received at the Bethel Literary and Historical Society,[12] a prominent African-American institution of DC. She took the position of a music supervisor in the then segregated African-American public schools there.[1] She was noted as not approving of ragtime.[13]

At the close of the public school year in May 1903 she was noted in the newspapers presenting a school musicale for Washington Normal School.[14] She founded the Washington Conservatory of Music in 1903. It focused on classical European music.[1] In May 1904 commencement exercises for Armstrong Normal School were held at which Gibbs presented the school choir noted as assistant director of music for the public schools.[15] The following November Samuel Coleridge-Taylor appeared in the M Street Highschool with Gibbs presenting the school choir.[16] In Spring 1905 the Conservatory was noted in the newspapers with a concert given by its students – enrollment was noted at over 160.[17] Gibbs kept up her public school duties and led the Banneker Street School musicale in April,[18] as well as for the Wormley School in June.[19] That Fall Gibbs was noted as director of the music among the colored schools of DC as well as president of the Conservatory – and in September Gibbs and friends took a trip to Europe – London, Paris and the countryside of France – joined by her sister, Ida Hunt, noted as the wife of the US consul to Madagascar.[20] On return from her 9-month stay in Europe she noted that colored students attending German or French music schools were well received and noted Hazel Harrison as having had a recent debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.[21] Newly married in Spring 1906, Gibbs wed Napoleon Bonaparte Marshall, a graduate of Harvard University (A.B. 1897) and Harvard Law School (J.D. 1900).[22] As was the custom of the time, as a married woman, she at first resigned her employment with the school system,[23] however there was an attempt to withdraw the resignation that failed despite vocal support from an unnamed group of people.[24] The closing of the Conservatory school year had its own recital.[25]

Washington Conservatory of Music and School of Expression

In the Fall of 1906 advertisements for the Conservatory began calling it the Washington Conservatory of Music and School of Expression with 14 faculty.[26] Newspaper coverage in and beyond DC of the new year noted its history to 1903, that it now had more than 600 students since its founding, and reviewed the faculty in some depth – including staff that would later be officers of the institution as well as her husband.[27] In 1909 Marshall's sister Ida Gibbs Hunt, now noted as the wife of a US Consul to France, stayed with Marshall for the winter as well as their father.[28] In 1910 Illinois federal Representative Martin B. Madden handed out the diplomas for the graduates of the Conservancy.[29] Several columns of the Washington Bee covered the event.[30]

In 1911 advertising for the Conservatory appeared in The Crisis as well as St. Paul newspapers.[31] Marshall also took a trip around promoting the school including to Saint Louis, Missouri,[32] and coverage appeared in The Pittsburgh Courier underscoring its students came from all races and sexes and was called unique for doing so and had now had some 1400 students to date coming from many states though only 23 had stayed on through graduating with a diploma.[33] The Courier coverage also noted scholarships had been given and listed the donors who had covered the scholarships.[33] The officers of the school were noted and included George William Cook of Howard University, and Fisk University graduate and past president of the Bethel Literary and Historical Association, "Lewis" (Louis) G. Gregory, as well as others[31][34][33] An elocution program was added.[35] That year's commencement gained additional coverage around the country.[36] That fall she vacationed in New York,[37] and contributed music to the Home and School Association for Normal School No. 2 meeting that winter,[38] followed by a Conservatory recital.[39] Coverage that winter noted a trip to New York and according to The Broad Ax that Marshall was then president of the National Association of Musical and Art Clubs.[40]

Marshall joined Gregory and Cook's wife Coralie from Howard and a faculty of the Conservatory,[33] in the Baháʼí Faith in 1912,[41] while Cook remained friendly to the religion.[42] Marshall hosted Baháʼí events at the Conservatory.[41] In September Marshall took a trip in the West again,[43] this time including Chicago and Detroit.[44] That winter Marshall again vacationed in New York,[45] and the Conservancy produced Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado in the Howard Theater.[46] That spring the Conservatory produced a commencement performance where most of the compositions were from the pupils themselves many of whom were colored.[47]

