Fifth Annual Hi-Y Minstrel “Rocket Revue”.

Little Rock, Arkansas: YMCA, 1948. 10 5/8” x 7 7/8”. Stapled wrappers. Pp. 64. Very good: Wrappers lightly scuffed and dust-soiled; most pages with some scattered stray ink; a bit of light edge wear and creasing.

This is a rare and fantastic program for a fundraising event held at the African American Dunbar High School in Arkansas, sponsored by the “Hi-Y Boys” of the George Washington Carver YMCA.

An introduction to the program shared that this was the fifth annual “Cover Girl * Rocket Revue Project,” created to “provide an outlet for the young men of this community in a creative program” as well as to raise money for the agency. There were solo and ensemble musical performances as well as a boxing exhibition, a group act of four “jokers,” an introduction to the “Cover Girls” (who competed in a beauty contest) and a barbershop harmony act.

This heavily illustrated book includes a great centerfold composite photograph showing “Scenes of Activity” at the YMCA camp. There are 24 additional photographic images, most of which are portraits of the members of the Cover Girls Club, with a handful depicting the leadership and other assorted happenings at the “Y.” The program also serves as a business directory and white pages of sorts, with 42 pages dedicated to advertisements for Little Rock businesses, many of which were presumably Black-owned, as well as individual sponsors.

A lovely program documenting the African American young adult community of Little Rock. No holdings were found in OCLC or online. Very good. Item #2902

Price: $950.00