North Carolina Council on Human Relations Records Inventory (#4880)

Manuscripts DepartmentLibrary of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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

Teresa Church

Date Completed

July 1999

Encoded by

Teresa Church

Descriptive Summary Including Abstract

Title

North Carolina Council on Human Relations Records (#4880) 1940s-1980s (bulk 1954-1969)

Creator

North Carolina Council on Human Relations.

Extent

About 27,500 items (26.5 linear feet)

Repository

Southern Historical Collection

Abstract

The North Carolina Council on Human Relations (NCCHR) was one of twelve state organizations affiliated with the Southern Regional Council (SRC). An interracial organization, it sought, from 1954 until 1969, to solve racial problems in North Carolina through research and communication. NCCHR records include correspondence, reports, proposals, financial records, newsletters, speeches, and other materials relating to the NCCHR and to its local affiliates. There are reports and correspondence of executive directors Harry S. Jones, Helen Adams Furman, and Will C. Allred, Jr. Also included are small numbers of records of the Southern Regional Council and human relations councils in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Topics include social and economic conditions of African Americans in North Carolina and the South, civil rights, education, employment, integration of public schools and higher education, labor relations, labor unions, private and public housing, and race relations.

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 Will C. Allred, Jr., of Statesville, N.C., in July 1997 (Acc. 97091) and from Wayne Bowers of Chapel Hill, N.C., in June 2001 (Acc. 98962).

Processing Information

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

Online Catalog Terms

African Americans--North Carolina.

African Americans--Southern States.

Allred, Will C. (William Clifton).

Alabama Council on Human Relations, Inc.

Arkansas Council on Human Relations.

Civil rights--North Carolina.

Civil rights--Southern States.

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

Education--Southern States--History--20th century.

Florida Council on Human Relations.

Furman, Helen Adams.

Georgia Council on Human Relations.

Greensboro Commission on Human Relations.

Jones, Harry S., d. 1963.

Housing--North Carolina.

Industrial relations--North Carolina.

Industrial relations--Southern States.

Kentucky Council on Human Relations, Inc.

Louisiana Council on Human Relations.

Mississippi Council on Human Relations.

North Carolina Council on Human Relations.

North Carolina--Economic conditions--20th century.

North Carolina--Race relations--20th century.

Public housing--North Carolina.

Race relations--Societies, etc.--History--20th century.

Raleigh Council on Human Relations.

School integration--North Carolina.

Segregation in education--North Carolina.

Segregation in higher education--North Carolina.

South Carolina Council on Human Relations.

Southern Regional Council.

Southern States--Race relations--20th century.

Southern States--Economic conditions--20th century.

Tennessee Council of Human Relations.

Trade unions--North Carolina.

Virginia Council on Human Relations.

Historical Note

The North Carolina Council on Human Relations (NCCHR) was one of twelve state organizations affiliated with the Southern Regional Council (SRC), successor to the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, which became active in 1919. The SRC's board membership transcended boundaries of major religious faiths and included both blacks and whites. Other states with organizations similar to NCCHR included Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The stated assumption of the North Carolina Council was that the people of North Carolina had enough good will and commitment to democratic and religious ideals to solve their human relations problems. Toward this end, the NCCHR endeavored to establish communications across racial lines, to study racial problems in local communities, and to work out solutions through peaceful evolution.

The NCCHR carried forward the work of the North Carolina Commission on Interracial Cooperation. Begun in 1921, the North Carolina Commission existed as a private organization chartered by the state, with governors serving as honorary chairs. In 1951, the organization became a state division of the Southern Regional Council, but was relatively inactive in the early 1950s. In 1954, in response to the Browndecision, members revived the organization, changed its name, employed Harry S. Jones as executive secretary, and embarked on a new program. The new charter and by-laws became official on 6 January 1955.

A native of Paris, Mo., Harry S. Jones served as executive secretary for nine years, until his death in 1963. Following Jones's death, Helen Adams, who later married and became Helen Adams Furman, served as the second executive director from 1964 to 1965. Furman was a native of Birmingham, Ala. Will C. Allred, Jr., was executive director from 1966 until the Council closed its doors in 1969.

Collection Overview

Correspondence, reports, proposals, financial records, newsletters, and other records of the North Carolina Council on Human Relations(NCCHR) and its local affiliates, chiefly dealing with race relations in North Carolina. There are reports and correspondence of executive directors Harry S. Jones, Helen Adams Furman, and Will C. Allred, Jr.Unlike the correspondence of Jones and Allred, materials pertaining to Furman are too few in quantity to comprise their own subseries. Items documenting her service to the Council are included along with other correspondence in subseries 1.3. The collection also includes small numbers of records of the Southern Regional Counciland human relations councils in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The bulk of the materials in this collection date from 1954 to 1969. There is, however, a small number of items from the 1940s, primarily correspondence of various SRC officials. Post-1969 correspondence letters and related materials sent to Will C. Allred, Jr., after the North Carolina Council on Human Relations closed its doors in 1969.

Organization of Collection

1. Correspondence
1.1. Jones, Harry S.
1.2. Allred, Will C., Jr.
1.3. Other Correspondence
2. Administrative Materials
3. Local Councils and Affiliates
4. Southern Regional Council
5. Other State Councils
6. Subject Files
7. Pictures

Series Descriptions

Items Separated

Items separated include photographs (P-4880/Folders 1-2).

Related Collections

North Carolina Commission on Interracial Cooperation Records (#3823) and North Carolina Fund Records (#4710), Southern Historical Collection;
Southern Regional Council Records (microfilm copy), Davis Microforms (#1-2973), Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.