Group portrait of students and adults seated in front of a Victorian style house. In the middle of the front row is a sign reading "W. T. Wilkins Music School / E.M.C. Music Club / The W. T. Wilkins Pupil Recital / At Lyceum T.M.A. Hall / Tuesday / May 15th 1917." William T. Wilkins studied music from a young age, mowing lawns to pay for piano lessons. His father wanted him to become a mechanic, and he was the first African American to be employed at the Edison Light and Power Company. However, he eventually received a certificate of completion in music instruction and opened Wilkins Piano Academy, the first interracial piano school in the city of Los Angeles, in 1912. Prof. W.T. Wilkins, music teacher's music school recital May 15, 1917.
Type
image
Identifier
uclalsc_1889_b22_f02_001a.tif ark:/21198/z1184qp4
Subject
African American music teachers African American musicians Wilkins, William T., 1887-1972
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