Arrangement: chronological.

Letters from family members, including a long series of letters from Johnson's mother to Johnson with family news; invitations asking Johnson to attend events, some with copies of her replies; letters from women leaders of various organizations containing information about more than one group or that relate chiefly to personal affairs; and letters from Guy Benton Johnson, daughter-in-law Mimi, and son Guy Benton Johnson, Jr. (Benny), with family and Chapel Hill news.

Invitations to speak and information about conferences and groups in which Guion Johnson had only a passing interest make up the bulk of these materials. The volume increases significantly in 1948 and explodes in the 1950s when Johnson assumed state-wide positions in both AAUW and NCFWC. During this time, Johnson appears to have spoken primarily on citizenship, world affairs, the United Nations, leadership training, and the strengthening of club programs.

General correspondence begins in 1918 with a series of letters written by Marvin B. Pierce, Johnson's high school friend, who was in Naval school at Harvard. These letters detail news of mutual friends, happenings in wartime Cambridge, and Pierce's battle with influenza. Also dated 1918 is a letter from Guy Johnson, explaining why he could not take Guion to a dance, which begins a series of love letters that follow through the next few years, culminating in the couple's marriage in 1923. A good number of these letters are detail happenings at the train station and mail office where Guy worked one summer.

In 1922, Johnson began her training at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. Some correspondence between 1923 and 1926 details her creation of the School of Journalism at Mary Hardin-Baylor College, the Texas High School Press Association, and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. Between 1923 and 1933, there are a series of letters from Pritchett "Pat" Harrison, a former teacher of Johnson's, telling of her continuing life struggles. There are also a few letters during the early 1920s relating to Johnson's research on the National Women's Party; of special note are letters from Gaeta Wold Boyer (28 October 1924) and Ruby A. Black (10 December 1924), editor of The Matrix.

In 1926-1927, there are a few letters from Guy regarding his field research, doctoral work, and the Institute for Research in Social Science. In 1936, there are also reports of Guy's field research in Nashville, Birmingham, and Montgomery. In 1939, he reported from New York on his work with Gunnar Myrdal, and, in 1943-1944, there are some letters from Guy regarding his first days with the Southern Regional Council.

Letters of interest from about Chapel Hill include the following: Julia Cherry Spruill on Thomas Wolfe's visit (27 January 1937); Howard K. Beale on University of North Carolina History Department gossip at his expense (14 July 1942); Benny Johnson on the "filming" of Thomas Wolfe's life in Chapel Hill (23 Oct 1944); Benny on Allard Lowenstein's University of North Carolina political career (12 April 1949; 3 May 1949).

In 1946, Benny spent the summer travelling through South Carolina and visiting black and white churches with a Methodist youth caravan. He reported his activities to his parents in a series of letters. In other church-related matters, Johnson took over the teaching of one of the largest Sunday School classes in the South when she began teaching the Alonzo Richardson Sunday School Class at St. Mark's Methodist Church in Atlanta in 1946. When she left Atlanta to return to Chapel Hill, "Mama Kate" Hall and Beulah E. Phillips, two of the women in this class continued to write to her. Their letters continue through the mid-1950s and primarily recount their church activities.

Beginning in 1947, there are letter from Benny at Harvard, where he was pursuing a doctorate in sociology. These letters contain information about his classes, research, and social life. Letters relating to Benny, 1948-1950, are chiefly to him from his parents and relate to their work, speaking schedules, and brother Edward's scouting news. There are also letters from Benny's future wife Mimi and college friend Allard Lowenstein. Letters frequently mention the 1950 Frank Porter Graham United States Senate race. Of particular interest are letters from Lowenstein about Chapel Hill news and the Senate race (5 October 1949; 19 October 1949; 6 February 1950).

Alicia Blue (later Wise) began writing to Johnson in 1949 when Johnson started teaching and performing research in Pembroke, N.C., among the Lumbee Indians. Alicia Blue was a teenager and wrote about local happenings in her family and in the Lumbee community. These letters are sporadic, but continue throughout the 1950s.

In 1950, there is correspondence about Frank Porter Graham's United States Senate race and the organization of women who supported him. There are also letters concerning the 1954 Kerr Scott campaign for the United States Senate, for which Terry Sanford was campaign manager. In the following year, there are letters from Ruth Elgin Suddeth who was writing a historical drama for Georgia's Jekyll Island. In 1952, there is a letter accompanying Frances Doak's reminiscences of Hope Summerell Chamberlain.

In 1952-1954, Benny wrote letters recounting his problems with the draft board, his attempts to receive a military commission, and his experiences at boot camp.

Arrangement: chronological.

Letters written to Wilson Shannon Griffis, Guion Griffis Johnson's grandfather, that were given to Johnson by her father, John Griffis, in 1954. These letters were written by Shannon Griffis's brother, cousins, and aunt from Stockton, Cal., Dowagiac, Mich., and locations in Iowa. They recount family news, deaths and illness, and discuss politics and weather. Subjects include farming opportunities in Kansas (17 January 1879), health springs (9 May 1881?), Chinese laborers as domestics (13 May 1881), trusts and monopolies (27 January 1888), and prohibition in Michigan (2 April 1888).

