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. At the AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library, we are always striving to improve our digital collections. We welcome additional information about people, places, or events depicted in any of the works in this collection. To submit information, please contact us at DSD@auctr.edu.
Aug 7, 2023

Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism

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.

At the AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library, we are always striving to improve our digital collections. We welcome additional information about people, places, or events depicted in any of the works in this collection. To submit information, please contact us at DSD@auctr.edu.
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Correspondence from an unidentified person about living In Puerto Rico, colonialism, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. 3 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Letter to Ruby Doris Smith From Unidentified Person, circa 1967
Date Created
1966/1968
Description
Correspondence from an unidentified person about living In Puerto Rico, colonialism, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. 3 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Article in Ebony Magazine highlighting Black women advocates in the South including Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Annie Devine, Rosa Parks, Daisy Bates, Gloria Richardson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson, Marian Wright, and Hattie Parker. 8 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
"Builders Of A New South, Heroines of Dixie", August 1966
Date Created
1966-08
Description
Article in Ebony Magazine highlighting Black women advocates in the South including Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Annie Devine, Rosa Parks, Daisy Bates, Gloria Richardson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson, Marian Wright, and Hattie Parker. 8 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Articles from Jet magazine about the American Labor Federation, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and Reverend Fauntroy all about promoting equal rights. The article's first page talks about the American Labor Federation and its endorsement of President Lyndon B. Johnson about residential integration. The Second page is titled "SNCC, Dick Gregory Snub White," about SNCC and the racial tensions during the Vietnam War. The rest of the article discusses the negotiations and talks among CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), SNCC, and the White House about racial justice and inequality. 4 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Articles in JET magazine, June 1966
Date Created
1966-06
Creator
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Commitee
Description
Articles from Jet magazine about the American Labor Federation, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and Reverend Fauntroy all about promoting equal rights. The article's first page talks about the American Labor Federation and its endorsement of President Lyndon B. Johnson about residential integration. The Second page is titled "SNCC, Dick Gregory Snub White," about SNCC and the racial tensions during the Vietnam War. The rest of the article discusses the negotiations and talks among CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), SNCC, and the White House about racial justice and inequality. 4 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations, Presidents, Political participation, African American newspapers
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Get-well letter to Ruby Doris Smith from Guy Carawan, Candie Carawan, and Evan. 2 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Get Well Letter to Ruby Doris Smith From Guy, Candie, and Evan Carawan, circa 1967
Date Created
1965/1969
Author
Carwan, Guy
Description
Get-well letter to Ruby Doris Smith from Guy Carawan, Candie Carawan, and Evan. 2 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Brochure promoting Charlie Cobb's upcoming book to be produced by Flute Publications about the Black experience. Brochure has donation and order request form. 2 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Flute Publication Brochure for Charlie Cobb Book, circa 1967
Date Created
1965/1969
Description
Brochure promoting Charlie Cobb's upcoming book to be produced by Flute Publications about the Black experience. Brochure has donation and order request form. 2 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Letter to Ruby Doris Smith from Charlie Cobb, attaching letters written to New York Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Office about his trip to Vietnam. 7 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Letter to Ruby Doris Smith From Charlie Cobb, circa 1967
Date Created
1965/1969
Author
Cobb, Charlie
Description
Letter to Ruby Doris Smith from Charlie Cobb, attaching letters written to New York Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Office about his trip to Vietnam. 7 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Get-well letter from Maria Varela to Ruby Doris Smith. 2 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Get Well Letter to Ruby Doris Smith From Maria Varela, circa 1967
Date Created
1965/1969
Author
Varela, Maria, 1940-
Description
Get-well letter from Maria Varela to Ruby Doris Smith. 2 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Note to Ruby Doris Smith from Freddie to get well and items from her old office. 1 page.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Correspondence to Ruby Doris Smith From Freddie, circa 1967
Date Created
1965/1969
Description
Note to Ruby Doris Smith from Freddie to get well and items from her old office. 1 page.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Visitors register for Ruby Doris Smith Robinson's funeral, with additional visitor sign in. 11 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Funeral Visitors Register for Ruby Doris Smith Robinson, circa 1967
Date Created
1965/1969
Description
Visitors register for Ruby Doris Smith Robinson's funeral, with additional visitor sign in. 11 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Visitors register for Ruby Doris Smith Robinson's funeral. 10 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Funeral Visitors Register for Ruby Doris Smith Robinson, circa 1967
Date Created
1965/1969
Description
Visitors register for Ruby Doris Smith Robinson's funeral. 10 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
An image of Ruby Doris Smith Robinson at the Student Nonviolent Committee Headquarters in Ebony Magazine. The caption notes the percentage of women in the movement, and Ruby Doris' comment of needing more people regardless of gender. 1 page.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Ruby Doris Smith Robinson at Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Headquarters, circa 1967
Date Created
1965/1969
Description
