Nina Simone traveled to Nigeria in December 1961 for the Lagos Festival, sponsored by the American Society of African Culture (AMSAC). Simone traveled with a group of 33 African American artists, performers, and educators. Included in the delegation were Odetta, Randy Weston, Geoffrey Holder, Natalie Hinderas, and Lionel Hampton. One of the goals of AMSAC was to expose African Americans to their African heritage. The Lagos Festival was the group's first event in Africa and coincided with the first anniversary of Nigerian independence. As part of the festival, a cultural center was opened and two public concerts were held.This was Simone's first visit to Africa and this intimate letter written to her new husband Andy Stroud shares her first impressions of Lagos. Looking back on the experience in her 1991 autobiography, Simone wrote, "All around us were black faces, and I felt for the first time the spiritual relaxation any Afro American feels on reaching Africa. I didn't feel like I'd come home when I arrived in Lagos, but I knew I'd arrived somewhere important and that Africa mattered to me."A four page letter, with envelope, to Andy Stroud from Nina Simone. Simone is writing from Lagos, Nigeria, and comments on locals, accomodations, and her love for her husband. The letter is handwritten in blue ink on stationery from the Federal Palace Hotel. Simone dated the letter only as [December '61] in the top right corner. The envelope is postmarked December 17, 1961.

A black and white photograph of the rapper NAS below the Queensborough Bridge in New York City. Nas is pictured in the bottom right corner of the frame, with the underside of the bridge at an angle in the background. He wears a jacket with the collar turned up and a necklace with a cross medallion. The title and date are handwritten at the bottom of the photograph along with the photographer's signature. The photographer's copyright is stamped on the back.

A silver flute with two head joints, one silver and one ebony, made for the performer "Blind Tom" by William R. Meinell of New York. The flute is housed in the original instrument case.

A wooden drum covered with stretched leather hide that has been attached to drum body with nine wooden pegs. Two carved, anthropomorphized face motifs are on opposite sides of the upper half of the drum body. The edges of face motifs have been sealed with a darker adhesive material. There are three bands running the circumference of the drum. The top band closest to the drum head, is stained darker than the rest of the drum body. There is a carved piece that extends from the darker band. It has a round drill hole that had been threaded through with a leather thong. This piece has been stained the same color as the bank. The middle band is directly below the top band and above the face motifs. It is the same color as the rest of the body. The bottom band is a carved triangular pattern between two parallel lines. The bottom band is located near the base of the drum, above a piece of hide wrapped and tied around the very bottom of the drum body. There is a nail visible in drum body interior.

Charles P. Stinson’s minstrel credits include working with Callinder's Georgia Minstrels, the World's Minstrels, and Harvey and Frohman's Minstrel Companies as a banjo player, actor, and drum major. He made his name through banjo competitions though, notably in an 1888 competition in Kansas City when he beat eleven white competitors to become the first known African American to win such a competition in a southern state.After touring through the 1880s, Stinson returned to Pittsburgh and set up a studio teaching amateur musicians. He taught parlor music to his middle-class students eager to join banjo, mandolin, and guitar orchestras playing arrangements of popular songs. Through his role as a teacher, Stinson also sold student-level banjos to his students. This banjo likely made by J.H. Buckbee in New York was the result of a collaboration between Stinson and Buckbee to create banjos for Stinson to assemble and distribute to his students; a common arrangement in the late nineteenth century as the instrument became popular.An open-back five-string banjo created for Charles P. Stinson. Four tuning pegs made from molded resin are attached to the peghead. The tuning pegs are decorated with seven curving lines carved on each side and a decorative ridge. Another tuning peg appears halfway up banjo's neck. The frets on the neck are inlaid with mother of pearl. Several of the frets are missing as well as the bridge of the banjo. Some of these pieces can be found in the banjo’s case (2018.83.2). The bottom of the neck near the head of the banjo on the scoop is a mother of pearl inlay in the shape of a star. The banjo’s head is held to the round frame using twenty-nine shoes and nuts. A single metal string is attached to the peghead and head. Handwritten on the back of the banjo’s head near the heel of the neck is “Sliver.” It has a metal tension hoop and a wooden dowel stick. Engraved on the dowel stick is “C. P. STINSON PGH. PA.”

A color photograph of KRS-One and Ms. Melodie. KRS-One wears a brown suit jacket and stands posed with his arms crossed over his chest, looking away from the camera. Ms. Melodie is to his left, wearing a pink jacket, pearl jewelry, a multi-colored turban. She stands posed with her left hand on her left hip. The two stand outside, in front of a tan brick building. An inscription on the back provides the title and copyright.