Archival Collections

This collection consists of records generated by Eliza Paschall and the Atlanta Community Relations Commission (ACRC) during her year as Executive Director of the ACRC. The bulk of the collection is research materials gathered by Paschall and the ACRC to support their work in the community. The files contain reports and statistics that document such things as employment discrimination, police action in the Dixie Hills Riots, and desegregation efforts in the public schools. Of special interest are the studies which survey the conditions of Atlanta's disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The Juanita Marshall Eber collection includes her personal papers, professional correspondence, memorabilia, printed material and photographs. A significant portion of the collection contains papers, correspondence, printed materials and photographs relating to the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority with special focus on the 75th Anniversary Celebration.

George Alexander Towns was an educator, author, and community activist. For most of his life, Towns was affiliated with Atlanta University (AU), first as a student, then professor and finally as an active alumnus. He was active in the community as a member of the Atlanta branch of the NAACP, the Citizen's League, the Boule of Atlanta (Sigma Pi Phi), and the Community Chest. A member of the Harvard University Class of 1900, he was also active in the Harvard University Alumni Association and in the 1920's used his class connections to raise funds for Atlanta University. This collection consists of the papers of Towns from 1851 to 1963. It includes correspondence, literary works, diaries, photographs, and publications.

The Henry P. Slaughter collection consists of materials collected by Henry P. Slaughter which emphasize the early history of African Americans in the United States. The collection is composed mainly of slave papers and correspondence of African American leaders, abolitionists, and political figures of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The materials include pamphlets, sermons, speeches, reports, correspondence, and legal documents.

Edward Twichell Ware, son of Edmund Asa Ware, (first president of Atlanta University 1869-1885) became Atlanta University's third president in 1907 and served until he became seriously ill in 1919. Ware was born in Atlanta in 1874 and attended his father's alma mater, Yale University. After graduation he was designated as Northern Secretary for Atlanta University, a position which mainly involved raising funds for Atlanta University by addressing organizations on the work of the school. In 1901 Ware was appointed Chaplain of Atlanta University. He served in this position while continuing his fund raising efforts until he was elected President in 1907. During the administration of Edward Ware, new courses in industrial arts and education were added to meet the demand for Atlanta University graduates as teachers in the public schools.

The records of John Hope (1897-1953) include documentation on the development of what would later be called the Atlanta University Center, when Atlanta University aligned with Morehouse College and Spelman College to form an academic consortium. During Hope's eight years as president, the graduate school was launched, the Department of Fine Arts was established, and the Trevor Arnett Library was opened. The Hope Papers include correspondence, administrative, and financial records for all eight years of his presidency, as well as some personal and family records.

Thomas Clarkson (b. 1760 d. 1846) was a renowned English abolitionist who spent his adult life fighting to end slavery. As a leader in the British anti-slavery society, Clarkson was instrumental in getting the English Parliament to ban the slave trade in 1807 and to abolish the institution of slaver in 1833. The majority of this small collection is comprised of correspondence from Thomas Clarkson and his wife, Catherine, to her father, William Buck. Notable writings by Clarkson include the original essay An Liceat Nolentes In Servitutom Dare? [Is It Lawful to Make Slaves of Others Against Their Will?]. This essay, written in Latin, won the Chancellor's Prize at Cambridge College, England in 1785 and served as the basis for the expanded work, Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species, Particularly The African published in 1786.

Dr. Rufus Early Clement, the sixth President of Atlanta University, was the longest serving president in the history of the institution. While president, Clement served on the American Council on Education, the United Negro College Fund, and was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the United Service Organization. Clement served as president until his death in 1967. Materials consists of correspondence and reports from organizations such as Gammon Theological Seminary, the United Negro College Fund, National Education Association, Carnegie Research Fund, General Education Board, Harmon Foundation, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Atlanta Urban League, Southern Regional Council, Southern Conference for Human Welfare, Georgia Department of Education, and the United States Veterans Administration.

The Chautauqua Circle collection spans the years between 1913 and 2010. The bulk of the collection dates from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. The collection includes materials related to the anniversary celebrations, committees, events and meetings. It also contains correspondence, directories, financial records, member and speaker information, and year books. There are also folders relating to the subjects they research and general information about the Circle itself.

The Cullen Jackman Memorial Collection (1881-1995) documents the artistic and creative nature of those of African descent. A series of note within this collection are the photographs by Carl Van Vechten, an American writer, artistic photographer, and patron of the Harlem Renaissance. An appreciator of the arts, Van Vechten promoted many of the major figures of the Renaissance through his photography, including Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, Rose McClendon, and Ethel Waters.

This collection consists of correspondence and papers of John Brown, an American abolitionist. The collection contains letters from Brown's fellow abolitionist, Franklin Benjamin Sanborn concerning the Free-Soil contest in Kansas, the National Kansas Committee, and various state committees. The letters concern finances and the amassing of arms for Brown's insurgencies on Kansas soil. Two letters concerning Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, from local resident D. E. Henderson, give a detailed account of the foray. A military order, signed by Robert E. Lee, details a guard to escort Brown and his fellow prisoners to the Charleston jail.

The Morehouse College Photograph Collection includes photographs depicting the buildings and grounds, students, campus events and visitors, faculty, and individuals associated with Morehouse College dating from the 1880s through the 1970s. The images showcase aspects of the history of Morehouse College as the only all-male historically Black college in the United States. Morehouse College was founded by Reverend William Jefferson White in 1867, in Augusta, Georgia in the basement of Springfield Baptist Church and was known as The Augusta Theological Institute. After an invitation by the Reverend Frank Quarles in 1879, the College relocated to the basement of Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta, and changed its name to Atlanta Baptist Seminary. The College relocated once more to its present home in the West End community of Atlanta, Georgia in 1890, and changed its name one last time to Morehouse College in 1913. Part of this collection is held in the RWWL Archives Research Center, the photograph album is held at the Morehouse College Archives.

