Civil Rights, Human Rights, and Social Justice: Special Collections

Martin Luther King, Jr. papers. The manuscripts, notebooks, correspondence, printed material, financial and legal papers, and other material of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) date from 1947 to 1964, ranging from his college years through various civil  rights campaigns to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A major resource for the history of social activism in             America. 

 

Howard Thurman papers. Howard Thurman (1900-1981) was a Black American clergyman, theologian, author, and orator. His manuscripts, correspondence, office files, audio recordings, and other items include several recordings of his influential sermons and lectures. Spouse of Sue Bailey Thurman (below). 

 

 

Sue Bailey Thurman papers.  Manuscripts, subject files, correspondence, personal memorabilia, and photographs from Sue Bailey Thurman (1903-1996), a Black American historian, editor, author, and feminist. Spouse of Howard Thurman (above). 

 

 

Elie Wiesel papers. The manuscripts, correspondence, printed material, research material, audio and video recordings, and other material from Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) document his varied life and career as a Holocaust survivor, journalist, author, educator, and outspoken proponent of human rights.

Earl Anthony Papers. Earl Anthony (1940- ) is a Black American playwright, author, and activist. His papers include manuscripts, correspondence, printed material, and professional material, including several items regarding the Black Panther Party, of which he was one of the earliest members, and the African People's Repertory Theater. 

 

Floyd Barbour Papers. Floyd Barbour (1938-2008) was a Black American playwright, author, and professor of Black Studies at Simmons University and Boston University. His manuscripts, correspondence, and other materials include drafts and letters regarding the influential essay collections The Black Power Revolt (1968) and Black Seventies (1970), both edited by Barbour. 

 

Bay State Banner Collection. Founded in 1965, the Bay State Banner is a weekly newspaper devoted to chronicling the Black community in Boston. The collection includes numerous photographs originally published in the Banner, along with other material. 

 

Malcolm Boyd Papers. An ordained American Episcopal priest, Malcolm Boyd (1923-2015) rose to national prominence in the 1960s through his outreach to the civil rights and anti-war movements as well as his popular writings. In the late 1970s Boyd publicly came out as a gay man while continuing his ministry despite conservative opposition. His manuscripts, office files, correspondence, photographs, audio recordings, films, and memorabilia chronicle his varied career as a minister, author, and outspoken proponent of civil rights. 

 

Edward W. Brooke III Papers. Edward Brooke (1919-2015), the first Black American elected to the United States Senate by popular vote, represented Massachusetts as Attorney General from 1963 to 1967 and as a Senator from 1967 to 1979. The correspondence, photographs, audio and video recordings, professional material, and other items in Brooke’s papers document his political career and advocacy for civil rights. 

 

Allan Knight Chalmers Papers. An American minister, scholar, pacifist, and lawyer, Allan Knight Chalmers (1897-1972) was active in the civil rights cause for many years and was considered a mentor by Martin Luther King, Jr.  His manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and other material chronicle both his scholarship and his activism. 

 

Barbara Deming Papers. American journalist, author, editor, poet, and activist Barbara Deming (1917-1984) described herself as a radical pacifist lesbian feminist. Her varied career is captured in her manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and other material. 

 

P. D. East Papers. Known as “The Fearless Wit of Forrest County,” American journalist P. D. East (1921-1971) founded, wrote, and edited the satiric anti-Jim Crow newspaper The Petal Paper, based in Petal, Mississippi.  The correspondence and other material in his papers document both his wide readership and his work publishing the paper.  

 

Maxwell Geismar papers. A distinguished American critic and literary historian, Maxwell Geismar (1909-1979) was also known for his political radicalism. His manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, audio, and other items record his literary career alongside his close relationships to various communities of activists.

 

Emma Goldman collection. Correspondence, photographs, printed flyers and notices, and other items regarding the Lithuanian-American anarchist, feminist, and civil liberties activist Emma Goldman (1896-1940). 

 

David Halberstam papers. In his long and prolific career, American journalist David Halberstam (1934-2007) covered subjects ranging from the Vietnam War to media corporations to sports history. His manuscripts, letters, photographs, notes, audio and video recordings, and other items include his reportage on the early civil rights movement; as well as manuscripts and interviews for his 1998 book The Children, chronicling the 1959-1962 Nashville Student Movement. 

 

Libby Holman papers. Best known as a “torch singer,” Libby Holman (1904-1971) was also a devoted funder and supporter of the civil rights movement in America. Her correspondence, photographs, audio recordings, memorabilia, and other items cover both aspects of her life and career. 

 

Sarah Jones papers. Sarah Jones (1973- )  is a Tony and Obie Award-winning Black American playwright, actress and poet. Her manuscripts, correspondence, and other material documents this prolific career as well as her social justice advocacy and her relationships with various civil rights organizations.   

 

William Kunstler papers. Manuscript material for his memoir Deep in My Heart, from American leftist lawyer and civil rights activist William Kunstler (1930-2000). 

 

Edward S. Lewis papers. Manuscripts, correspondence, and various other documents regarding the work of Black American civil rights organizer and leader Edward S. Lewis (1901-1986) with the National Urban League and the National Cooperative Education Association. 

