Records of Cy Grant reflecting his career containing rich material for research themes around multi-ethnic minority arts on a national basis, an iconic career which saw stardom and fame across the world and across ethnic divides, wartime narratives, discourse on Black African Caribbean roots, culture and race relations.
Records consist of correspondence, notes, photographs and audio-visual material. Includes Cy Grant's records relating to his service as navigator in the Second World War, records of Drum Arts Centre Limited, records of Concord Festival Trust; his acting career including theatre and film posters and programmes, correspondence with agents and producers and fan mail; writing career including published books and draft manuscripts, campaigning, spirituality and health and personal papers including copy items from 1910.
Highlights in the collection include Cy Grant's Royal Air Force log book; fan-mail, studio and film stills photographs, and audio-visual material documenting Cy Grant's fame from his acting and singing, 1950s-1970s; minutes and papers of the Drum Arts Centre Limited London, 1970s documenting the establishment of a national centre for the arts of Black people and related Black Theatre Workshop; minutes and printed material documenting the Concord Festival Trust for which Cy Grant was Director overseeing 22 multicultural ethic arts festivals across Britain over four years between 1981-1985. Cy Grant's life is documented in his memoir 'Blackness and the Dreaming Soul' published in 2007 and his original drafts are contained in the collection alongside other writings.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The collection was catalogued as part of a project funded by Heritage Lottery Fund titled 'Navigating the Dreams of an Icon: Remembering Cy Grant Through His Archive'. £79,800 was awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to the Cy Grant Trust. The Trust, London Metropolitan Archives and Windrush Foundation formed a partnership in 2015 to oversee the archive project which ran from April 2016-May 2017 including an exhibition, website and education pack as well as a series of events including a Finale on 18 February 2017 at London Metropolitan Archives.
Grant, Cyril Ewart Lionel , 1919-2010 , actor, singer, broadcaster, activist , alias Cy Grant