An image of Ruby Doris Smith Robinson at the Student Nonviolent Committee Headquarters in Ebony Magazine. The caption notes the percentage of women in the movement, and Ruby Doris' comment of needing more people regardless of gender. 1 page.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Article by Lerone Bennett Jr. about the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee and its commitment to the "Southern Freedom Movement." 6 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
"SNCC: Rebels With A Cause" July 20, 1965
Date Created
1965-07-20
Author
Bennett, Lerone., Jr.
Description
Article by Lerone Bennett Jr. about the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee and its commitment to the "Southern Freedom Movement." 6 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Honorary Invitation from the JRDA National Council, Democratic Party of Guinea - African Democratic Rally to Ruby Doris Smith for the National Arts Festival from September 14, 1964 through September 28, 1964. 1 page.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Democratic Party of Guinea Honorary Invitation to National Arts Week for Ruby Doris Smith, September 14, 1964
Date Created
1964-09-14
Description
Honorary Invitation from the JRDA National Council, Democratic Party of Guinea - African Democratic Rally to Ruby Doris Smith for the National Arts Festival from September 14, 1964 through September 28, 1964. 1 page.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
People form a line and hold hands with protest signs for William Lewis Moore, a CORE member who was shot in Keener, Alabama, during a protest march.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Demonstration for William Lewis Moore, circa 1963
Date Created
1961/1965
Description
People form a line and hold hands with protest signs for William Lewis Moore, a CORE member who was shot in Keener, Alabama, during a protest march.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations, Protest movements
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Article in the Atlanta Inquirer, "Jailed Spelman Coed Writes Atlanta Sit-ins" about Ruby Doris Smith's letter to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from Hinds County Jail in Jackson, Mississippi. 1 page.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
"Jailed Spelman Coed Writes Atlanta Sit ins", June 17, 1961
Date Created
1961-06-17
Description
Article in the Atlanta Inquirer, "Jailed Spelman Coed Writes Atlanta Sit-ins" about Ruby Doris Smith's letter to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from Hinds County Jail in Jackson, Mississippi. 1 page.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Atlanta Inquirer article about four Atlanta student leaders who filed a desegregation suit against the City of Atlanta to gain equal access to Atlanta's parks, tennis courts, and City Auditorium. Four student leaders from Atlanta filed a desegregation lawsuit in U.S. District Court on May 17, seeking to abolish racial segregation in all public facilities owned, operated, maintained, or subsidized by the City of Atlanta, Georgia. The students cited refusals of equal use of Atlanta�s parks, tennis courts, and the Municipal Auditorium as the basis for their lawsuit. They filed the suit without an attorney and paid fees for warrants to be served on the defendants. 1 page.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
"Sue for Equal Use of Parks", May 20, 1961
Date Created
1961-05-20
Description
Atlanta Inquirer article about four Atlanta student leaders who filed a desegregation suit against the City of Atlanta to gain equal access to Atlanta's parks, tennis courts, and City Auditorium. Four student leaders from Atlanta filed a desegregation lawsuit in U.S. District Court on May 17, seeking to abolish racial segregation in all public facilities owned, operated, maintained, or subsidized by the City of Atlanta, Georgia. The students cited refusals of equal use of Atlanta�s parks, tennis courts, and the Municipal Auditorium as the basis for their lawsuit. They filed the suit without an attorney and paid fees for warrants to be served on the defendants. 1 page.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Correspondence from Warren Scott, the Episcopal Chaplain at the Atlanta University Center, inviting Mary Ann Smith to dinner at the Canterbury House. The dinner guests are "members of the Canterbury Association who were in jail, some student movement leaders, and others." 2 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Correspondence to Mary Ann Smith From Warren Scott, March 22, 1961
Date Created
1961-03-22
Author
Scott, Warren
Description
Correspondence from Warren Scott, the Episcopal Chaplain at the Atlanta University Center, inviting Mary Ann Smith to dinner at the Canterbury House. The dinner guests are "members of the Canterbury Association who were in jail, some student movement leaders, and others." 2 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American women, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations, African American student movements
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Correspondence from William H. Borders and C.M. Lowe to Mary Ann Smith notifying her of a meeting for the Atlanta Student Adult Liaison. 1 page.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Correspondence to Mary Ann Smith From William H. Borders and C.M. Lowe, March 22, 1961
Date Created
1961-03-22
Author
Borders, Williams H., Lowe, C.M.
Description
Correspondence from William H. Borders and C.M. Lowe to Mary Ann Smith notifying her of a meeting for the Atlanta Student Adult Liaison. 1 page.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
COAHR meeting notes about student demonstrations and planning. 11 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
Committee on the Appeal for Human Rights Meeting Notes, March 7, 1961
Date Created
1961-03-07
Creator
Committee on the Appeal for Human Rights
Description
COAHR meeting notes about student demonstrations and planning. 11 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American pioneers, African American student movements, Race discrimination, Groups and organizations
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
In Fayette and Haywood counties in Tennessee, African American families faced evictions and boycotts after registering to vote. The evictees set up a tent city called "Freedom Village" as they refused to leave their homes. Operation Freedom, a nationwide initiative, was established to provide financial assistance, including loans and gifts, to support those affected by the evictions and boycotts. 4 pages.
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism
"A Call for Help", March 1961
Date Created
1961-03
Creator
Operation Freedom
Description
In Fayette and Haywood counties in Tennessee, African American families faced evictions and boycotts after registering to vote. The evictees set up a tent city called "Freedom Village" as they refused to leave their homes. Operation Freedom, a nationwide initiative, was established to provide financial assistance, including loans and gifts, to support those affected by the evictions and boycotts. 4 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights, African American student movements, Groups and organizations, Demographic surveys, Race discrimination, Voter registration
Collection
Mary Ann Smith Wilson, Ruby Doris Smith Robinson Collection on Student Activism