Correspondence, publications, and other materials related to Chi Omega on both the national and chapter levels. Correspondence begins in 1925 with a letter regarding "the situation" in Chapel Hill from Mary Love Collins, longtime national president of Chi Omega. Correspondence resumes in 1943 with a letter to outlining the characteristics of appearance and behavior that hostesses should look for in female students. There are also letters to and from the national officers about Johnson's chapter visits and a great many letters pertaining to recommendations for prospective pledges. Some materials touch on fundraising for purchasing chapter houses, 1951-1952 and 1968-1973, and maintenance of the Chapel Hill house.

Materials from the 1950s document Chi Omega officers' concern about the National Student Association (NSA), a liberal student organization whose founder came from Chapel Hill, and its goal of forcing all student organizations to discard discriminatory clauses. There are allusions to "the constitutional freedom to associate" throughout this portion of correspondence. There are also letters about the initiation of the Chi Omega Service Award (February 1951), the Chi Omega Prize in Sociology at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (April 1952), and various national conventions.

Other materials include chapter house information, house rules, alumnae information, questionnaires for pledges, rushing information, newspaper clippings, chapter newsletters, and Chi Omega publications. There are also materials on Johnson's visits to other chapters, including lists of committee chairs and bylaws from various chapters visited, notes, expense account reports, and copies of reports to the national office for visits made 1952-1956.

Principal correspondents include longtime national officers, Mary Love Collins and Elizabeth Dyer; alumnae Annie Laurie Hutchins, Marjorie Yokley, and Erdene Rountree; University of North Carolina's Dean of Women Katherine Kennedy Carmichael; and Ann Sterling, chapter advisor at Southern Methodist University.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, minutes, and financial materials relating to the foundation that owned and operated the Guion Griffis Johnson Chapter House of the Epsilon Beta Chapter of Chi Omega Fraternity for Women. Correspondence relates to the purchase of the chapter house in 1952, fundraising letters to and responses from alumnae, general maintenance of the house, applications and selections of housemothers, outfitting of rooms with carpets and furniture, and maintenance of insurance policies. Beginning in 1965, there is a good deal of information concerning the various Franklin Street real estate deals entered into by the Foundation, its attempt at building a new chapter house, and its subsequent remodeling and addition to the existing structures.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, minutes, pledge cards, and address lists pertaining to a scholarship fund for women established by the Epsilon Beta Chapter of Chi Omega as a gift to the University of North Carolina in celebration of the chapter's 50th anniversary. For 15 years, beginning in 1958, alumnae of Epsilon Beta chapter worked to provide a scholarship for women "equal to the Morehead Scholarship" offered by University of North Carolina. Fulfilling its goal, the chapter presented the University with $40,000 in 1973. The fundraising organization remained intact following this gift in order to raise additional funds for smaller scholarships, among them the Marjorie Yates Yokley Scholarship.

Originally meant to support a woman in graduate work, the award was first offered to an undergraduate woman studying pharmacy. Before this first recipient had been graduated, Federal Title IX nondiscriminatory policies caused University of North Carolina to drop the stipulation that the award be limited to women.

Most of the correspondence is with Marjorie Yates Yokley and Erdene Rountree, presidents of the Fund's board of directors and both of whom personally undertook massive mailing campaigns. One alumna was contacted in Saigon in 1968. Alumnae addresses, acknowledgements, and reports to Johnson on the campaign's progress comprise most of this correspondence. In 1967, there are letters pertaining to Marjorie Yates Yokley unexpected death. After 1973, announcements and minutes of semi-annual board meetings predominate.

Letters of interest include Johnson's letters of 21 January 1962 explaining why the 50th anniversary gift was to be a woman's scholarship fund and 7 May 1963 documenting the history of the Fund, and correspondence, 1976-1977, with the William Geer, director of University of North Carolina's Scholarships and Financial Aid, regarding Title IX.

Arrangement: chronological.

In 1950, the Epsilon Beta chapter of Chi Omega fraternity for women presented its first Distinguished Award for Women. The award recognized the lifetime achievements of a woman who had "furthered the status of women, or by her own achievements so exemplified high qualities of womanhood."

Johnson, who received the award in 1955, served as the chapter's representative on University of North Carolina's Selection Committee beginning in 1953. Among the other Committee members were Dean of Women Katharine Kennedy Carmichael; Norma Berryhill, wife of the dean of the University of North Carolina Medical School; Gladys Hall Coates, award recipient and co-founder of the Institute of Government; Chancellor Robert B. House; and Vice Chancellor and later Special Assistant to the Chancellor, Douglass Hunt.

