MG-207. GEORGE M. LEADER PAPERS, 1955-1959.

George Michael Leader (b.1918) served as governor of Pennsylvania from 1955 to 1959. A native of York County, before his election, Leader served as chairman of the York County Democratic Committee and as a member of the Pennsylvania Senate. The papers are divided into subject, general, legislative, appointments, releases, and miscellaneous files.

Appointments (Statutory-Live File), 1955-1959.

Cheyney State Teachers College, 1956-1957. This folder contains the following items regarding members of the board of trustees:

• Letter from Albert L. Baily Jr., West Chester, to Governor Leader stating that he would like to serve on Cheyney’s board of trustees. Albert Baily’s grandfather, Joshua L. Baily of Philadelphia, had been the director of the Institute for Colored Youth (the predecessor of Cheyney), an active member of the board, and had assumed the costs of building the dormitory named Baily Hall.

• Letter from William J. Green to Genevieve Blatt recommending Adolphus W. Anderson Sr. be added to Cheyney’s board of trustees.

• Letter from David V. Randall to Andrew M. Bradley reminding him to send his appointment report to Cheyney.

• An up-to-date listing of the members of the board of trustees of Cheyney.

• Correspondence of the Governor’s Committee on Children and Youth (letterhead includes names of its board).

• Program of the Governor’s Conference on Today’s Opportunities and Responsibilities, September 27, 1958.

• A listing of statewide and regional organizations represented on the Governor’s Committee on Children and Youth.

Civil Rights, State Advisory Committee on, 1958. Contains letters recommending the following persons to serve on the State’s Advisory Committee on Civil Rights: Andrew M. Bradley, secretary of Property and Supplies; Lewis J. Carter, executive director of the Urban League in Philadelphia; Rev. James B. Cayce, pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Philadelphia; James D. Reber, general secretary of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches; and Rev. Leon H. Sullivan, pastor of the Zion Baptist Church of Philadelphia and founder of Opportunities Industrialization Centers.

Children and Youth, Governor’s Committee, 1955-1959. Includes a complimentary letter from the committee to the governor dated January 17, 1959. The letterhead letter contains the names of all the officers and members including Mrs. Homer Brown, wife of Judge Homer Brown of Allegheny County, as a delegate-at-large.

Fair Employment Practice Commission, 1955-1956. Contains letters recommending the following persons to serve on the Fair Employment Practices Commission, 1955-1956: Attorney Sadie T. M. Alexander, Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations; Thomas E. Barton; William Block, publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Dr. Richard Brown; W. Beverly Carter, publisher of the Pittsburgh Courier; Rev. Charles H. Foggie; Judge Charles E. Kenworthy; Robert Allen Klein; Aaron Levinson, president of Levinson Steel Company; Frederick McKee, National Casket Company; Attorney Henry R. Smith Jr.; Ewell Sykes, president of the Yellow Cab Company in Philadelphia; and Boyd L. Wilson, United Steel Workers of America.

Funeral Directors, State Board of, 1955-1957. This file has letters requesting that William F. Frederick from Braddock and Mrs. Millicent Hooper of Harrisburg be given consideration for membership on the State Board of Funeral Directors. The letters state that there should be some "colored representation" on the board. Also are letters from: the Keystone State Funeral Directors Association, signed by Leon K. Prout; the Democratic National Committee, signed by David L. Lawrence; and the Independent Funeral Directors Association, signed by Albert J. Charles.

Migratory Labor, Interdepartmental Committee on, 1958. Contains a status report on the committee’s achievements and plans.

Appointments (Statutory-O.K. Files), 1954-1959.

Cheyney State Teachers College, 1956-1957. File includes letters and news releases of the newly appointed board of trustees of Cheyney University: Albert L. Baily Jr., Verona E. Beckett, James M. Brittan, Paul Comly French, William M. Maier, C. Milbourne Smith, Dr. Orville R. Walls, and Dr. Alfred H. Williams.

Fair Employment Practice Commission, 1956-1957. Includes several letters recommending the following African Americans be appointed to the Fair Employment Practice Commission: Thomas Barton, Rev. Charles H. Foggie, and Henry R. Smith. There is also a letter of recommendation for Robert A. Klein and a booklet The Negro Market, issued by WDAS, an African American radio station in the Philadelphia area managed by Klein.

Judges, 1955-1959. Includes letters relating to the governor’s appointment of the Honorable Homer S. Brown as judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. Included also is a biographical sketch of Brown.

