Edith Segal Papers
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Edith Segal (1906-1997) was an American dancer, teacher, songwriter, and poet. Throughout her life Segal was a committed leftist, and her work was closely tied to her political activism. The Edith Segal Papers (1918-1999) chronicle Segal's life as a teacher, dancer, poet, and political activist. Materials from the original donation in 2016 relate generally to labor activism and life in early-20th century America. They include materials collected by Segal, including a scrapbook from World War I; printed matter on topics including New York labor laws and May Day; and photographs of Labor Day rallies. The 2023 accretion consists of materials on Segal herself, and her participation in the civil rights and leftist movements. Her commitment to these causes can be viewed in her correspondence with prominent civil rights activists and the subjects of her many poems and New Year's cards, which include Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and Angela Davis.
Biographical Note
Edith Segal (1906-1997) was an American dancer, teacher, songwriter, and poet. She was born in New York's Lower East Side in 1906 to working-class Jewish immigrants. Throughout her life Segal was a committed leftist and civil rights advocate, and her work was closely tied to her political and civil activism. A supporter of the Soviet Union, Segal formed the dance company the Red Dancers in 1929 and choreographed performances in honor of V.I. Lenin. Her other works focused on topics related to civil and workers' rights as well as Jewish cultural themes. She created her most famous work Black and White in 1930, which was the first interracial dance performance in the United States.
In addition to dancing with her company, Segal taught at several leftist camps and recreational resorts in New York and New England, including Camp Kinderland, the Unity House, Cedar Isle Camp, Camp Nitgedaiget, and Camp Wocolona. In the mid to late 1930s, she was also involved with the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Federal Theatre Project in New York and Detroit. Segal wrote several books of poetry, including three for children, from the 1950s to the 1980s, some of which were illustrated by her husband, Samuel Kamen. Throughout her career, she also wrote and lectured on dance.
Segal remained active in the arts and political communities up until her death in 1997 in New York City.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series. Items in the first series have been retained in their original groupings and arranged in roughly chronological order. Items in the second series also have been retained in their orginial groupings, with loose items interfiled accordingly; files were further arranged in chronological order within groupings.
Scope and Contents
The Edith Segal Papers (1918-1999) chronicle Segal's life as a teacher, dancer, poet, and political activist. Materials from the original donation in 2016 relate generally to labor activism and life in early-20th century America. They include materials collected by Segal, including a scrapbook from World War I; printed matter on topics including New York labor laws and May Day; and photographs of Labor Day rallies. Additionally, there are items created by Segal, including drafts of skits, one of which is about a workers' strike. The 2023 accretion consists of materials on Segal herself, and her participation in the civil rights and leftist movements. Her commitment to these causes can be viewed in her correspondence with prominent civil rights activists and the subjects of her many poems and New Year's cards, which include Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and Angela Davis. Her passion for performing and teaching dance is reflected in performance programs, flyers, sound recordings (audiocassette and audio reels) and photographs. There is a small amount of personal material, including a family tree, awards, honors, and tributes. Segal was beloved for her teaching and activism, which can be gleaned from the fan mail that she collected over the years.
Subjects
Genres
People
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Edith Segal Papers; TAM 684; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Shari Segel in 2015; additional materials were donated in 2018 and 2023. The accession numbers associated with these gifts are 2016.005, 2018.089, and 2023.016.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596, with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Appraisal
One flash drive was deaccessioned because it contained duplicate photographs.
Separated Materials
Issues of the publications Workers' Theatre,1931-1933 (call number PN2000 .N49 Non-circulating); New Theatre, 1933-1937 ( call number PN2000 .N49 Oversize Non-circulating); and one issue of Photo-History, July 1937 (call number AP2 .P5585 Oversize Non-circulating) have been transferred to the library collection.
About this Guide
Processing Information
For the original donation, materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes, and folder titles were supplied by the archivist. For the 2023 accretion, materials were placed in new acid-free boxes and some items were placed in new acid-free folders. Most folder titles were retained. Duplicate materials were removed.
One flash drive was forensically imaged and analyzed. New York University Libraries follow professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity of the content.
Revisions to this Guide
Repository
Series I. Original Donation, 1918-1985, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
This series contains a small assortment of items created and collected by Segal. These materials relate generally to labor activism and life in early-20th century America. They include a scrapbook from World War I; a pamphlet on New York Child Labor and Compulsory Education Laws (1918); flyers from a May Day Rally and a skit satirizing the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s; an article from Home and Education (1941), a magazine for Jewish mothers and teachers; and a report from the United Workers Cooperative Colony 50th Anniversary (1977). The collection also includes four photographs of Labor Day rallies in Detroit (circa 1937-1938), and a folder containing reproductions of photographs taken by Lewis W. Hine for the National Child Labor Committee.
The collection contains German-language ephemera from the Prolet Buehne in New York City, and two of drafts written by Segal, which include a 1937 script for the skit "Million Dollar Baby," about a strike at the Woolworth's department store, and "I Remember Rose: A Remembrance of Rose Pastor Stokes" (circa 1980s).
WWI Scrapbook, 1918-1928, inclusive
Flyers -- Performance and Rally, undated, inclusive
Photographs -- Labor Marches in Detroit, circa 1930s, inclusive
"Million Dollar Baby" by Edith Segal (Skit on the Woolworth's Strike), 1937
"For Our Child, Our Future" in Home and Education, 1977
United Workers Cooperative Colony 50th Anniversary, 1977
"I Remember Rose: A Remembrance of Rose Pastor Stokes" by Edith Segal, circa 1980, inclusive
Lewis Hine Reproductions, undated, inclusive
Letter to and from Yalta Children, 1966-04
Theater Ephemera, circa 1930s, inclusive
Series II. Accretions, 1930-1999, inclusive
Extent
Extent
Extent
Extent
Scope and Contents
The 2023 accretion consists of materials on Segal herself, and her participation in the civil rights and leftist movements. The correspondence files reflect her commitment to these causes; prominent correspondents include well-known civil rights activists Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Pete Seeger. Additionally, there are a number of letters to and from the Soviet Union. Most of these letters refer to Segal's poetry and its message of peace. Segal's career as a poet can be gleaned from the vast amount of drafts, New Year's cards (with illustrations by her husband, Samuel Kamen), and published poems and songs in the collection. Performance programs and flyers showcase Segal's career as a dancer, and photographs, slides, and audio reels of performances at Camp Kinderland reflect Segal's career as a dance teacher. Fan mail, which includes various letters and poems from schoolchildren and a vinyl record from children from Yalta, and various awards and tributes, also reflect her contributions to the fields of dance and poetry.
