The careers of William Grant Still and Verna Arvey were far-reaching as they related to not only the emerging status of African-Americans in classical music, but also to United States social history, race relations and politics. The William Grant Still and Verna Arvey collection (MC 1125) contains materials that span the 20th century, and it serves as a rare testament to a period of time in which little documentation exists for African-Americans in American history.

Featured in this exhibit is William Grant Still's typewriter. Music typewriters were developed in the 19th century, but it wasn't until the mid 1900s that they became popular. They employed musical symbols instead of letters.