Labor Camps, Advisory Board on Revision of Regulations, 1957. Includes a news release issued by the governor on May 15, 1957 charging the board that "they will see to it that Pennsylvania protects the rights of the migrant farm workers," and a letter dated February 26, 1958 to Henry R. Smith, president of the Pittsburgh NAACP, asking for the organization’s support of the activities of the Committee on Migratory Labor.

General File, 1955-1959. Arranged alphabetically by subject.

African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1956. A letter of regret from the governor, April 6, 1956, declining an invitation to attend the eighty-third General Conference of the A.M.E.Z. Church, May 4, 1956, in Pittsburgh.

Raymond Pace Alexander, 1955-1958. Correspondence inviting the governor to attend a civic night celebration at the Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia; to the Philadelphia Tribune’s Charities Dinner; the wedding of Raymond Alexander’s daughter; a YMCA program in Downingtown; and the forty-first annual testimonial dinner of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity honoring Joseph S. Clark Jr. and Richardson Dilworth. Other correspondence addresses the following subjects: Educational Equality League and the problems of desegregation; the Supreme Court’s decision on integration in Pennsylvania; and a statement issued by the governor on a racial incident that occurred in Levittown.

Sarah A. Anderson, 1958. Letter to the secretary to the governor of August 7, 1958, requesting financial assistance to research and study teenage delinquency and to implement possible solutions to the problem. Other correspondence deals with deletion of racial terms on applications for state military veterans.

Armstrong Association of Philadelphia, 1957. The association was a United Way community-service agency which studied problems confronting the "Negro" community in the Delaware Valley, proposed concrete constructive action, and enlisted the support of concerned leadership. File includes a letter dated January 7, 1957 requesting the governor’s presence at the fiftieth anniversary celebration, the governor’s acceptance letter of January 14, 1957, and a program of the annual celebration. The program notes that Marian Anderson was honored and that Dr. Horace Mann Bond, president of Lincoln University, and Theodore W. Kheel, president of the National Urban League, were the keynote speakers.

George Washington Carver Day, January 5, 1956-1959. Includes letters dated October 13, 1955, October 1, 1956 and September 4, 1957 from Dr. Alma Johnson Illery requesting the governor proclaim George Washington Carver Day, on January 5, 1956, 1957, and 1958. There is also a letter dated December 15, 1958 from Robert D. Holiday, president of the George Washington Carver Memorial Institute, requesting the governor to proclaim January 5, 1959 as George Washington Carver Day. The letterhead contains the names of all officers and members of the institute.

Cheyney State Teachers College, 1955-1958. Includes a letter to Governor Leader from Milton M. James, chairman of Cheyney’s Alumni Association dated December 20, 1958 stating that the association would be establishing an archives collection and requesting the original will of Richard Humphreys. Humphrey designated $10,000 in his will to establish a school for children of African descendants and this bequest represents the beginning of what became Cheyney University. The file also includes communications referring to a boycott in the dining hall during the fall of 1958, a faculty award service on February 15, 1957, and a January 7, 1959 letter from the governor to Cheyney President Dr. James H. Duckrey.

Citizens’ Committee of Philadelphia, 1956. Requested the governor to proclaim a "Roy Campanella Day" for February 2, 1956.

T. E. Harper and L. G. Carr, 1958. Contains a letter dated June 12, 1958 to Attorney General Thomas McBride from Rev. T. E. Harper, pastor of St. Matthew A.M.E. Church and Rev. L. G. Carr, pastor of Vine Memorial Baptist Church, of Philadelphia, informing Governor Leader of an unprovoked attack on a group of African Americans at Forrest Park in Chalfont, Pennsylvania that occurred on May 30, 1958. The letter contains several signatures. Other supporting letters are included.

Citizens’ Committee on Housing, 1956. Press Release No. 7792, October 5, 1956, announcing Governor Leader’s appointment of the Citizens’ Committee on Housing. This committee was directed to survey the state’s part in promoting home construction, slum clearance, and urban redevelopment in Pennsylvania, including housing for African Americans.

Color Magazine, 1956. Letter to the governor referring to a special issue of an African American magazine entitled Color Magazine that would focus on the Democratic Party and "the sure way to win the Negro vote."

Committee on Discrimination in Housing, 1958. File includes a memo dated December 15, 1958 recommending legislation to terminate discrimination in housing.