Of interest is documentation of the 1970 award offered to Dorothy Glenn, member of the University of North Carolina board of trustees and medical advisor to the Vietnamese government on obstetrics and gynecology. Because awardees had to be present to receive the award, Glenn had not been able to accept one in the past. Assured by her husband that Glenn would not be available in 1970, the committee offered the award to Ellen Black Winston. In the meantime, the chapter offered to award to Glenn in Vietnam. Both Winston and Glenn showed up for the award, the latter flying in from Vietnam at her own expense. Winston received the Distinguished Award for Women, and Glenn received the chapter's Distinguished Alumna Award on the following day.

Materials include minutes and notices of Selection Committee meetings, with a few letters between Committee members, the chapter, and the recipients. Especially interesting are biographical sketches of the women nominated for the award.

Lists of Orange County volunteers, press releases, a community service guidebook, clippings, and some letters relating to Johnson's work with the Office of Price Administration. (See also clippings in Series 16.)

Johnson served as chair of the Community Service Committee on the Orange County War Price and Rationing Board. She established an information desk for the Office of Price Administration in the Orange County War Rationing Office, ran an educational training program on wartime consumption, and planned and carried out a conference on the War Price and Rationing Board in Chapel Hill in 1943. The principal writer of the few letters in this subseries was Ruth Vick Everett, information officer with the Office of Price Administration in Raleigh.

Correspondence, agendas, minutes, and conference materials related primarily to Johnson's service on the National Women's Advisory Committee on Civil Defense. In 1943, North Carolina Governor J. Melville Broughton asked Johnson to serve as Civilian Defense Collector of War Records for Chapel Hill and Orange County. In 1951, the North Carolina Council of Civil Defense began working with women's groups in the state to promote civil defense. For the next several years, Johnson worked on civil defense matters on the state level.

After a conference on civil defense in Charlotte in May 1956, Johnson became a member-at-large of the National Women's Advisory Committee on Civil Defense, attending national meetings from 1957 to 1959. These meeting materials include proceedings of the conferences; brochures and pamphlets with titles such as "Emergency Mass Feeding," "Effects of Nuclear Weapons," and "Prepare the Home"; rosters of participants; and transcriptions of some speeches.

Also included are a few North Carolina newsletters, 1954-1961, as well as a few highly scattered issues of the national "Newsletter By, For, and About Women in Civil Defense" and a comic book devoted to civil defense and nuclear warfare. Correspondence chiefly deals with attendance at meetings and travel reimbursement.

Johnson served on the Task Force on State Advisory Council on Comprehensive Health Planning in 1968-1969. Included are minutes, reports, and statistical information on numbers of doctors and hospital facilities in 75 of the most rural counties in North Carolina, and a two-volume study on public health needs conducted by the North Carolina Regional Medical Program

Johnson chaired the Committee on Voluntary Organizations and Expanded Services of the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women. Among the committee's tasks was a survey and analysis of the various women-led volunteer organizations around the state. Correspondents include other committee members, including Ruth Current, Leontine Plonk, and Avis Dudley. Additionally, there is some correspondence between Johnson and Louise M. Latham, dean of women at North Carolina College.

Minutes, agendas, and reports have been interfiled with the correspondence. More correspondence, minutes, lists and reports can also be found in the last three folders entitled "North Carolina."

Included among the reports is a reprinted copy of "The Changing Status of Southern Woman," which Johnson wrote for The South in Continuity and Change . Other reports stress women's achievements, with the particular focus on work within volunteer organizations.

Johnson chaired the Human Values of Educational Goals Committee of the Task Force for the Governor's Study Commission on the Public School System of North Carolina, 1967-1968. Letters are generally from Neil A. Rosser, executive director of the commission, and from Herbert R. Paschal and Garland A. Hendricks, who served as chairs of the task force. A final report of Johnson's committee is included.

President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed 1965 International Cooperation Year to highlight the need for further cooperation between nations and to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations. Johnson served on the Women's Committee on International Cooperation. Correspondence is primarily with Gladys A. Tillett, chair of the committee. Also included is a 1966 letter from Vice-President Hubert Humphrey thanking Johnson for her work and informing her of the plans for promoting international cooperation.

Materials from a conference on aging held in June 1951. Included are reports on aging, employment, and welfare; brochures about the conference; and a small book of the proceedings.

Johnson served on the advisory board of the North Carolina Film Board, which was active 1963-1965, during which it completed 16 files of an educational/public affairs nature. Included are publicity materials, press releases about the films, and some correspondence with Director James Beveridge.

In early 1968, Johnson began working with the Youth Councils of North Carolina (YCNC) on a proposal to create a Youth Commission of North Carolina, which would coordinate, strengthen, and develop youth councils across the state. Among the early correspondents are Juanita (Mrs. J. Frank) Bryant, president of the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs; H. T. Conner, of the Department of Administration and director of the Youth Commission Project Committee; and Ruth Gill, secretary of the Youth Commission Project Committee.

On 5 May 1969, the state legislature passed the Youth Council Bill. The Youth Advisory Board (YAB) was appointed on 7 May 1970, with Juanita Bryant as executive secretary. Chief correspondents during this period are Juanita Bryant, Conner, Gill, and YCNC Director Murray Folgar. From 1973 to 1975, there is much correspondence with Jim Caplanides, YAB executive secretary of the YAB.