In July 1915 Marshall's father, Judge Mifflin W. Gibbs, died at the age of 93.[48] Process of the inheritance took until 1922.[49]

An October 1915 production of The Star of Ethiopia by W. E. B. Du Bois that presented black history was held in the American League Park – Marshall was among the many who contributed to the music production value of the event via its committee on music.[50] In August 1916 Marshall produced a program on "Negro Folk Songs" at Langston Highschool in Hot Springs, Arkansas.[51] In 1917 Marshall and Gregory were mentioned giving some scholarships.[52]

In 1919 Marshall signed a letter of Baháʼís hoping that ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, could come back to the West,[53] (recalling the 1910–1913 trips.) In 1920 Marshall began a campaign to raise funds for a national conservancy which would include negro music.[54] In April 1921 the Conservancy produced a program for a fundraiser that covered periods of "negro music and drama" in New York.[55] Marshall returned to the pursuit of a national conservancy in April 1922, calling together various leaders in black music and a follow-up production of the "negro music and drama" was scheduled for May.[56] Walter Damrosch was listed as specifically supporting the idea of the national conservatory.[57] A Conservancy student recital followed in May.[58] Broader recognition of respect for negro music was summarized including Marshall's work in 1922.[59] Marshall was approaching having something for a national conservancy set up in New York by May 1924,[60] but instead she went to Haiti with her husband's work, making a brief return trip in August.[61]

Haiti

Marshall traveled to Haiti from the mid-1920s when her husband, Captain Marshall of the United States Army, was appointed to a commission to investigate abuses during the United States occupation of Haiti.[62]

During their time in Haiti, the Marshalls were excluded from participation in social activities with other U.S. military officers because of racial segregation. There were occasional trips back to the US such as September–October 1925,[63] and returned by February 1927.[64] Marshall became active with Haitian organizations like Haitain Brotherhood,[64] and was Vice-President of the Organization of Haitian Women.[62] While there, she co-founded the Jean Joseph Industrial School,[35] and held fundraisers for it in the States.[65] Louis G. Gregory thanked Marshall for her letter of introduction for his Baháʼí pioneering to Haiti in 1934 and credited her as a pioneer for the religion ahead of him.[3]:33m50s

When the Marshalls returned to the United States, they founded the Save Haiti Committee to lobby President Herbert Hoover to remove U.S. soldiers from Haiti.[62] In 1930 Marshall published The Story of Haiti: from the discovery of the island by Christopher Columbus to the present day.[66][67]

Later years

In 1932, Marshall contributed a poem Brotherhood published in the Baháʼí news magazine Star of the West.[68] By 1934 Marshall was acknowledged as director of the Conservancy again.[69]

In 1936, Marshall wrote the script for The Last Concerto, a musical spectacle based on the life, love, and music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.[70] In 1939 Marshall was among four artists honored at the National Association of Negro Musicians.[71]

Marshall died on February 21, 1941, in Washington, D.C.[72][73] She bequeathed all her inheritance to the Washington Conservancy.[74]