Hugh Francisco, 1958. Letter to Governor Leader dated March 13, 1958 requesting that women be assigned as beauty parlor inspectors and citing an African American woman who reported illegal operations as an example of this approach.

Fraternal Order of Eagles, 1957-1958. Contains letters from November 10, 1957-September 4, 1958, addressing the "Jobs After 40" campaign created by the National Fraternal Order of Eagles to end job discrimination based on age. The letters also request Governor Leader’s support of the campaign, a copy of the Pennsylvania State Law on Age Discrimination, and letters thanking him for his support and participation.

Lincoln University, 1955-1959. Contains undated announcement by Dr. Horace M. Bond, president of Lincoln University, to the university’s board of trustees informing them of an unrestricted grant of $1,000 from the International Nickel Company. There is also a memorandum from Dr. Seiffert to the board of trustees informing them that Lincoln University has an independent charter giving the board the responsibility of selecting a president for the university. A letter also states that Governor Leader is considering recommendations to the board of trustees. Representative of some dated letters: May 29 1955, Governor Leader accepts invitation to Lincoln’s commencement on June 4, 1955; January 26, 1956, invitation sent to the governor requesting him to deliver the commencement address at Lincoln University on June 4, 1956; an April 27, 1956 letter from H. F. Grim, secretary of the board of trustees stating that the General Education Board was now in a position to transfer up to $250,000 from the endowment to the building fund; a November 6, 1958 letter to Mrs. George M. Leader from Mary M. Mackae, the wife of a board member, stating her opposition to the recent decision that Lincoln would begin admitting female students; a January 12, 1959 letter to Governor Leader declaring his nomination to the board of trustees (including a listing of all other nominated trustees); a recommendation for appointment of a Dr. Brice as president of Lincoln University; President Nkrumah’s visit to Lincoln: governor’s meeting the Lincoln School of Chester while at the State Capitol, May 26, 1955.

National Achievement Clubs, Inc., 1958. Letter dated March 26, 1958 from Dr. Alma Johnson Illery, founder of the National Achievement Clubs, Inc., requesting state funds to assist in maintaining summer camps sponsored by the Philadelphia branch. The letterhead contains the names of the members and officers of the Philadelphia branch.

National Dental Association, 1958. The National Dental Association was an organization founded by African Americans in 1913. The file contains letters dated July through September 1958, and a program brochure referring to the August 1958 association meeting held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also included are letters from and to the following: Governor Leader; Mrs. R. Q. (Ethyl Horton) Venson, president of the association’s ladies auxiliary; and Mrs. S. P. Harris, public relations director of the auxiliary. The letterheads contain the names of all the organization’s officers.

National Freedom Day, 1955-1958. Correspondence and proclamations in this file refer to National Freedom Day observances, February 1, l955-58. Former President Harry S. Truman signed the National Freedom Day Bill on June 30, 1948, which reads as follows: "RESOLVED that the President of the United States is authorized to issue a proclamation designating the first day of February of each year as National Freedom Day for the purpose of commemorating the signing by President Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1865, of the joint resolution adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America." Under Pennsylvania’s senate concurrent resolution approved February 6, 1945, the governor issued a proclamation for the observance of National Freedom Day on February 1st of each year in Pennsylvania.

Negro Alliance of America, Inc., 1957. Contains an invitation asking Governor Leader to address the National Interracial Mass Meeting of the alliance held in Chicago on August 6-9, 1957. The governor sent his regrets stating he would be unable to attend the meeting.

Negro Democratic Association, 1955. James G. McKee, president of the association, wrote to the governor on August 10, 1955, and to the commissioner on August 23, 1955, in support of complaints made by Rev. Peter Foster regarding racial abuse from his neighbor, Arthur L. Stern. Included is other correspondence giving accounts of the incidents.

Negro, Miscellaneous, 1955-1958. Correspondence includes a letter dated March 2, 1955 from Earl Chud concerned with the employment of African Americans as toll collectors at the Delaware River Bridge; a December 14, 1955 letter with accompanying photographs of African American toll collectors on the Pennsylvania Turnpike; a 1956-57 annual report of the National Scholarship Service and Fund for Negro Students; an August 20, 1957 letter from John E. Whitted stating his personal views on civil rights; an April 22, 1958 letter to Governor Leader requesting assistance in eliminating discrimination in prom dances at Steelton High School; a November 3, 1958 letter from James Itchko regarding an incident of refusal to serve African Americans in a restaurant; a November 17, 1958 letter from Walter M. Petty discussing employment of African Americans by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Fish Commission, and the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters. Also included is a copy of a magazine entitled The Negro in Civil Service that was published by Color, Inc.

New England Baptist Missionary Convention, 1958. Includes letters referencing the eighty-fourth annual convention in Boston, Massachusetts during June 10-13, 1958. Letter of May 28, 1958, from Rev. William J. Shaw, pastor of the White Rock Baptist Church, Philadelphia, requests Governor Leader to prepare a letter to the 1958 convention in Boston, extending an invitation to the convention to hold the 1959 New England Baptist Missionary Convention in Philadelphia. Also includes a letter from Governor Leader expressing his regret in not being able to attend the 1958 convention.

Pennsylvania Equal Rights Council, 1958. File contains a letter stating that Andrew Bradley would represent Governor Leader at a meeting of the Pennsylvania Equal Rights Council held at the Harrisburg YWCA on February 4, 1958. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the creation of a state study commission on discrimination in housing.

Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 1957-1958. This file contains a May 3, 1957 letter addressing a decision in the case of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company vs. Individuals (Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen) and a letter dated May 2, 1958 referencing racial notations on Pennsylvania Railroad passes.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, 1955. Contains a newspaper release announcing the appointment of the first three African Americans to serve as Pennsylvania Turnpike toll collectors: Albert Tucker, Dawson Gant, and Horace Whalen.

Walter M. Pettey, 1956, 1958. Includes letters of March 31, 1956 and October 15, 1958, from Walter M. Petty to Governor Leader stating that no African Americans are employed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Fish Commission, or the Pennsylvania Department of Forest and Waters. A letter of April 21, 1956 to Pettey from the governor provides pertinent information from the heads of the three agencies regarding the status of African American employment in their respective agencies.

Pittsburgh Courier, 1956. File contains correspondence between Governor Leader and Mrs. Jessie M. (Robert L.) Vann, president and treasurer of the Pittsburgh Courier, referencing the creation of the new African nation of Ghana. In addition Budget Director Andrew M. Bradley sent letters to the Pittsburgh Courier, Philadelphia Afro-American, Philadelphia Independent, and the Philadelphia Tribune containing a statement by the governor with reference to Ghana.

Press Releases and Membership Card Indexes, 1955-1959. The following citations are taken from index cards giving press release information on appointments, organizational memberships, numbering of press releases, proclamations, speeches and statements representing the African American presence during Leader’s governorship.

Appointments, 1955-1957. Arranged chronologically. #270, 7/18/57: Andrew Bradley, secretary of Property and Supplies.

Organizations-Governor Membership, 1955-1958. Arranged alphabetically. Amen Corner, January 1, 1955; Hampton Institute, October 24, 1957, a member of the board of trustees and a Life Member of the Alumni Association; Lincoln University, June 4, 1957, an honorary member of the board of trustees.

Press Releases, 1955-1959. Arranged chronologically and numerically. Represents all news releases cited in this manuscript group.

Proclamations, 1955-1959. Arranged chronologically. Representative press releases concerning proclamations relating to African Americans are as follows: press release #836, 12/2/56, George Washington Carver Day, January 5, 1957; press release A58, 4/10/57, Afro-American Day, April 14, 1957; press release A296, 8/28/57, Red Cap Month, September 1957; press release A501, 1/22/58, Freedom Day, February 1958.

Speeches, 1954-1959. Representative press releases concerning speeches relative to African Americans are: press release #565, 3/28/56, on the dedication of Mercy-Douglass Hospital, Philadelphia; speech at the Democratic State Committee, "Civil Rights and the Campaign," at Convention Hall, Philadelphia; 6/6/58; speech at banquet honoring Andrew M. Bradley, given by Masons at Mechanicsburg.

Statements, 1955-1959. A sample of press releases in this sub-series relating to African Americans are: press release #560, 3/28/56, regarding Booker T. Washington and the postage stamp honoring him; press release A58, 4/10/57, Afro-American Day, April 14, 1957; press release A969, 1/16/59, Report by Public Instruction on Racial Integration in the Public Schools.

Subject File, 1955-1959.

Biographies. Includes a biographical sketch of Homer S. Brown who was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Allegheny County on May 16, 1956.

Boxing Investigation, 1955-1956. Includes letters, press releases, adjudication papers and orders issued by the State Athletic Commission, with regard to the suspension or relocation of the boxing license of Harold Johnson due to suspected betting. Johnson was represented by Raymond Pace Alexander and G. Wesley Allen of the Philadelphia Bar. Also found is information on a private hearing regarding the illness of Frederick Terry, a Philadelphia boxer.

Camps for Underprivileged Boys, 1957-1958. On October 8, 1957 Governor Leader appointed a five-member committee to formalize a plan whereby Pennsylvania inactive military installations could be used as summer recreational centers for teenage boys. A letter dated October 27, 1957 from Rev. William L. Brown, pastor of Bible Way Church, Harrisburg, inquired concerning the possible state assistance to provide wholesome recreation for young boys at some of the inactive military installations.

Capital Cases, 1951-1956. Cited here is information taken from dated capital case criminal information sheets concerning criminals identified as "colored." The following African Americans were charged with committing murder on the following dates: William Durant Cole, Pittsburgh, May 29, 1954; Theodore Elliott, Philadelphia, December 30, 1949; Alphonso La Rue, Philadelphia, July 30, 1952; William Maxwell, Philadelphia, February 27, 1954; Benjamin Robinson, Chester, May 5, 1954; and Elijah Thompson Jr., Aliquippa, October 25, 1954.

Fair Employment Practice Commission, 1955-1958. The Pennsylvania Fair Employment Practices Act established and declared that "there shall be no discrimination in employment because of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, age or national origin." The act further provided for a nine member commission appointed by the governor and approved by two-thirds of the senate, to administer the law. The following agencies and people are represented in correspondence, articles, and brochures included in this file: ABC’s of the Commission, Albert Simmons, Allegheny County Council on Civil Rights; Appraisal Inventory of Pennsylvania FEPC Goals and Accomplishments for the First Fiscal Year of Operation ending June 1, 1957; Central Democratic Club; Fair Employment; Employment Practices in Pennsylvania; Human Relations Council of Bucks County; Pennsylvania Railroad Company; People’s National Gas Company vs. Earl E. Palmer; Pittsburgh Press; Jack Reynolds; Rhode Island Commission Against Discrimination; State Convention of Pennsylvania FEPC; Third Annual Report on Governmental Contracts; Transport Workers Union; United Auto Workers of Pennsylvania; Virginia State College; and You and Civil Rights in Pennsylvania.

Invitations, Accepted (Governor), 1955-1958. This file includes the following letters of acceptance:

Interdependence Council. This council sponsored a "Declaration of the Interdependence" at Independence Hall on January 18, 1956. The file contains copies of letters of invitation to the governor, and the governor’s remarks. Noted on the letterhead as a member of the executive committee is Dr. Leslie Pinckney Hill, a president emeritus of Cheyney State Teachers College. Dr. Hill wrote an "interdependence hymn" for the event and delivered dedication remarks.

Mercy-Douglass Hospital, 1956. Includes a letter dated February 24, 1956 to Governor Leader from Secretary of Welfare Harry Shapiro announcing the opening of the 110 bed psychiatric unit at the hospital and inviting Shapiro to be present. Also present is a letter of regret dated March 7, 1956 from the governor declining an invitation to March 18 opening ceremony, a letter dated March 20, 1956 from board of directors President Herbert E. Millen inviting the governor to speak at the hospital dedication on March 28, 1956, and a copy of the "Remarks of Welfare Secretary Harry Shapiro," March 28, 1956.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1958. Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 1957. A seating list for the sixtieth anniversary banquet includes the following African Americans: the Honorable Andrew M. Bradley, secretary of Property and Supplies; Matt S. Anderson, representative, Allegheny County, 1st District; Samuel Floyd, representative, Philadelphia, 6th District; Susie Monroe, representative, Philadelphia, 11th District; and Jesse J. Shields, representative, Philadelphia, 10th District.

Scotland School for Veterans Children, 1958. Includes letters inviting Governor Leader to be the commencement speaker on Saturday, May 31, 1958 and a commencement program. Other correspondence gives historical and statistical information. A letter to Superintendent Dr. Willard M. Stevens from the Governor’s Office reveals the school’s budget appropriation for 1951-1953 and 1953-1955.

State Council for a Pennsylvania FEPC (Fair Employment Practices Commission) 1955. A letter dated May 13, 1955 provides information about the conference. Both letter and the conference program contain a listing of affiliated organizations, to include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Urban League.