Other materials include minutes, reports, newsletters, and promotional pieces produced by various youth councils around the state. (See also Subseries 4.10.)

The Youth Advisory Council was founded in 1975 under the aegis of the Youth Advisory Board (YAB). Johnson served on the Board for its first two years. Most of the correspondence is with Jim Caplanides, executive secretary of the YAB, 1975-1976. Much of the correspondence and other materials revolve around organizational matters and the annual Youth Involvement Day. (See also Subseries 4.9.)

The American Association for the United Nations (AAUN) was established to "study the fundamental basis of permanent peace and the machinery necessary for the development of this peace." The AAUN was also involved in "carrying on educational activities to the end that the United States may cooperate to the fullest extent practicable in the official international organization functioning in the various fields of international cooperation." Beatrice (Bee/Mrs. Roy Nels) Anderson of Raleigh was the primary force behind the North Carolina division of the AAUN. Most of the correspondence is between Anderson and Johnson, who, although an executive board member, was not intensely involved with the Association.

The North Carolina Council of World Affairs (NCCWA) was a central focus for Johnson. She served on the executive and planning committees for over 20 years, focusing chiefly on the annual World Affairs Conference that the organization initiated and helped sponsor.

In a 1948 letter, R. B. House, NCCWA's first president, wrote that the organization was a "spontaneous movement" that originated when the Community Club of Chapel Hill met in 1947 with 40 other organizations on the second anniversary of the end of World War II. Initially, the group was called the North Carolina World Peace Forum. Through the 1950s, under the guidance of the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs, it was known as the North Carolina Conference on World Affairs. In 1959, the Conference changed its name to the North Carolina Council on World Affairs and was enlarged to include men's groups and local international relations clubs. The main purpose of the organization remained the promoting interest in world affairs, encouraging efforts towards world peace, and training leaders in world affairs.

Documents from the early years, 1947-1953, are filed under the North Carolina Peace Forum. Included are many letters from R. B. House about organizational questions and the first World Affairs Conference, held on 7 April 1948. Included is a dialogue between House and Charles Phillips, director of the Carolina Institute of International Relations, regarding the possible overlap of focus between the two organizations.

From 1961 to 1968, correspondents include Ruth Current, first vice-president, 1962-63, and president, 1963-64; Susan Garner Smith and Sallie (Mrs. Benjamin) Everett, members of the Planning Committee; and William H. Heriford of the University Extension Division. These letters generally concern event planning, questions of constitutionality, and nominations of positions. There are also a few letters from Robert Seymour during his term as president of the NCCWA, 1966-69.

Other materials included organizational documents, conference materials, and speeches and publicity materials. Note that documents relating to the World Affairs Conferences of the 1950s, when Johnson was president of the North Carolina Council of Women's Organizations, are filed in Series 6.

Arrangement: chronological.

Originally founded as the North Carolina Woman's Council, the NCCWO was primary established to help coordinate women's organizations within the state of North Carolina and provide leadership and training for women involved in these groups.

Most of the letters date from 1952-1958, when Johnson was president of the North Carolina Council of Women's Organizations (NCCWO) and from 1962-1968, when she was heavily involved in committee work. Included in the early years is some correspondence related to the formation of the organization. After 1970, there is little correspondence due to Johnson's greatly reduced involvement with the organization.

While most of the letters were written by or addressed to Johnson, a many emanated from other NCCWO members or from outside organizations affiliated with the NCCWO, including universities and governmental organizations. Important correspondents include Russell M. Grumman, director of the University of North Carolina Extension Division, and Ellen Black Winston, North Carolina Board of Welfare Commissioner.

The University of North Carolina Extension Division provided NCCWO with office space and financial and organizational assistance during the early years. The deep concern with the problems of the poor also caused strong ties to form between the NCCWO and the North Carolina Board of Welfare, with Winston serving as a member-at-large of the NCCWO for many years.

Many letters discuss NCCWO activities, including workshops, conferences, fundraising, preservation activities, and other events. Filed with the 1972 correspondence is a seven-page essay on the history of the NCCWO that was presented at a 20th anniversary celebration (see also Johnson's paper "A Decade of Growth" in Subseries 6.2.).

Note that a few letters pertaining to specific meetings, committees, or events can be found in other subseries by that are organized by topic.

Included are minutes of executive committee meetings, 1952-1979, of annual meetings, 1955-1979, and the board of directors, 1965-1985; constitution and bylaws; agendas; job analyses; financial information; and lists of members, officers, and sponsors. Also included are NCCWO newsletters, 1965-1982; clippings about NCCWO, 1952-1973; promotional materials; and other documents.

Of particular interest are an audio recording of an interview with Johnson from October 1967, which contains a discussion of Volunteers in Community Service and a paper written by Johnson in 1962 entitled "A Decade of Growth," which gives a brief history of the first ten years of the NCCWO.

Arrangement: by committee.

General material from five major NCCWO committees: policy, program services, directory, leadership roster, and continuing education. Directory committee information includes scattered copies of the NCCWO directory as well as directories from member organizations.

Arrangement: By topic.

Information from other groups whose topics were of interest to Johnson and the NCCWO and miscellaneous information on program building and planning assembled and used by Johnson. Also included are materials from two surveys conducted by the NCCWO, one on involvement and one on women in politics.

Arrangement: by event.

One of the primary goals of the NCCWO was to train women to be leaders in women's organizations and to fill general political and community-leadership positions. To this end, the NCCWO began an annual Leadership Training Workshop only six weeks after its founding. Among the materials from these workshops, 1951-1982, are letters, notes, agendas, publicity, meeting minutes, and lists of attendees. Also included are materials from the 1968 Fall Forum and a brochure from the 1986 Fall Forum. Also included are materials from Public Affairs Conferences, 1962-1971.

While the World Affairs Conference began before the founding of the NCCWO, the planning of the event appears to have been assumed by the Program Committee of the NCCWO with Johnson directly in charge of the program for many of the conferences.

Arrangement: by topic.

Various materials related to research on volunteer programs conducted by Johnson and the NCCWO with a grant from the North Carolina Fund. Entitled "Volunteers in Work with the Poor," this research project, conducted primarily in 1966, analyzed effective methods of volunteer utilization in anti-poverty programs.

Included are correspondence with other organizations, minutes of meetings and conferences, financial information, media documents, and informational and bibliographic materials retained by Johnson. Other documents including research papers, studies, program descriptions, and other items about the problems of the poor and the use of volunteers in helping them.

Also included are transcripts of interviews with volunteers and a large collection of completed forms from the survey Johnson carried out in connection with this project.

Arrangement: chronological.

The North Carolina Federation of Women's Club (NCFWC) was dedicated to working closely with women's clubs throughout North Carolina in sponsoring and stimulating scholarship and community service. In a 1951 memorandum from Johnson, she reminded members that the NCFWC focus was to get all member clubs to organize essential core activities, including music and literature contests, international relations events, and citizenship awareness programs.

The bulk of the correspondence is from 1948-1952, when Johnson served as first vice-president and director of departments. There are few letters dated 1931-1940. With the founding of the NCCWO in 1952, Johnson role in the NCFWC was greatly diminished, although she continued to work on committees and was chair of the "Institute and Forums" department during the mid-1950s.

Letters discuss planning, speaking engagements, intra-club relationships, department assignments and responsibilities, and interactions with Junior Club affiliates. There are occasional references in the letters to the "communist threat" during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Important correspondents include Russell M. Grumman, director of the University Extension Division, and R. B. House, chancellor of University of North Carolina. Of interest is a letter written to Eleanor Roosevelt by Mrs. S. R. Levering after a speaking engagement at Chapel Hill. In it, Levering criticized Roosevelt's failure to give proper attention to those organizations supporting the United Nations. Some letters, 1952-1953, relate to lobbying efforts by the NCFWC in support of the formation of the United Nations.

A copy of the minutes of a meeting of 7 December 1951 (but enclosed with material dated 18 March 1952) contains a passage spoken by Johnson and recorded verbatim reflecting her desire to make the program planning process, and club policy in general, more democratic.

Correspondence, reports, minutes, postcards, articles, programs, financial reports, and various publicity materials relating to the NCFWC's International Relations Department. The documents are affixed to sheets of papers and appear to have been bound in large binders.

Chief among the correspondents is Jewel (Mrs. Grady E.) Kirkman of the Greenville Women's Club. Other frequent correspondents include Sara (Mrs. John L.) Whitehurst, who served as chair of the International Clubs, and Vera (Mrs. Fredric W.) Beggs, chair of the International Relations Department of the Greater Federation of Women's Clubs. There are also some letters to and from North Carolina Senator Hoey concerning a planned Genocide Convention in 1951, a number of documents concerning the NCFWC's participation in the Care-for-Korea campaign in 1951, and documentation of responses to the World Affairs Conference.

Office and organizational materials generated by meetings, committees, conventions, and conferences. Among them are applications for various awards and scholarships sponsored by the NCFWC are found, including the Kitty Odum award given to the outstanding club member. Also included are newsletters from the NCFWC and some its member organizations and yearbooks and clippings, chiefly from the mid-1950s.

United Church Women (UCW) was a department of the North Carolina Council of Churches. Johnson's affiliation with the UCW centered around her work as chair of the Christian World Relations Committee, 1955 to around 1959, and as chair of the Resolutions Committee, 1961 to around 1962.

Much of the correspondence is between Johnson and the various general chairs of the UCW, including Helen (Mrs. T. S.) Newbold, Adelaide (Mrs. B. Frank) Hall, and Avis (Mrs. Harold J.) Dudley. Some early letters between Johnson and then-president Newbold concern organization's desire to have Johnson serve as chair of the Christian World Relations Committee. The bulk of the letters concern UCW events and administrative affairs, though some content of a personal nature is present. Other items include office and organizational materials, as well as documents from the annual World Community Day.

Of interest is a collection of resolutions passed by the UCW, many of which focus on the problems of segregation and racial unity.

Sometime in 1967, United Church Women changed its name to Church Women United. By that time, Johnson's had become considerably less active in the organization than she had been.

The North Carolina Council of Churches (NCCC) was the parent organization of the United Church Women. In addition to Johnson's work with the women's organization, she began serving on the Christian Education Commission of the NCCC in 1953; it appears that she remained with the Commission until 1958. She also served on the Special Search Committee to find a new executive director in 1964.

Much of the correspondence is with Morton R. Kurtz, who served as executive director of the NCCC during the 1950s and early 1960s, and with W. A. Kale, who served as president of the NCCC during this same period. Letters chiefly discuss upcoming events and planning concerns. There are some minutes of meetings enclosed with the correspondence, especially after 1960, including minutes of board meetings, Christian Education Commission meetings, and various committee meetings.

Some documents relate to race relations, including resolutions and a packet of statements from various religious groups concerning the Supreme Court desegregation decision. Also included are a few documents from the Chapel Hill Council of Churches, headed at one point by Johnson. The connection between this local chapter and the larger North Carolina Council is unclear.

Materials relating to the Methodist Church and affiliated branches and organizations. Included with materials on the Commission of Urban Work is a lengthy manuscript written by Johnson on social change with specific focus on the race issues. Among the folders of the Interconference Commission of College and University Religious Work is an alphabetized file of North Carolina colleges with reports on Methodist students' work at participating institutions. These materials, coupled with those on the Methodist Student Movement and the Wesley Foundation, offer a view of the collegiate activities of the Methodist Church during the early- and mid-1960s. Included with the Missions Board materials are a few letters from China, Zaire, and other countries. More missions information is filed with the University United Methodist Church materials.

Also included are items relating to the Women's Society of Christian Service (WSCS), a service group within the Methodist Church with which Johnson became involved through her work as co-chair of the program committee at St. Mark's Methodist Church in Atlanta, and to the University United Methodist Church (formerly the University Methodist Church).

Included are materials from a variety of organizations, many of which focused on concern for world problems or race relations. Some materials relate to school desegregation and the support of race equality within the church.

Also included are copies of 35 radio addresses by Harry Emerson Fosdick that center on Christian life.

Arrangement: chronological.

Minutes, correspondence, printed materials, and notes relating to the Georgia Conference on Social Welfare, for which Johnson as executive secretary. In 1945, Johnson joined the staff of the Georgia Conference and began planning the first of several state initiatives dealing with local social problems. The first centered on juvenile delinquency and a reorganization of the juvenile courts.

Beginning in 1947, Johnson also initiated annual meetings of all the executive secretaries of state welfare institutions. Most of the correspondence is with state conference secretaries and involves planning for this meeting. Other materials include a few clippings, minutes from executive committee meetings of the Georgia Conference, Johnson's speech on the "Human Side of Reconversion," a study of a family on public assistance, miscellaneous notes and printed brochures, and pamphlets and newsletters from various social welfare agencies.

Principal correspondents include Annette (Mrs. Emilio) Suarez of Cuthbert, Ga., a supporter of the Conference; David Bouterse, executive director of the Ohio Welfare Council; and Jane Chandler, assistant secretary of the National Conference of Social Work.

Johnson's association with the Penn School and the related community began in 1928-2929 when Johnson and her husband studied the Sea Islands. In 1964, Johnson was asked to join Penn's Program Review Committee as a non-trustee member. This committee met "once or twice a year to review the work of Penn and make general recommendations about it."

Included are minutes of the Program Review Committee and the board of trustees meetings and supporting documents such as directors reports. Penn's community development program is the focus of much of the material. Only a few items relate specifically to Johnson's role at Penn, among them a letter from Johnson, dated 26 August 1970, in which she requested more information about the community development proposal and gave her views on the effectiveness of the organization over the years.

Chief correspondents include James McBride Dabbs, Courtney Siceloff, and John Gadsen.

North Carolina's startling rejection rate (14%) of draftees in World War II because of mental illness or mental retardation led some researchers to conduct studies of the mental capabilities of North Carolinians. One such study, "Efficiency of Group Tests of Intelligence in Discovering the Mental Deficient," was commissioned by James G. Hanes of Winston-Salem in 1947. This study was carried out by A. M. Jordan of University of North Carolina in the Winston-Salem public schools. The results of this study, and a few others like it, led Hanes to create the Human Betterment League, which initially sought to limit the population among the "least fit." Later the League stressed its role in "population policy" and "fertility control," supporting the use of abortions and contraception. Still later it sought to promote genetic counseling. In 1984, the League changed its name to the Human Genetics League of North Carolina.

The League produced two films: "Windsong" (1971), which promoted contraception and family planning and won a gold medal in the health and social welfare category of the International Film and TV Festival of New York, and "Wednesday's Child" (1975), which discussed hereditary defects.

Johnson joined the League in 1957 and served as its president in 1965-1967.

