Topic: Diversity & Representation

An Overview of Rockefeller Foundation Support for the Performing Arts in the 20th Century
Although known for its work in science, medicine, and health, the Rockefeller Foundation supported a surprising number of performing arts activities.

Preserving Scholarship During World War II: the Rockefeller Foundation, Libraries, and Microphotography
Using new technology to save threatened world resources and keep free inquiry alive under threat of fascist destruction.

“Highest Standards”: Elite Philanthropy and Literary Black Voices during the Civil Rights Era
Against a backdrop of white, establishment concepts of literary excellence, one foundation struggled to appreciate Black voices.

Early Experiments in Public Broadcasting
The American public broadcast system as it exists today came out of years of work by organized philanthropy.

The Fairy Godmothers of Women’s Studies
Moving scholarship by and about women from margin to center.

Programming for the People: Diversity in Early Public Television
How philanthropy helped carve out a public space for the expression of race, culture, and critical perspectives.

In Brief: James Baldwin’s Creative Writer’s Fellowship
How a foundation provided the final ingredient to an era-defining novel.