CLIR Hidden Collections Grant Project

By Michael R. Hall, Graduate Student Processing Assistant, Southern Christian Leadership Conference records, MARBL

"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.

In the first of three blog posts on the audio visual material contained in the SCLC collection, “New Insights into the Early Political and Philosophical Thought of Jesse L. Jackson,” I noted the wonderful range of media, from cassette tapes and reel to reels to VHS and DVDs, which offer insight into the many activities undertaken by SCLC.  In this second installment, I discuss audio material documenting SCLC’s historical engagement with exposing and combating healthcare problems in the U.S.

By Alison Hughes, Archival Assistant, Voter Education Project Collection, Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center

"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.

John Lewis became a Civil Rights leader during his college days. As a student of Fisk University, Lewis organized his first sit-in in 1960. The next year Lewis became one of the first participants in the CORE sponsored Freedom Ride. He was one of the first to be attacked when the bus reached Rock Hill, SC and then again when he reached Montgomery, AL. When the bus arrived at in Jackson, Mississippi, Lewis was arrested and sent to Parchman State Penitentiary.

By Courtney Chartier, Assistant Head, Archives Research Center, Atlanta University Center

"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.

The Voter Education Project (VEP) served primarily as a funding source for voter registration and education programs around the South. VEP collected financial and administrative reports from the projects that they funded, but they also collected flyers, posters and other printed ephemera produced by those organizations, or produced for elections in those areas.