MG-208. WILLIAM W. SCRANTON PAPERS, 1963-1967.
William Warren Scranton (b.1917) was governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967. Prior to that, he was special assistant to the United States secretary of state, and was elected a member of the Eighty-seventh Congress from the 10th Congressional District of Pennsylvania in 1960. Scranton was also an unsuccessful candidate for president of the United States in 1964. The papers are arranged in the following series: General File, 1963-1966; Subject File, 1963-1967; Legislative File, 1963-1966; Boards and Commissions File, 1963-1966 (appointments: letters of application and recommendations); Releases, 1962-1967; End of Administration File, 1967; James Reichley, legislative secretary, 1962-1966; William D. Johnson, executive assistant, 1963-1966; William G. Murphy, Secretary, 1963-1967; Jack L. Conmy, press secretary, 1963-1966; Robert C. McCormick, public information specialist, 1963-1966. Within each series, folders are arranged alphabetically by subjects or names of persons or organizations. Within each folder, papers are arranged chronologically. The following series contains information on African Americans.
General File, 1963-1966. This series contains information on the following topics:
African Descendants Pioneering Association. Advocated the return of Americans of African descent to Africa.
African Students. Studying at Penn State University.
Afro-American Advancement Association for Human Dignity. Correspondence about discrimination and related subjects.
Edward W. Brooke (then attorney general of Massachusetts). Correspondence to and from Governor Scranton with reference to Brooke’s senatorial campaign and preparation of a position paper on "Creative Federalism."
Cheyney State College, 1963-1966. Letters relating to appointment of a new president during 1965, the appointment of Hobson R. Reynolds as a board member in 1963, construction of new athletic field and physical education plant in 1964, installation of directional highway signs in 1964, a pay freeze and salary increments during 1963, invitations sent to the governor during 1963-66, negative Philadelphia Inquirer articles about Cheyney during fall 1964.
Civil Rights, 1963-1966. Materials on Pennsylvania’s Civil Rights Act and the Civil Rights Task Force, discrimination, Civil Rights Day, and speeches delivered by Scranton on these subjects.
Human Relations. Materials concerning the Human Relations Commission and Human Relations Week.
Dr. Alma Johnson Illery. Letters reference the annual celebration of National George Washington Carter Day and activities of the National Achievement Clubs.
Institute on Local Government Responsibility in Racial and Community Tension. Information on "Brotherhood Week" related conferences.
Lincoln University. Correspondence and material relating to the university’s budget, the dedication of new buildings, commencements, and the Founder’s Day ceremony during which Scranton received an honorary doctorate of civil law degree.
Migratory Labor Program. Annual reports for 1964 and 1965 and accompanying letters and information on Family Day Care for Migrant Children, Head Start programs, and Neighborhood Youth Corps, 1965-66.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1963-1966. Complaints of excessive violence towards African Americans by the Pennsylvania State Police, discrimination in housing and against nursing home employees, discrimination in housing, the lack of representation in the military, invitations to NAACP dinners, the integration of Girard College, the NAACP National Convention, Emancipation Proclamation Day, and the NAACP Rules for Public Demonstration.
"Negroes." Materials relating to efforts by the National Negro Century of Progress Committee to create special fifty cent pieces commemorating the progress of the American Negro, references to the Negro in America television series, a book entitled the Negro American, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, an exhibition of contemporary Negro art, the Negro Educational Emergency Drive, the Conference on Negro Employment, Negro History Week, a list of Pennsylvania newspapers, political activities, the Negro Republican Assembly and Republican State Council, the Negro Women’s Community League, African American attitudes toward Governor Scranton’s administration, and general research on Blacks in Pennsylvania divided under the headings doctors, teachers, veterans, and voters.
Opportunities Industrialization Centers (OIC). Over twenty letters referencing Governor Scranton’s designation of the months of April and May 1966 as OIC Months in Pennsylvania. Contains letters to Governor Scranton from Rev. Leon H. Sullivan, founder and president of OIC, invitation letters to the governor from OIC to attend dedication ceremonies for two new Philadelphia OIC centers in May and November 1965, a letter from William J. Devlin, president of the Republican Central Campaign Committee, giving the governor "a complete background of Rev. Sullivan’s tremendous work in developing the Opportunity Industrialization Center," April 1965, a letter concerning a complaint of state non-support of OIC, a letter from the Department of Commerce documenting state support, and letter of congratulations from the governor to Dr. Sullivan on receiving the Philadelphia Award.
Philadelphia Tribune, 1963-1966. Subscription statement to the governor’s office, letter to the governor requesting him to serve as honorary chairman for the twelfth annual Philadelphia Tribune Charities, Inc. Dinner on May 7, 1964, a letter from the governor accepting the chairmanship, a printed program of the twelfth annual dinner that is illustrated with photographs of those receiving awards: Mr. Roy Campanella, Attorney William T. Coleman, and Mrs. Albert M. Greenfield (awards were presented by Honorable William H. Hastie, Mr. Joe Black, Mr. E. Washington Rhodes and address was given by Honorable A. Leon Higginbotham), a program listing all members of the dinner committees, a letter of invitation to attend the dedication of a new building on September 13, 1964, a request to the governor to contribute to the Tribune’s special edition tribute to organized labor, an invitation to the governor to be speaker at the Philadelphia Tribune Charities fourteenth annual dinner on April 28, 1966, and a copy of Governor Scranton’s address given at this dinner.
Urban Leagues of Lancaster County and of Philadelphia. Letter from the executive director of Lancaster’s Urban League, Edward W. Allen, asking Governor Scranton to use his power to prevent the KKK from "becoming entrenched in Lancaster County and in Pennsylvania" and letters from the executive director of Philadelphia’s Urban League thanking the governor for appointing an African American to the Philadelphia office of the Bureau of Employment Security and for his support of public assistance and a year-end report for 1964.
Young Men’s Christian Association. Information regarding Harrisburg’s Forster Street YMCA and a congratulatory greeting to the YMCA in recognition of the dedication of the new Camp Curtin YMCA building at Sixth and Woodbine Streets, Harrisburg October 2, 1966.
Subject File, 1963-1967. The following subjects relevant to African Americans are documented:
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Information on programs that resulted from legislation such as the Anti-Poverty Program, 1964; Community Action Program (CAP), 1966; Neighborhood Youth Corps, 1965-66; and Project Head Start.
Human Relations Commission, 1963-1967. Press releases, civil rights bills, investigations into racial conflict in Chester, annual reports, propaganda and newsletters, the integration of Girard College, newsletters of Harrisburg’s Human Relations Council, a formal statement by Scranton on the situation in Selma, Alabama, sessions of "Government Responsibility in Racial and Community Tension," letters concerning a bi-racial tutorial project in Philadelphia, information about rioting in Folcroft, Pennsylvania, essays against civil rights by the "Rhyming Martian," and references to the Philadelphia riots of 1964.
Boards and Commission and Files-Appointments, 1963-1966.
Letters of Application and Recommendation (OK), 1963-1966. This file contains correspondence and news releases concerning applicants nominated or rejected to serve on boards of the following: Cheyney State Teachers College, 1963-66; the Human Relations Commission, 1963-66; Governor’s Committee on Migratory Labor, 1963-64; and Scotland School for Veterans Children, 1963 and 1965.
James Reichley, Legislative Secretary, 1962-1966.
Departmental Legislation, 1964-1965. Included is a folder on Civil Rights, 1964-1965, with information on anti-discrimination legislation in twenty-two states and legislative proposals to amend Pennsylvania’s Human Relations Act.
Subject File, 1962-1966. Under the subject "Negroes, 1962," there is information on the sixth annual report on the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission; the Negro Press Digest (June 23-July 28, 1962); Scranton’s statement on "Campaigning and Better Understanding the Needs of Minorities, Especially Negroes"; and Scranton’s statement before the Republican Party Platform Committee concerning his stand on the civil rights issue.
William D. Johnson, Assistant Secretary to the Governor.
Letters of Application and Recommendation, 1963-1966. Included is correspondence relating to applicants to serve on boards of the following: Commission on Racial Demonstration of Chester, 1964; Cheyney State College, 1963, 1964; Human Relations Commission, 1963-65; Lincoln University, 1963-1966, with information on gubernatorial scholarships to the university, and a university publication dealing with civil rights; Governor’s Committee on Migratory Labor, 1965; and Scotland School for Veterans Children, 1963-66.
Jack L. Conmy, Press Secretary, Governor’s Office, 1963-1966.
Category File, 1963-1966. This file contains information on the following topics: Civil Rights, 1963-1966, news releases and articles concerning demonstrations, segregation and integration, interviews with Scranton, and a Chronology of Civil Rights in Pennsylvania; Girard College, 1965, news editorials and articles dealing with integration efforts and information on court proceedings; copies of several newspaper articles concerning "Human Relations," 1966; and "Racial," 1963-1966, with news releases, articles, and editorials dealing with discrimination in housing, racism in politics, segregation/integration, riots in Chester and Folcroft, Pennsylvania, and the situation in Selma, Alabama, the NAACP, rallies and demonstrations, etc.
Robert C. McCormick, Public Information Specialist, 1963-1966.
General File, 1963-1996. Includes information on the following subjects: Anti-poverty, 1965, a press release announcing the governor’s approval of an anti-poverty program for Chester and the Summary of the Proposed Greater Chester Movement Title II Program; a folder labeled "Child Welfare Services, 1966," a press release announcing funding for state Child Welfare Services; a folder labeled "Public Welfare, 1964-65," a press release announcing the allocation of funds to subsidize juvenile probation services, police service to youth, medical assistance for the elderly, and child welfare programs; a folder labeled "Student Loans, 1964", and copy of a "Status Plan for Guaranty Loan Plan for 1964" that contains a chart showing Cheyney University receiving $25,503 in student loan money for forty-one students and Lincoln University receiving $2,000 for two students.