John H. Calhoun, Jr. was an Atlanta businessman, community leader, civil rights activist, and political organizer. These materials provide documentation on civil rights and the Atlanta business and political communities.

Oscar Lewis Harris, Jr. is a notable architect, artist, mentor, and author. During his over 40 year career, he created and designed "symbols of civilization" as a part of the Atlanta skyline and other cities in the South.

Wayman A. Carver (b. 1905 d. 1967), jazz musician and music educator, achieved acclaim for his virtuosity and artistry as a flutist during his tenure from 1934-39 with Chick Webb and his Orchestra. In the series "Giants of Jazz" (International Musician April 1963), Leonard Feather credits Wayman Carver as being internationally recognized as the first and only jazz musician to play the flute during the decade of the 1930s. Wayman Carver, a graduate of the class of 1929, is among the most notable alumni of Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University). Carver was an outstanding student and assisted with instruction and band direction. In 1942, Carver accepted a faculty position in the music department at his alma mater. Carver served on the Clark faculty for twenty-five years and was held in high esteem by his colleagues and students. The Clark College students dedicated the 1952 yearbook to Carver, and the college presented him a trophy and plaque in appreciation of his contributions.

Black Women In Radio (BWIR) is committed to the historical preservation of America's Black female broadcasters and their contributions to Black radio culture and digital media. BWIR conducts ongoing research to capture the perspectives of Black and minority women who might otherwise be excluded or overlooked in historic conversations curated by BWIR Founder, Felesha Love.

Dr. Bernard William Bell is an emeritus research professor at The Pennsylvania State University and an internationally known scholar of American and African American literature, language, and culture. Throughout his forty-year career in academia, Dr. Bell’s contributions to African American scholarship included serving as a co-founder and acting head of one of the nation’s first African American Studies programs, authoring and editing nine books and more than seventy articles and reviews, and teaching and lecturing in eight countries.

The Society for the Study of Black Religion (SSBR) is the oldest scholarly society dedicated to the study and production of knowledge about the broad diaspora of Black religion. The first meeting was in October, 1970, with the society's mission to "engage in research and discussion about the religious experiences of blacks and to promote the teaching of these experiences in colleges and universities." A constitution was adopted that gave purposes for the Society, these are: 1) To engage in scholarly research and discussion about the religious experience of Blacks; 2) To publish reports of its discussions and research; and 3) To encourage the teaching and discussion of the Black religious experience in the curricula of college or university departments of religion and theological seminaries.

The Joseph Echols and Evelyn Gibson Lowery Collection, circa 1900-2019, 1950-2013 (bulk), contains approximately 200 linear feet of personal papers, sermons, speeches, correspondence, SCLC and SCLC/WOMEN records, and hundreds of historical photographs and audiovisual records documenting the Lowery's struggle of justice and equality. The Lowery Trust granted sole ownership of the collection to Morehouse College in March 2021. Shortly thereafter, the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library was formally designated as custodian of the collection with responsibilities for housing and providing access for students, scholars, researchers, and the global community.

The Mary Ann Smith Wilson - Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism spans the dates 1948-2008 with the bulk of the material dated 1960-1967. The collection documents both Ruby Doris Smith Robinson's and Mary Ann Smith Wilson's participation in the civil rights movement and the organizations with which they were affiliated. Although the collection documents both sisters' activities, the bulk of the collection reflects Ruby Doris Smith Robinson’s activism activities in the civil rights movement. Also included in the collection are photographs, correspondences, news articles, programs, reports, and flyers.

This collection documents the Atlanta Student Movement during the Civil Rights Era. It highlights student activism in the Atlanta University Consortium (AUC); Clark College, Morris Brown, Morehouse College, Atlanta University, and Spelman College. The collection includes newspaper and journal articles, flyers, reports, photographs, and correspondence by and about students from the AUC schools. Of note are copies of An Appeal for Human Rights written by student leaders, which set forth the student's grievances, rights, and aspirations as well as their dissatisfaction with the status quo conditions of segregation and discrimination and the slow pace at which inherent human and civil rights were being meted out to African Americans. The Appeal was published as a full-page ad in the March 9, 1960 editions of the Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta Journal, and Atlanta Daily World. It was subsequently published in the New York Times, providing national awareness of student activism in the civil rights struggle in Atlanta. The issuance of the Appeal was followed by sit-ins and pickets at specifically targeted businesses, government and transportation facilities in Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia, and kneel-ins at churches. The participants in the Atlanta student movement organized commemorative reunions, 1990 and 2000 to re-examine the civil rights movement and discuss current efforts and projections for the future. Programs, minutes, correspondence, and news articles from the reunions are included in the collection.

Pauline Alice Young, a distinguished educator, librarian, historian, and civil rights activist, was born in 1900. Her impactful career included teaching, lecturing, and extensive community involvement. Young's lifelong commitment to equality and civil rights advocacy left an indelible mark on Delaware, earning her numerous awards and a place in the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women in 1982.

Maurice Pennington was a photographer and cartoonist for The Atlanta Inquirer during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. A talented multimedia artist, Pennington documented the boycotts, sit-ins, and the arrests of students, commenting critically on the political and social climate in Atlanta through cartoons - skewering local politicians, admonishing Black leaders for their accommodationist views, and reminding his audience of the incompatibility of segregation and democracy.