Browse Items (179 total)

This photograph shows the front exterior of the historic Jewell Building, located at 2221 North 24th Street in North Omaha. The Dreamland Ballroom was located on the second floor, and hosted locally, regionally, and nationally renowned jazz and blues…

This is a photo of the Jazz band, The Dixie Ramblers. The jazz scene in Omaha was vibrant from the 1920s through the 1960s. The Omaha Night Owls are sometimes credited as the first jazz band in the city. In 1923, musician and band-leader, Frank…

This is a publicity shot for The Clovers, a popular jazz band who played the Dreamland Ballroom in 1954. Native Omahan, Preston Love, Sr.'s band played backup for The Clovers at the dance that night. For interviews and oral histories of this and…

Education has long been a key to African American community uplift in Omaha and across the Great Plains, despite the pervasive reality of segregation and discrimination. Black parents, students and their allies have consistently pressed for greater…

This photograph shows Sonny Thompson and Band performing at The Dreamland Ballroom in 1951. For interviews and oral histories of this and other items please visit the History Harvest YouTube Channel.

Mr. Taylor brought in this penny to the History Harvest to share with us, accompanied by a note from his grandaunt. This penny is a 'braided hair coronet'-style penny, dated 1840, and Mr. Taylor informed us that his great-great-grandmother held on to…

A note from his grandaunt accompanies the folding cup brought in by Mr. Taylor. This is his great-grandmother’s folding cup that she used in the field while enslaved in Mississippi. This artifact would have been essential to his…

Big Mama’s Kitchen was featured on the Sundance Channel’s cooking show, “Ludo Bites America.” This poster was used to advertise Ludo’s visit, which took place on May 21, 2011. The episode aired on July 26, 2011.

This image shows three photographs from the Omaha Star newspaper. The image on the left shows Anna Williams being presented with a scholarship from a women's club in North Omaha. The two images on the right show some events from the Centennial…

The "Savoy Seven," with bandleader Basie Givens, at The Music Box in Omaha, Nebraska.