Browse Items (76 total)

In this letter, Louise J. Cooper, a member of the Peabody Institute Board of Trustees and the Conservatory Committee, responds to William Marbury with her opinion on the admission of Paul A. Brent to the Conservatory.

My dear Mr. Marbury -
Have…

These letters between Maurice Diggs, an African-American music teacher, and Peabody Preparatory representative Mary Evans address the decision to offer the 1925-26 music class for African-American music teachers for no fee.

These minutes from the New England Conservatory, in the penultimate paragraph, describe a letter from President Kennedy that was also received by Peabody. While the original letter could not be found at Peabody, the resulting correspondence is…

In June of 1963, Conservatory Director Charles Kent received this letter from the Maryland Commission on Interracial Problems and Relations. It congratulated him on a recent decision to remove racial indicators from Peabody applications.

Paul A. Brent sent this letter to his high school mentor, Robert L. Jackson, asking for assistance in his application to the Peabody Conservatory, which at the time did not admit African-American students. His application started a long discussion…

The Peabody Conservatory student body submitted this 20-page document to the administration following the firing of a beloved faculty member, Madame Renée Longy. It includes many complaints and incidents that were contributing to a negative…

Pianist Ellis Larkins, a Baltimore native and child prodigy, was never allowed to enroll at the Peabody campus. This enrollment record from the 1939-1940 school year notes his studies with Peabody faculty member Pasquale Tallarico who taught him at…

On October 18, 1949, Peabody’s Board of Trustees discussed the admission of Paul A. Brent to the Conservatory after each member had cast their vote by letter over the preceding months. Despite William L. Marbury’s expectation that the Board would be…

After Reginald Stewart presented his report, the Board of Trustees discussed his statement on the acceptance of African-American students. They agreed with most of his proposals, but appointed a committee to decide whether to accept African-American…

After a five and a half year long conversation and nine months after Brown v. Board of education, the Peabody Institute Board of Trustees made the decision to drop all discriminatory policies in all branches of the Institute.