References
  1. Howe, Sondra Wieland (November 7, 2013). Women Music Educators in the United States: A History. Scarecrow Press. p. 228. ISBN 9780810888487.
  2. Libraries, University of Kentucky. "Notable Kentucky African Americans – Marshall, Harriet (Hattie) A. Gibbs". nkaa.uky.edu. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  3. Lex Musta (January 20, 2018). "The Multiracial DC women who created the first integrated Baháʼí community in America". In Richard Walter Thomas (ed.). The Other Tradition. Season 1. Episode 3. Washington, DC: Time Travel Tours DC.
  4. Dreyfuss, Joel. "William Henry Hunt and Ida Alexander Gibbs: A Black Power Couple in the Early 20th Century". Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  6. "The first Afro-American Conservatory…". The Appeal. Saint Paul, MN. December 12, 1891. p. 2. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  7. "Piano Recital". Daily Arkansas Gazette. Little Rock, AR. April 26, 1894. p. 2. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
    • "A piano recital". The Appeal. Saint Paul, MN. September 10, 1898. p. 3. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
    • "Miss Harriett Gibbs…". The Appeal. Saint Paul, MN. September 10, 1898. p. 3. Retrieved February 21, 2018. • "Mrs. Bertha Heathcock Wilson…". The Appeal. Saint Paul, MN. September 17, 1898. p. 3. Retrieved February 21, 2018. • "Miss Harriett Gibbs…". The Appeal. Saint Paul, MN. September 24, 1898. p. 3. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  9. "The musical program…". The Pensacola News. Pensacola, FL. December 31, 1898. p. 5. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  10. "Graduate in music from Oberlin". The Colored American. Washington, DC. August 25, 1900. p. 9. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  12. "A night in music land". The Colored American. Washington, DC. January 11, 1902. p. 12. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  13. "Our leading artists…". The Colored American. Washington, DC. May 3, 1902. p. 3. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
    • "Annual May musicale". Evening Star. Washington, DC. May 25, 1903. p. 7. Retrieved February 21, 2018.(subscription required)
    • "The May musicale". The Colored American. Washington, DC. June 13, 1903. p. 5. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  15. "Trained to be usefel(sic)". Evening Star. Washington, DC. June 18, 1904. p. 8. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  16. "Given enthusiastic welcome". Evening Star. Washington, DC. November 18, 1904. p. 11. Retrieved February 21, 2018.(subscription required)
  19. "Musical at Wormley school". Evening Star Friday. Washington, DC. June 9, 1905. p. 16. Retrieved February 21, 2018.(subscription required)
  20. "Musical ladies abroad". Cleveland Gazette. Cleveland, OH. September 9, 1905. p. 1. Retrieved February 21, 2018.(subscription required)
  22. Marshall, Harriet Gibbs. On Captain Napoleon B. Marshall, 1931. W. E. B. Du Bois Papers (MS 312). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries
  23. "The resignation of…". The Washington Post. Washington, DC. May 24, 1906. p. 2. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
    • "The withdrawal…". The Washington Times. Washington, DC. May 30, 1906. p. 9. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
    • "?? Layton vindicated". Washington Bee. Washington, DC. June 2, 1906. p. 1. Retrieved February 21, 2018.(subscription required)
  25. "The closing pupils' recital…". The Washington Post. Washington, DC. June 10, 1906. p. 5. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  26. "The Washington Conservatory of Music and School of Expression". Evening Star. Washington, DC. August 19, 1906. p. 59. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  28. "Mrs. Ida Gibbs Hunt…". The Washington Bee. Washington, DC. December 25, 1909. p. 5. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  30. "The conservatory for music". The Washington Bee. Washington, DC. June 11, 1910. p. 5. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  31. • "Washington Conservatory of Music and School of Expression". The Appeal. Saint Paul, MN. June 10, 1911. p. 2. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  32. "Mrs. Harriet Gibbs Marshall…". The Washington Bee. Washington, DC. April 29, 1911. p. 5. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  33. Oliver Randolph (June 17, 1911). "Musical center in Washington". The Pittsburgh Courier. Pittsburgh, PA. p. 1. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  34. Note "Lewis" was used for Louis Gregory in various advertisements:
  35. Locke, Ralph P.; Barr, Cyrilla (January 1, 1997). Cultivating Music in America: Women Patrons and Activists Since 1860. University of California Press. p. 233. ISBN 9780520083950.