Invitations, Regretted (Governor), 1955-1958. The following are organizations who invited Governor Leader to speak or attend various meetings and occasions and received letters of regret: First African Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, from the following Branches-Dauphin County, Philadelphia, and York; National Negro Newspaper Publishers; Negro Alliance of America, Inc.; New England Baptist Missionary Convention; Philadelphia Federation of Negro Women’s’ Clubs; and the Philadelphia Tribune Charities. Several of the letters include a list of the names of officers.

Job Files Correspondence, 1957-1958.

Federal State Action Committee, 1957-1958. File contains five folders of correspondence between Governor Leader, the Governor’s Secretary David V. Randall, Secretary of Labor and Industry William L. Batt Jr., Secretary of Agriculture William L. Henning, and other state department heads as well as Meyer Kastenbaum, special assistant to the president, concerning the interstate living and working conditions of migratory workers. As a result of a Conference of Atlantic Seaboard States which looked into the problems of migratory farm labor, certain congressional and state legislation was recommended to correct some of the inequities confronting migratory farm workers. The conference was hosted by Pennsylvania, November 21-22, 1957.

Juvenile Delinquency Correspondence, 1956-1957. Contains correspondence, news releases, and other material relating to youth programs such as the Youth Forestry Camps.

Laurelton State Village Investigation, 1955. Contains seven volumes of miscellaneous hearings and several letters giving the background of abusive treatment to the female patients there. One letter to Governor Leader dated February 19, 1955 describes abusive treatment of an African American girl.

Levittown State Police Action, Correspondence, A-Z, 1957. Consists of two large folders with over two hundred pieces of correspondence addressing positive and negative reactions to Daisy and William Myers, an African American couple who moved into Levittown, a totally white community.

Mercy-Douglass Hospital of Philadelphia, 1955-1957. This file contains several letters and articles addressing the financial needs of Philadelphia’s Mercy-Douglass Hospital. The hospital was created in 1948 from the merger of two formerly African American hospitals, Mercy Hospital and the Douglass Hospital. The hospital was remodeled and reopened as a new mental health facility. The governor’s dedication remarks on March 28, 1956 are included. In 1957 several people wrote the governor requesting financial support for the hospital that resulted in provisional funding.

National Conference for Human Rights, 1958. This conference was sponsored by Governor Leader and David J. McDonald, president of the United Steelworkers of America, in Philadelphia. The premiere showing of the film Burden of Truth opened the conference. Produced as a project of the United Steelworkers of America Committee on Civil Rights, it graphically depicted the tragic effects of discrimination against "Negroes." Included in this file are programs and photographs of the following African American cast members: Hari Rhodes, Shirley Shawn, and Robert de Coy.

Segregation and Integration, 1955-1959.

Educational Equality League, 1955-1959. This file contains over eighty pieces of correspondence, newsletters and other printed material. Some of the correspondence is from or to Charles H. Boehm, director of public instruction; Floyd L. Logan; Otis B. Morse; David V. Randall, secretary to the governor; Sarah Anderson; Harry E. Seyler, senator; Herbert B. Cohen, attorney general; and others.

General Correspondence, 1955-1959. This file consists of seven folders totaling over three hundred pieces of correspondence representing views for and against racial integration. Many letters opposed to integration came from the South. Some of the following African Americans are represented in this file: Raymond Pace Alexander and Sarah A. Anderson; Thomas J. Anderson, president of the Coatesville NAACP; Rev. H. B. Barkley, pastor Bethel A.M.E. Church, Harrisburg; Mr. Julius Foster, Prince Hall Grand Lodge F. and A.M. of New Jersey; Charles A. Shorter, executive director, Philadelphia; Henry R. Smith, NAACP of Pittsburgh; Rose Denny, S.E. District of the Pennsylvania State Federation of Negro Women’s Clubs, West Chester; Bernard Scott and Raymond Hopson, Centre Avenue YMCA, Pittsburgh; Dr. Lancelot Tynes, president, Cheyney Alumni Association; Thomas McBride, attorney general. Representative of some of the pamphlets found in the file are: Bible Passages Support Segregation, T. V. Huggins; A Christian View on Segregation, by Rev. G. T. Gillespie; Integration-Is It Right or Wrong? by Robert Dane Cook; Jesus: Master Segregationist, by Lawrence W. Neff; Non-Segregation for Education in the South, by Walter Scott McNutt; Integration-Is It Right or Wrong? by Robert Dane Cook; Segregation and Integration, by Georgia Hodges; Segregation Is Constitutional But Compulsory Integration Is Unconstitutional, by W. Eason; Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness, by the NAACP; and many others.

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