Alan McSurely Papers Inventory (#4928)

Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the African American Resources Collection, North Carolina Central University

Contact Information:

Manuscripts Department

CB#3926, Wilson Library

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890

Phone: 919/962-1345

Fax: 919/962-3594

Email: mss@email.unc.edu

URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/

Processed by

Adina Lack

Date Completed

April 2000

Encoded by

Adina Lack

Descriptive Summary Including Abstract

Title

Alan McSurely Papers (#4928)1928-1985 (bulk 1960s-1980s)

Creator

McSurely, Alan, 1936- .

Extent

About 12,800 items (13.0 linear feet)

Repository

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.

Language

English.

Administrative Information

Access

No restrictions.

Usage Restrictions

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Provenance

Received from, and held jointly with, North Carolina Center for the Study of Black History, North Carolina Central University, in April 1998 (Acc. 98079).

Processing Information

This collection was processed with support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Alan McSurely Papers, #4928, Southern Historical Collection of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the African American Resources Collection of North Carolina Central University.

Online Catalog Terms

African Americans--Civil rights--History--20th century.

African Americans--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.

Congress of Racial Equality.

Labor unions--United States--History--20th century.

Lawyers--North Carolina--History--20th century.

McSurely, Alan, 1936- .

McSurely, Margaret, 1936- .

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Pearson, Drew, 1897-1969.

Protest movements--United States--History.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Southern Conference Educational Fund.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.).

Biographical Note

Lawyer Alan McSurely of Chapel Hill, N.C., was born in 1936 in Dayton, Ohio. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1959. During the 1960s, he and his wife, Margaret McSurely, worked with a number of organizations in Kentucky and other states that endeavored to eliminate poverty, bring about an end to segregation, and organize workers in labor disputes. Included among these were the United Planning Organization, Appalachian Volunteers, CORE, SCEF, Mississippi Freedom, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Because of their association with organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Conference Educational Fund, the McSurelys captured the attention of the FBI. Their political views and organizing work made them the subjects of an extensive investigation in the late 1960s. As a result, they were labeled as radicals and accused of holding memberships in communist organizations. Such accusations and suspicions led to a 1967 raid on the McSurelys' Kentucky home and the seizure of numerous books and other materials. Alan and Margaret McSurely were arrested for sedition, an event that marked the beginning of a lengthy battle in the courts.

Through an order handed down by the United States Circuit Court in 1968, the McSurelys succeeded in reclaiming their seized property, which was later subpoenaed again. The following year, the McSurelys appeared before the McClellan Subcommittee of the United States Senate and were charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over the materials. They were tried and convicted in 1970, but the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned their convictions in 1972. In 1983, a jury awarded the McSurelys more than a million dollars in damages for the violation of their constitutional rights.

Alan McSurely has practiced law in Chapel Hill, N.C., earning a reputation as a legal advocate for many in the African American community and for his handling of numerous controversial cases dealing with matters such as civil rights and labor disputes.

Collection Overview

The collection is comprised of correspondence, legal documents, photographs, and publications pertaining to Alan McSurely's and Margaret McSurely's work with civil rights and labor organizations in the 1960s and 1970s. Among these groups were the Southern Conference Educational Fund, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (formerly known as the Student National Coordinating Committee), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Included are numerous documents concerning the McSurelys' 1967 arrest for sedition in Kentucky; their 1969 arrest for contempt of Congress; and their legal battles and appeals, which continued until the 1980s. The McSurelys were ultimately freed in both arrests and won a damage suit in 1983 against those who had arrested them. Also included are photocopies of materials relating to Drew Pearson that the McSurelys collected for the relevance to their own legal battles.

Organization of Collection

1. General Correspondence
2. Legal Materials
2.1. Legal Correspondence
2.2. Court Documents
2.3. FBI Files
2.3.1. Documents Responsive to Interrogatories
2.3.2. Miscellaneous FBI Files
2.4. Drew Pearson Papers
3. Political and Labor Organizations
4. Writings and Speeches
5. Clippings
6. Photographs

Items Separated

Separated items include photographs (P-4928).

Series Descriptions