 

Lawrence E. Lucas papers. Black American priest, author, and civil rights activist Lawrence E. Lucas (1933-2020) served as pastor of the Resurrection Catholic Church in Harlem, New York City, from 1969 to 1992. His manuscripts, printed items, and other material record his outspoken public defiance of racism, economic oppression, and police brutality. 

 

Conrad Lynn papers.  Black American civil rights lawyer and activist Conrad Lynn (1908-1995) made his career representing other activists, including Vietnam draft resisters and Puerto Rican nationalists. His case files, correspondence, manuscripts, printed items, and other material documents his work from the 1950s through the 1970s.  

 

Robert B. McNeill papers. Robert B. McNeill (1915-1975) was an American Presbyterian minister and author who was dismissed from his position as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Columbus, Georgia, in 1959 due to his opposition to racial segregation. His manuscripts, correspondence, and other material record his subsequent career as an author, minister, and civil rights advocate. 

 

Abel Meeropol papers. The manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, printed material, and audio recordings of American songwriter Abel Meeropol (1903-1986) document his musical career, which often intersected with his leftist political activism. Under the pen name Lewis Allan, Meeropol wrote the anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit,” which Billie Holiday made into one of her signature pieces. 

 

George R. Metcalf papers. Manuscripts by American politician and historian George R. Metcalf (1914-2002) for his 1971 book Up From Within: Today's New Black Leaders, as well as Metcalf's manuscripts and research files for From Little Rock to Boston (1983) and Fair Housing Comes of Age (1988). 

 

Harvey Milk material. Part of the Tom O’Horgan papers; correspondence, photographs, campaign flyers, newsletters, and other material regarding pioneering activist and openly gay American politician Harvey Milk (1930-1978).

 

Truman Nelson papers. American historical novelist, radical civil rights activist, and conservationist Truman J. Nelson (1911-1987), while not a well-known figure, was acclaimed by figures like W. E. B. Du Bois, Robert F. Williams, and James Baldwin. His papers include manuscripts, correspondence, printed materials, research materials, photographs, diaries and journals, notebooks, and other materials.

 

Alex Poinsett papers. Black American journalist, editor, and author Alex Poinsett (1926-2015) was a contributor to, and senior editor of, Ebony magazine for three decades and a co-founder of the National Association of Black Journalists. His manuscripts, correspondence, printed material, and professional files document the Black American history -- including the civil rights movement -- from the 1960s to the 1980s, along with his own life and career. 

 

Alfred P. Russell papers. Alfred P. Russell (1881-1978) was a prominent Black American dentist active in local Boston politics and community affairs. His correspondence, diaries, photographs, professional material, and other material capture his own family and community activities as well as his close friendship with editor, publisher, and activist William Monroe Trotter.  

 

Sonia Sanchez papers. The long, prolific career of Black American poet, educator, and activist Sonia Sanchez (1934- ) – a major figure in the Black Arts Movement -- is captured in her manuscripts, correspondence, printed material, photographs, and other material. 

 

Charles Silberman papers. The papers of American economist, author, and editor Charles Silberman (1925-2011) include manuscripts, correspondence, and other material pertaining to his 1964 study on the grave effects of racism on American society, Crisis in Black and White; as well as his critiques of the American educational and criminal justice systems. 

 

Edward Starr collection. A collection of 18th and 19th century pamphlets and other writings regarding the slave trade and the abolitionist movement, including several significant slave narratives; as well as manuscripts and other material pertaining to Black American history. 

 

Julian D. Steele papers. Julian D. Steele (1906-1970) was a Black American housing and civil rights activist, social worker, and public official. His manuscripts, correspondence, professional documents, photographs, and other items include significant material on the Boston chapter of the NAACP as well as the various state and federal posts held by Steele, who was often the first Black person to hold the position. 

 

William Monroe Trotter papers/The Guardian of Boston collection. The papers of groundbreaking Black American journalist, editor, and publisher William Monroe Trotter (1872-1934) include published editions of his Black newspaper, The Guardian; as well as correspondence, photographs, ephemera, financial records, printed materials and the manuscript for Trotter's book, The Guardian of Boston. Also included are manuscripts, printed materials and correspondence by and regarding Black American journalist Mabray “Doc” Kountze (1910-1994), who edited The Guardian in its later years.  

Mary Benson Papers. Born in Pretoria, South Africa, Mary Benson (1919-2000) was a journalist and author who became a lifelong opponent of South African apartheid in the 1950s and a close friend to Nelson Mandela. She was the first South African called to testify before the United Nations Committee on Apartheid in 1963, after which she was forced to live in exile in London. Her manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and other material represent her work as a reporter, novelist, editor, biographer, and opponent of apartheid.  

 

Danilo Dolci Papers. Italian social reformer Danilo Dolci (1924-1997), the “Sicilian Gandhi,” spent four decades fighting for the rights of local farmers and artisans in Italy against corrupt government officials and police, greedy landlords, and the Mafia. His manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, printed material, and other items document these efforts alongside his journalism, poetry, and other writings. 

 

Carl von Ossietszky collection. A small collection of material regarding the German pacifist and journalist Carl von Ossietzky (1887-1938), an outspoken opponent of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany and winner of the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize.