Inventory of the Floyd B. McKissick Papers, 1940s-1980s

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Biographical Note

Floyd B. McKissick (1922-1991), the son of Ernest Boyce and Magnolia Thompson McKissick, was born in Asheville, N.C., on 9 March 1922. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from North Carolina Central University. During the course of his educational pursuits, he also became the first Black man to attend the Law School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

McKissick was a noted attorney, businessman and civil rights champion. Through his professional career in North Carolina and elsewhere, he had affiliations with some of America's most prominent and influential personalities. He served as national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and later became national director of that organization. McKissick also held an advisory role with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and he was the founder and president of McKissick Enterprises. He was a much-sought-after speaker, as well as the author of Three-Fifths of a Man (1969) and numerous other writings.

During the early 1970s, McKissick founded Soul City near Warrenton, N.C. The new township was designed to promote economic empowerment of African Americans and was often referred to as the "first Freestanding Community in modern history."

Floyd McKissick and his wife, Evelyn Williams McKissick, had four children: Joycelyn; Andree; Floyd, Jr.; and Charmaine. McKissick died in his home state on 28 April 1991; he was 69 years of age.

Collection Overview

Materials documenting Floyd B. McKissick's work as an lawyer, businessman, and civil rights leader. Included are items pertaining to his law practice in Durham, N.C.; his service, beginning in 1966, as national director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); his work as advisor to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); and his interests in politics and education. Many items relate to Soul City, N.C., a town owned and operated by African Americans near Warrenton, N.C. Included are items describing the impact of Soul City on rural Warren County, N.C., and Vance County, N.C. Among the companies documented are McKissick Enterprises of New York and North Carolina; City Development, Inc.; HealthCo, Inc.; Madison and McKissick Development, Inc.; McKissick S.C. Associates; the Soul City Foundation and other Soul City companies; and the Warren Regional Planning Corporation. There are also a few items relating to the McKissick family and to his affiliation with the Republican Party at the local, state, and national levels.

Please note that the arrangement of materials in this collection was partially determined by original order as received. Because of that, researchers should be sure to check all possible locations for materials of interest. Also note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.

Arrangement of Collection

Items Separated

Detailed Description of the Collection

Materials pertaining to the Soul City Company and its various supporting entities, including Warren Regional Planning Corporation, Soul City Foundation, Soul City Sanitary District, and others. This company was created by Floyd B. McKissick Enterprises for the purpose of developing the Soul City township in rural Warren County, N.C.

The Soul City Company existed as a limited partnership and was comprised of the following entities: McKissick Enterprises; the National Housing Partnership, a private organization created by Congress under the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968; and Madison-Madison International, an architectural and planning firm with offices in Cleveland, Ohio, Washington, D.C., and Gary, Ind. This series includes correspondence, financial and administrative materials, clippings, and photographs.

Materials pertaining to the history, development, and business operations of the Soul City Company and its efforts relating to the Soul City project. Included are items concerning Floyd B. McKissick and to the supporting entities that were instrumental in making the Soul City township a reality in rural Warren County, N.C.

Correspondence pertaining to the Soul City Company and virtually every aspect of the Soul City project. Included are letters exchanged between Floyd B. McKissick and a wide range of correspondents. Among these are letters concerning the affiliation of McKissick and his professional staff with business concerns from throughout North Carolina and the United States that became involved with the project; letters exchanged with businesses and individuals seeking opportunities to provide goods and services to the Soul City Company; and letters exchanged between McKissick and government officials at the local, state, and national levels. The latter show the participation of the United States Department of HUD and its offices in Greensboro, N.C., and Atlanta, Ga., documenting the planning, funding, development, and management of the project.

There are also letters that McKissick received from individuals, including noted personalities, who wrote to express their admiration and support for the project. Among those who wrote are the Reverend Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ in Redwood Valley, Calif., (folder 87); the Reverend Jesse Jackson of Operation PUSH (August 1974); and Hattie James, a New York schoolteacher and the mother of actor Laurence Fishburne (folder 543).

Materials pertaining to the financial operations of the Soul City Company. The series includes correspondence, as well as budgets, balance sheets, and related work papers.

Correspondence pertaining to financial transactions made by the Soul City Company through its routine business operations. The items in this series also document financial transactions made on behalf of the Soul City project. These materials shed light on some of the various goods and services that the Soul City project acquired during the course of developing the Soul City project.