  39. "The Melville Charlton Recital". The Washington Bee. Washington, DC. February 17, 1912. p. 5. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  41. Etter-Lewis, Gwendolyn; Thomas, Richard; Thomas, Richard Walter (January 1, 2006). Lights of the Spirit: Historical Portraits of Black Baháʼís in North America, 1898–2004. Baha'i Publishing Trust. ISBN 9781931847261.
  42. Christopher Buck (2005). Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy. Kalimat Press. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-890688-38-7.
  43. "Miss Harriet Gibbs Marshall…". The New York Age. New York, NY. September 5, 1912. p. 6. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  44. "Mrs Harriet Gibbs Marshall…". Washington Bee. Washington, DC. September 7, 1912. p. 5. Retrieved February 21, 2018.(subscription required)
  45. "Mrs. Harriet Gibbs Marshall…". The New York Age. New York, NY. January 30, 1913. p. 6. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  46. "The nation's capital; The negro to make showing in inaugural parade". The Freeman. Indianapolis, IN. February 22, 1913. p. 1. Retrieved February 21, 2018.(subscription required)
  48. "Judge M. W. Gibbs died at Little Rock July 11". The New York Age. New York, NY. July 15, 1915. p. 1. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  49. "Geo. A. Prevost and Roland R. Fouleke, attorneys". Evening Star. Washington, DC. March 18, 1922. p. 23. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  50. ""The star of Ethiopia" presented at Ball Park". Evening Star. Washington, DC. October 12, 1915. p. 8. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  51. "Negro folk song program…". Hot Springs New Era. Hot Springs, AR. August 1, 1916. p. 4. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  52. "The Washington Conserbvatory…". The New York Age. New York, NY. June 28, 1917. p. 5. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  53. "Supplication to Abdul Baha from the American friends; Southern States". Star of the West. Vol. 10 no. 8. August 1, 1919. pp. 158–9. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  54. "To establish a national conservatory…". The Nebraska State Journal. Lincoln, NE. December 5, 1920. p. 28. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  55. "JA Jackson's page; Three periods represented" (PDF). The Billboard. New York, NY. May 14, 1921. p. 45. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  56. Frank Dambrosch (April 16, 1922). "National negro music center". Evening Star. Washington, DC. p. 56. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  57. "National negro music center". Evening Star. Washington, DC. April 16, 1922. p. 56. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  59. "Story of negro music woven rough courage, sorrow, hope" (PDF). Livingston Democrat. Geneseo, NY. August 30, 1922. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  60. "Study Jewish music". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, FL. May 21, 1924. p. 3. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  61. "Mrs. Harriet Gibbs Marshall…". The Pittsburgh Courier. Pittsburgh, PA. August 30, 1924. p. 16. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  62. Largey, Michael (May 1, 2006). Vodou Nation: Haitian Art Music and Cultural Nationalism. University of Chicago Press. pp. 154–155. ISBN 9780226468655.
  64. "The Haitian Brotherhood…". The New York Age. New York, NY. February 26, 1927. p. 5. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  66. "The Story of Haiti (full text)". Hathi Trust.
  67. Clifford C. Mitchell (August 8, 1931). "The Story of Haiti…". The New York Age. New York, NY. p. 4. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  68. Harriet Gibbs Marshall (January 1932). Stanwood Cobb; Mariam Haney (eds.). "Brotherhood (poem)". Star of the West. Vol. 22 no. 10. p. 290. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  69. "Memorial services to S. Coleridge-Taylor". The New York Age. New York, NY. August 11, 1934. p. 5. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  70. Howe, Sondra Wieland (2013). Women Music Educators. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 228. ISBN 9780810888470.
  71. "National association of negro musicians to meet in Boston" (PDF). The New York Age. New York, NY. August 4, 1939. p. 7. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  72. Smith, Jessie Carney (January 1, 1996). Notable Black American Women. VNR AG. ISBN 9780810391772.
  73. Etter-Lewis, Gwendolyn; Thomas, Richard; Thomas, Richard Walter (January 1, 2006). Lights of the Spirit: Historical Portraits of Black Baháʼís in North America, 1898-2004. Baha'i Publishing Trust. ISBN 9781931847261.
  74. "Woman bequeaths all property to DC music school". The Pittsburgh Courier. Pittsburgh, PA. March 22, 1941. p. 2. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
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