Included are minutes, agendas and announcements of board meetings, and fundraising materials. Correspondence details the working of the League and its projects, such as the speech at the League's 20th anniversary celebration Alan Guttmacher, president of Planned Parenthood Worldwide, 1967; production of "Windsong," 1969-71; planning a seminar on genetic counseling, 1974; and recognition of Marion (Mrs. J. Howard) Moser of Winston-Salem, longtime executive director of the League, 1977. Marion Moser was a close friend of Johnson's, and there are many letters from Moser to Johnson detailing the work of the League. Beginning in 1977, the principal correspondent is Kate Garner of Greensboro.

In 1945, Johnson was asked to serve a three-year term on the National Publicity Council (NPC), at the time the "only agency serving both the social work and public health fields from a central office ... and the only agency whose sole interest [was] in stimulating and instructing social workers and health workers in their efforts to make social and health problems--and the agencies dealing with them--better understood by the public." Johnson was chair of NPC's board of directors in 1948.

Correspondence deals primarily with board meetings, the composition of the board, NPC's financial problems, and fundraising. Also included are issues of the NPC newsletter Channels, which carried social welfare and public health news from around the nation. The principal correspondent was Sallie Bright, executive director of the Council. Although there are some materials dated after 1950, most of Johnson's personal dealings with the Council ceased in 1950.

Founded in 1945, the National Social Welfare Assembly worked to coordinate efforts of local, state, and regional welfare agencies. Included are copies of The Assembly Letter, the Assembly's newsletter that carried social welfare information from around the nation. Among the pamphlets of speeches is Arthur J. Altmeyer's 1951 "Some Issues Facing Social Welfare." Reports cover such topics as "The Relation of National Agencies to Local Community Groups," "The Use of Case Aids in Casework Agencies," and "Young Children Today." There are also summaries and appraisals of Assembly workshops. In 1955, the Assembly published" Report from Washington," an accounting of its first ten years.

Johnson joined the board of directors of the North Carolina Society for the Prevention of Blindness in 1967. In 1969, she became chair of the Program Committee and increased her efforts in assembling volunteers to screen schoolchildren's eyes. In 1973, she was chair of the Nominating Committee and was responsible for the board selection process. The following year she headed the Award Committee, which presented a silver pitcher to the service organization that conducted the most valuable screening project. Johnson's service on the board ended in 1978.

Principal correspondents include presidents of the society Darrell Morse and H. C. Bradshaw and executive director Judy Nooney.

Organized in 1953 in cooperation with the Southeastern Adult Education Association, the North Carolina Adult Education Committee (NCAEC) was also affiliated with the National Education Association. NCAEC was designed to improve communication between groups and individuals interested in adult education in the state and in the region. Beginning in 1954, NCAEC sponsored state-wide conferences involving individuals from many types of adult education organizations: public libraries, university extension programs, civic organizations, health clinics. Hoyt R. Galvin, director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg libraries, appears to have been NCAEC's chief proponent.

Johnson was an early, if fairly inactive member of the organization, which was loosely organized and directed by a small executive committee. The bulk of the materials are dated 1953-1956.

In 1950, Johnson spoke to the Virginia Student YWCA meeting, and, eight years later, she led sessions dealing with intergroup relations and possible integration in the Kentucky-Tennessee and the Oklahoma Y-Teen Summer Conferences. In 1960, Johnson joined the Advisory Committee of the Regional Southern YWCA, which was primarily involved in long-range planning. Lack of travel funds resulted in her being replaced on the Advisory Committee in 1962.

Materials include conference agendas; evaluation sheets; letters to and from planners of the Y-Teen conferences; samples of fundraising letters; conference newsletters; lists of participants; and a few pamphlets and brochures, including one entitled "The Interracial Charter and Related Policy [of the YWCA]." Principal correspondents include Florence Harris of Atlanta and Charlotte D. Nicoll of Houston, members of the Southern Region field staff; Ruth Henderson of New York, national coordinator of leadership services; and Julia F. Allen of the Southern Regional office staff.

Following up on the 1948 White House Conference on the Family, members of the North Carolina delegation held a state conference on the family. At this meeting, it was decided that a state organization in the interest of better family living should be organized. Johnson wrote the constitution and bylaws for this organization. Planning materials for the first three annual state-wide conferences; correspondence relating to the constitution, bylaws, and choosing executive board members for 1950; and a few newsletters form the bulk of these materials. There are very few items following 1950. Principal correspondents include Gladys H. Groves, Marvin Vick, Jr., Catherine T. Dennis, and Corrine J. Grimsley.

Johnson was invited to join the Historical Society of North Carolina in 1948. In 1958, she served on the Nominating Committee and, in 1962-63, as vice-president. By 1981, she had taken emeritus member status. In 1961, Johnson was asked to prepare the Society's memorial to Hope Sumerell Chamberlain, and, in 1986, she did the same for Julia Cherry Spruill.

Included are announcements of meetings, lists of persons nominated for membership, membership rolls, meeting agendas, minutes of meetings, and a few copies of other member memorials.

