MG-373. RICHARD A. SNYDER PAPERS, [ca. 1962-1984].
Richard A. Snyder (1910-1992), a graduate of Temple University Law School, enlisted in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 45, was Republican chair of Lancaster County from 1958-64, served in the state senate beginning in 1962, and was reelected to six successive terms.
Subject File, 1963-1984. The files are arranged alphabetically by subject and contain the following materials relating to African Americans:
• Blacks—Reagan Administration, 1984: Includes news clippings on such topics as unemployment among African Americans and the status of African American political leadership.
• Bussing, 1975-1983: Contains correspondence and pamphlets on the issue of forced bussing and the tensions caused by it.
• Capital Punishment, 1983-1984: Contains a January 5, 1984 article in the New York Times linking the victims’ race to the unjust demand of the death penalty and an editorial for a Philadelphia TV station protesting the death penalty as discriminatory towards African Americans.
• Civil Rights, 1973-1984: Contains a US News and World Report article about the American Civil Liberties Union representing such groups as the Ku Klux Klan, to an African American repeatedly detained by police in white neighborhoods.
• Civil Rights, 1973-1984: Provides news articles and newsletters concerning an anti-civil rights bill, affirmative action hiring of minorities and women, opposition to discriminatory airport search policies, school integration, the censorship of books by non-white authors, an article about Representative K. Leroy Irvis’ discrimination suit against a Harrisburg Moose Lodge, protests against House Bill 1717 and Senate Bill 1265 which would remove civil rights powers from the Human Relations Commission, and the ACLU’s involvement in Black Panther cases.
• College-Cheyney State, 1977-1982: Includes news articles and correspondence concerning Cheyney State University. Among the items present is a letter from the president of Cheyney calling for the resignation of Pennsylvania’s secretary of education because of his insensitivity to African Americans in education, letters concerning funding problems at African American institutions, letters requesting that a white professor at Cheyney not be dismissed for the purpose of achieving racial balance, information concerning a commencement speech by Coretta Scott King, pleas for an increase in state appropriations to Cheyney, and a letter inviting Senator Snyder to attend a commencement at which President Carter was the guest speaker.
• College-Lincoln University, 1980-1984: Contains a letter of recommendation for Herman Branson, a former professor and then president of Lincoln University, to receive the National Medal of Science. Also present is a holiday season address from the president of Lincoln University, a speech on the impact of the recession on minority workers, fundraising letters to alumni and friends of the University, a letter of gratitude to Senator Snyder for his assistance with the budget, and a Wall Street Journal article entitled "An Alienated Generation of Black Students?"
• Ethnics, 1976-1983: Includes newsletters and correspondence relating to Pennsylvania’s rich ethnic heritage, the Pennsylvania Heritage Affairs Commission’s list of ethnic publications and exhibits, and materials on Dr. Ralph Proctor, the African American Commissioner for the Governor’s Heritage Affairs Commission. Also present is an article on the cultural contributions African Americans have made to Pennsylvania and a Directory of Ethnic Resources of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley which lists African American religious, fraternal, charitable, and welfare organizations, performing groups, political groups, and social, cultural, and educational organizations.
• Human Relations, 1980-1983: Contains annual reports, a list of programs, information on state support for human services, and a newspaper article protesting the efforts to create a national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King in 1983.
• MOVE, 1978: Includes newspaper and journal articles relating the history of MOVE and accounts of the demonstrations of MOVE members.
• Racism, 1971-1975: Contains articles on modern immigration trends, research materials relating to the effects of racism in education and employment, articles on interracial marriages and child custody issues and on forced busing. There is also an invitation to Senator Snyder from state Representative K. Leroy Irvis to attend the Conference of State Governments and an article about Irvis’s consultation work for a law firm lobbying for South Africa.
• Department of Education, 1983-1984: Contains materials on Lincoln University for 1984. Among the items present is a notice of budget hearings, various appropriations requests, and statistics providing racial and income information, life expectancy, death rates, infant mortality, abortions, etc. There are also letters containing arguments from the president of Lincoln University stating that Lincoln must be supported in an effort to lower African American unemployment.