Nerissa Brokenburr Stickney Explained

Nerissa Brokenburr Stickney
Other Names:Nerissa Lee Stickney
Birth Name:Nerissa Lee Brokenburr
Birth Date:March 22, 1913
Birth Place:Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Death Date:July 31, 1960 (aged 47)
Death Place:Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation:Pianist, music educator
Parents: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

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

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

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. She died after a heart attack in 1960, aged 47 years, at a hospital in Houston, Texas.[21]

Notes and References

  1. https://indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/robert-lee-brokenburr-papers-and-photographs.pdf Robert Lee Brokenburr Papers and Photographs, ca1937-1973
  2. Program, Second Annual Commencement of the Crispus Attucks High School, Indianapolis (June 7, 1929): 3.
  3. News: March 22, 1929. Attucks High to Stage Play. 20. Indianapolis Times. February 6, 2021. Chronicling America.
  4. News: 1927-11-24. Musicians to Assemble Here. 8. The Richmond Item. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  5. News: April 25, 1931. Miss Alice Olga Brokenburr Guest Artist at Fort Wayne During National Music Week. 6. Indianapolis Recorder. February 5, 2021. Hoosier State Chronicles.
  6. News: 1935-05-18. Piano Recital. 13. The Indianapolis News. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  7. News: 1960-08-02. Nerissa Stickney, Sen. Brokenburr's Daughter, Dies. 17. The Indianapolis News. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  8. News: 1935-05-18. Graduate in Recital. 8. The Pittsburgh Courier. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  9. Diepenbrock. David. 1993. Black Women and Oberlin College in the Age of Jim Crow. UCLA Historical Journal. 13. 27–59.
  10. News: July 26, 1930. Ethical Culture Begins Out of Doors Meetings. 6. The Indianapolis Recorder. February 6, 2021. Hoosier State Chronicles.
  11. News: 1937-08-07. Bride of Doctor. 15. The Indianapolis News. 2021-02-07. Newspapers.com.
  12. News: Whitworth. Walter. 1935-05-24. Movies n' Everything. 12. The Indianapolis News. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  13. News: Hickman. Walter D.. May 24, 1935. Talented Young Pianist Presented in Able Recital at Crispus Attucks. 9. Indianapolis Times. February 6, 2021. NewspaperArchive.com.
  14. News: 1937-10-17. Quartet to Appear at A&M Vespers. 8. Tallahassee Democrat. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  15. News: 1938-12-18. A&M Vesper Program to Feature Christmas. 7. Tallahassee Democrat. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  16. News: 1939-04-02. College Plans Two Vespers. 13. Tallahassee Democrat. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  17. News: 1939-05-11. Teachers of Music Meet at Fisk U.. 4. California Eagle. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  18. News: 1940-08-24. Social item. 15. The Indianapolis News. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  19. News: 1940-09-14. The William Stickneys!. 8. The Pittsburgh Courier. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  20. News: 1946-09-07. Leader Feted on Vacation. 9. The Pittsburgh Courier. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.
  21. News: 1960-08-03. Nerissa Stickney. 26. The Indianapolis News. 2021-02-06. Newspapers.com.

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