Johnson's served as a judge for the North Carolina Society of County and Local Historians' Robert Bruce Cooke Memorial Award in 1974. The award was presented to "writers interested in genealogy and the contributions of North Carolina families." The 1974 winner was Charles Richard Sander's The Cameron Plantation in Central North Carolina (1776-1973) and Its Founder Richard Bennehan . Correspondence is chiefly with Society Secretary Margaret McMaham.

Johnson appears to have been a member of this group. Included are letters announcing meetings of the Society and The North Carolina Historical Review subscription information.

Johnson appears to have been a member of this group. Included are two letters, one in 1973 from the Mecklenburg Historical Association seeking matching funds from the state legislature to carry out local history society projects and the other in 1986 from the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources concerning the Historic Sites Needs Survey.

Johnson was a member of the Chapel Hill Community Council, which was involved in coordinating various group projects and promoting such activities as establishing a public library, investigating school finances, and organizing combined charity fundraising in the town. Included are newsletters, minutes, and meeting notices.

Founded in 1972, by Helena Kyle, president of the Chapel Hill AAUW, the Chapel Hill Council of Women's Organizations (CHCWO) sought to coordinate efforts among local women's groups. CHCWO held Fall Forums with topics like "New Economic Values--Women at Work at Home and at Work in Business" and T"his Business of Volunteerism". It also sponsored an Outstanding Woman Citizen Award (Johnson was the first recipient in 1974) and the Home Assister Service, an in-home assistance service for older adults, which eventually became an independent organization.

Johnson served on CHCWO's executive board primarily in an advisory capacity. Correspondence is almost exclusively with Kyle. Later materials deal primarily with the Assister Service.

The Chapel Hill League of Women Voters was founded in 1948. Johnson was selected the following year as the Chapel Hill representative in the founding of the state League. She also was chosen to chair the committee responsible for writing the first League Handbook on state government. She resigned from these positions when to work on Frank Porter Graham 1950 United States Senate campaign. League materials mainly concern her brief role as chair of the handbook committee.

Materials from various organizations with which Johnson had a direct, but minor, affiliation or that worked in areas of interest to her. Included are publicity materials of the National Woman's Party that date from the period following the achievement of women's suffrage. Other materials pertain to various women's organizations and governmental departments. Also included are a few documents relating to women at University of North Carolina.

Johnson served on the University of North Carolina Advisory Committee on Sororities for many years. Correspondence includes letters from Dean of Women Katherine Carmichael, who was secretary of the Advisory Committee.

Materials from the University of North Carolina Panhellenic Council include correspondence, minutes, membership lists, rules and regulations, financial information, new chapter requests, and lists of academic ratings of the different fraternities and sororities. Some materials relate a food co-op run through a trade association comprised of Greek organizations with Johnson serving as a committee member. There are also items about Johnson's being honored by the Hellanas Society in 1968 for her contributions to Greek life.

Some materials discuss the consumption of alcohol at fraternities. There are also letters from the mid-1960s concerning discrimination in the fraternity/sorority system and materials that Johnson collected about problems of discrimination/segregation within the Greek system, including a legal review of a racial discrimination case in 1953 against Phi Sigma Kappa in which the faculty voted for expulsion of the fraternity because of their treatment of an African-American pledge. There is also correspondence from Sigma Chi concerning desegregation and materials from a "bias clause" discrimination suit involving Sigma Chi's "whites only" policy. Edgewater Conference materials relate to the Conference's mission to prevent the spread of communism into the society, which may have been an effort to derail desegregation efforts in fraternities and sororities.

In 1955, Johnson was awarded honorary membership in Delta Kappa Gamma, a National Honor Society for Women Teachers. Correspondence from President Catherine Dennis details the invitation for induction. Other materials in the Delta Kappa Gamma files include numerous congratulatory letters to Johnson, invitations for speaking engagements, directories, newsletters, and convention information.

Johnson was also a member of Theta Sigma Phi, a professional organization for women journalists; Phi Beta Kappa; and the University of North Carolina Valkyries, a service organization with members from all areas of University life

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, writings, drafts, research notes, and other materials relating to Johnson's writings. Most items relate to Social History of the Sea Islands (1930); Antebellum North Carolina (1937), which began as her doctoral dissertation; and Volunteers in Community Service (1967), which was sponsored by the North Carolina Council of Women's Organizations (see also Series 6).

For newspaper articles by Johnson, see Series 16.

A sampling of notes, clippings, surveys, court briefs, newspaper articles, and other materials relating to antebellum North Carolina. Topics include slavery, customs, religion, crime, and manufacturing. Some biographies are also included.

Writings collected by Johnson. Topics include race, community, Latin America, Lutheranism, and Catholic educational integration in 1953. Included is the poem, author unknown, that Louise Ballard sent to Johnson in 1951. The poem is included in this inventory's the biographical note.

Arrangement: loosely chronological by delivery date.

Correspondence, notes, programs, and publicity materials related to Johnson's speaking engagements.

Arrangement: chronological.

Texts and/or drafts of speeches given by Johnson over a period of five decades, but especially in the late-1950s to the mid-1960s. Dates appear when known.