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Nerissa Brokenburr Stickney

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American pianist (1913–1960)
Nerissa Brokenburr Stickney
A young African-American woman, smilingNerissa Brokenburr, from a 1935 newspaper
BornNerissa Lee Brokenburr
March 22, 1913
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
DiedJuly 31, 1960 (aged 47)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Other namesNerissa Lee Stickney
Occupation(s)Pianist, music educator
ParentRobert 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

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. She graduated from Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis in 1929. As a teen in 1927, she was a soloist at the annual meeting of the Indiana Convention of Negro Musicians.

Her sister Alice was also a musician; both sisters studied piano and organ at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. and were members of Delta Sigma Theta. She earned a B.A. degree in 1933 and a Mus.B. degree in 1935. 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.

She was friend of Indianapolis clubwoman Louise Terry Batties from their teens, and was a bridesmaid at the Terry-Batties wedding in 1937.

Career

Immediately after Oberlin, Brokenburr gave a "sound, intelligent, and musical" recital in Indianapolis, 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. In 1939 she attended the annual convention of the Association of Music Teachers at Negro Schools, held at Fisk University. In 1940 she married a fellow instructor at the college.

Personal life

Nerissa Brokenburr married fellow educator William Homer Stickney Jr. (1902-1982) in 1940. They lived in Prairie View, Texas, and had three children together, Janice, William, and Roberta. She died after a heart attack in 1960, aged 47 years, at a hospital in Houston, Texas.

References

  1. Robert Lee Brokenburr Papers and Photographs, ca1937-1973, Indiana Historical Society.
  2. Program, Second Annual Commencement of the Crispus Attucks High School, Indianapolis (June 7, 1929): 3.
  3. "Attucks High to Stage Play". Indianapolis Times. March 22, 1929. p. 20. Retrieved February 6, 2021 – via Chronicling America.
  4. "Musicians to Assemble Here". The Richmond Item. 1927-11-24. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "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.
  6. "Piano Recital". The Indianapolis News. 1935-05-18. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Nerissa Stickney, Sen. Brokenburr's Daughter, Dies". The Indianapolis News. 1960-08-02. p. 17. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Graduate in Recital". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1935-05-18. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Diepenbrock, David (1993). "Black Women and Oberlin College in the Age of Jim Crow" (PDF). UCLA Historical Journal. 13: 27–59.
  10. "Ethical Culture Begins Out of Doors Meetings". The Indianapolis Recorder. July 26, 1930. p. 6. Retrieved February 6, 2021 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
  11. "Bride of Doctor". The Indianapolis News. 1937-08-07. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Whitworth, Walter (1935-05-24). "Movies n' Everything". The Indianapolis News. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 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.
  14. "Quartet to Appear at A&M Vespers". Tallahassee Democrat. 1937-10-17. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "A&M Vesper Program to Feature Christmas". Tallahassee Democrat. 1938-12-18. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "College Plans Two Vespers". Tallahassee Democrat. 1939-04-02. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Teachers of Music Meet at Fisk U." California Eagle. 1939-05-11. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Social item". The Indianapolis News. 1940-08-24. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "The William Stickneys!". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1940-09-14. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Leader Feted on Vacation". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1946-09-07. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Nerissa Stickney". The Indianapolis News. 1960-08-03. p. 26. Retrieved 2021-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
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