This is Collected, a podcast from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History with support from PRX.

I'm Dr. Crystal Klingenberg, curator of music.

This is episode five, to advocate like Bernice.

A lot of the stories we've told have begun at pivotal moments in music history.

Whether that be amateur night at the Apollo or the dawn of the disco era, these instances

have shaped the fabric of black music making.

But today's story begins, in my office.

Sometimes it doesn't open on the first try. No?

Give it another go.

Oh, there it is.

Hello.

What are you doing in here?

I work at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History,

and on this day, curator Dr. Madupi Labode, graduate fellow,

Camille Borders, intern Kathleen Fellie, and myself, are on a mission to check out some materials

in the collection from Dr. Bernice Johnson Regan. First, we head to an on-site collection room

to check out some incredible stage costumes from Regan's vocal ensemble, Sweet Honey in the Rock.

When they were donated to the museum by Dr. Regan in 2003, she also included some fantastic reference materials,

programs and magazine articles that speak to the group's activities and evolution.

We brought these materials to my office to review together.

Looking at this treasure trove of group history,

I came across a promotional flyer from the late 1970s that struck me.

...