Nerissa Brokenburr Stickney
Nerissa Brokenburr Stickney | |
|---|---|
 Nerissa Brokenburr, from a 1935 newspaper | |
| Born | Nerissa Lee Brokenburr March 22, 1913 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | July 31, 1960 (aged 47) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Other names | Nerissa Lee Stickney |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist, music educator |
| Parent | Robert Brokenburr |
Nerissa Brokenburr Stickney (March 22, 1913 – July 31, 1960), born Nerissa Lee Brokenburr, was an American pianist and music educator at Florida A&M University from 1935 to 1940.
Early life and education
[edit]Nerissa Brokenburr was born in Indianapolis, the elder daughter of attorney Robert Brokenburr and his first wife, Alice Jean Glover Brokenburr. Her father served in the Indiana Senate, and was a civil rights activist.[1] She graduated from Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis in 1929.[2][3] As a teen in 1927, she was a soloist at the annual meeting of the Indiana Convention of Negro Musicians.[4]
Her sister Alice was also a musician; both sisters studied piano and organ at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.[5] and were members of Delta Sigma Theta. She earned a B.A. degree in 1933 and a Mus.B. degree in 1935.[6][7][8] While at college, she was secretary of Oberlin's Scottsboro Action Committee, an anti-lynching group, and co-signed a report on racial discrimination at Oberlin.[9]
She was friend of Indianapolis clubwoman Louise Terry Batties from their teens,[10] and was a bridesmaid at the Terry-Batties wedding in 1937.[11]
Career
[edit]Immediately after Oberlin, Brokenburr gave a "sound, intelligent, and musical" recital in Indianapolis,[12][13] and taught music at Florida A&M University (then known as Tallahassee State College) in Florida from 1935 to 1940. She performed often on piano and organ for the school's evening vespers program.[14][15][16] In 1939 she attended the annual convention of the Association of Music Teachers at Negro Schools, held at Fisk University.[17] In 1940 she married a fellow instructor at the college.[18][19]
Personal life
[edit]Nerissa Brokenburr married fellow educator William Homer Stickney Jr. (1902-1982) in 1940. They lived in Prairie View, Texas,[20] and had three children together, Janice, William, and Roberta.[7] She died after a heart attack in 1960, aged 47 years, at a hospital in Houston, Texas.[21]
References
[edit]- ^ Robert Lee Brokenburr Papers and Photographs, ca1937-1973, Indiana Historical Society.
- ^ Program, Second Annual Commencement of the Crispus Attucks High School, Indianapolis (June 7, 1929): 3.
- ^ "Attucks High to Stage Play". Indianapolis Times. March 22, 1929. p. 20. Retrieved February 6, 2021 – via Chronicling America.
- ^ "Musicians to Assemble Here". The Richmond Item. 1927-11-24. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miss Alice Olga Brokenburr Guest Artist at Fort Wayne During National Music Week". Indianapolis Recorder. April 25, 1931. p. 6. Retrieved February 5, 2021 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
- ^ "Piano Recital". The Indianapolis News. 1935-05-18. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Nerissa Stickney, Sen. Brokenburr's Daughter, Dies". The Indianapolis News. 1960-08-02. p. 17. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Graduate in Recital". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1935-05-18. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Diepenbrock, David (1993). "Black Women and Oberlin College in the Age of Jim Crow" (PDF). UCLA Historical Journal. 13: 27–59.
- ^ "Ethical Culture Begins Out of Doors Meetings". The Indianapolis Recorder. July 26, 1930. p. 6. Retrieved February 6, 2021 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
- ^ "Bride of Doctor". The Indianapolis News. 1937-08-07. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Whitworth, Walter (1935-05-24). "Movies n' Everything". The Indianapolis News. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hickman, Walter D. (May 24, 1935). "Talented Young Pianist Presented in Able Recital at Crispus Attucks". Indianapolis Times. p. 9. Retrieved February 6, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Quartet to Appear at A&M Vespers". Tallahassee Democrat. 1937-10-17. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "A&M Vesper Program to Feature Christmas". Tallahassee Democrat. 1938-12-18. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "College Plans Two Vespers". Tallahassee Democrat. 1939-04-02. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Teachers of Music Meet at Fisk U." California Eagle. 1939-05-11. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Social item". The Indianapolis News. 1940-08-24. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The William Stickneys!". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1940-09-14. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Leader Feted on Vacation". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1946-09-07. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nerissa Stickney". The Indianapolis News. 1960-08-03. p. 26. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
