Inventory of the Marion A. Wright Papers, 1912-1982

Collection Number 3830

Manuscripts Department, University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Collection Information

Descriptive Summary

Administrative Information

Online Catalog Headings

Biographical/Historical Note

Collection Overview

Detailed Description of the Collection

Items Separated

Related Collections

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/

Descriptive Summary

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

Creator: Wright, Marion A. (Marion Allan), 1894-1983.

Title: Marion A. Wright Papers, 1912-1982

Call Number: 3830

Language of Materials: Materials in English

Extent: Items: About 18,500; Linear Feet: 22.0

Abstract

Marion Allan Wright (1894-1983) of South Carolina was an attorney, author, member of the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union, and civil rights supporter.

Chiefly correspondence, financial and legal materials, speeches and writings, subject files, and other papers relating to the Southern Regional Council, 1951-1971; Penn Community Services, 1947-1965; and North Carolinians Against the Death Penalty, 1964-1971. The papers document Wright's association with these organizations and his interest in human rights, desegregation, the abolition of the death penalty, and civil liberties. Correspondents include Guy B. Johnson, James McBride Dabbs, Raymond Wheeler, Benjamin Mayo, Paul E. Green, and Wright's wife, Alice Spearman Wright.

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Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access: No restrictions.

Acquisitions Information: The first accession was received from Marion Allan Wright, of "Topknot," Linville Falls, N.C., in October 1971. Nine more accessions from Wright were received between 1973 and 1977. In March 1979, two gifts from Arnold Shankman of Winthrop College, Rock Hill, S.C., were added. The final accession was received from Mrs. Marion Wright (Alice N. Spearman) in August 1983.

Processing Information: Processed by: Brooke Allen, 1972; Ellen Neal, 1977; Tim West, 1979; Cynthia Crouch, 1984; Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], in the Marion A. Wright Papers #3830, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Copyright Notice: Retained by the writers and by the descendants of writers of items in these papers, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Online Catalog Headings

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

American Civil Liberties Union.

Capital punishment--United States.

Civil rights movements--United States.

Civil rights--United States.

Dabbs, James McBride, 1896-1970.

Green, Paul, 1894-1981.

Human rights--United States.

Johnson, Guy Benton, 1901-1991.

Lawyers--United States--History--20th century.

Mayo, Benjamin.

North Carolinians Against the Death Penalty.

Penn Community Services.

Segregation--United States.

Social reformers--United States--History--20th century.

Southern Regional Council.

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

Wheeler, Raymond Milner, 1919-1982.

Wright, Alice Norwood Spearman, 1902-1989.

Wright, Marion A. (Marion Allan), 1894-1983.

Related Collections

Penn School Papers (#3615)
Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Interview with Alice Spearman Wright. G-65-1.
Interview with Marion Allan Wright. B-31, B-32, B-33, and B-34.
James McBride Dabbs Papers (#3816)
Raymond M. Wheeler Papers (#4366)
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Biographical/Historical Note

18 January 1894 Born in Johnston, South Carolina

1910-1914 Attended the University of South Carolina (did not receive degree)

1912-1919 Witnessed South Carolina's first 16 executions by electrocution, as a reporter for the Columbia Record

1914-1915 Taught in the public schools of Winston Salem, North Carolina

1916 Married Lelia Hauser

1919 Received a law degree from the University of South Carolina

1919-1947 Practiced corporate law in Conway, South Carolina

1937-1943 Served as chairman of the Illiteracy Commission

1941-1945 Served as a member of the Enemy Alien Board for South Carolina

1947-1963 Served as board member (1947-1957) and board chairman (1957-1963) of the Penn Community Services, Inc., Frogmore, St. Helena Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina

1948 Moved to Linville Falls, North Carolina

1951-1958 Served as president of the Southern Regional Council

1958-1965 Served as vice-president of the Southern Regional Council

1967 Founded and served as first president of the North Carolinians Against the Death Penalty

1969 Married Alice Norwood Spearman after having been a widower for 13 years

1978 Publication of Human Rights Odyssey, which won the Lillian Smith Award for nonfiction from the Southern Regional Council

1980 Received honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Winthrop College, Rock Hill, South Carolina

14 February 1983 Died at Crossnore, North Carolina

(See also the interview of Wright by Arnold Shankman and biographical materials on Wright in Series 6.)

Collection Overview

The papers of Marion Allan Wright (1894-1983) consist chiefly of correspondence, but also include speeches, writings, printed material, financial records, a few photographs, and other material. The oldest items are copies of articles which concern the first executions by electrocution in South Carolina, written by Wright for the Columbia Record in 1912. The most recent items include correspondence to and from family members and associates. The bulk of the material dates from between 1960 and 1975, and concerns the abolition of the death penalty, civil rights, and Wright's activities on the boards of the Southern Regional Council and Penn Community Services, Inc.

Wright's papers are arranged into seven categories that he himself established, and reflect his work and activities principally during his North Carolina years:

The researcher should note that there is considerable overlap of subjects and correspondents among the series.

Arrangement of Collection

Series 1. Southern Regional Council
Series 2. Penn School
Series 3. Death Penalty
Series 4. Speeches and Writings
Series 5. General Correspondence
Series 6. Subject Files
Series 7. Pictures
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Items Separated

Series 4. Discs. D-3830/1-20
Series 7. Pictures. P-3830/1-5

Detailed Description of the Collection

1. Southern Regional Council, 1951-1976.

Approximately 3,000 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, reports, minutes, speeches, and other records relating to the Southern Regional Council. Marion Wright's collection of Southern Regional Council papers dates from 1951. On December 13 of that year Wright became president of the organization, which had been founded in 1944. Wright had previously been a member of the SRC's Board of Directors.

The majority of the correspondence during the first years of his presidency was with other SRC officers, particularly George Mitchell, Executive Director; Harold Fleming, Director of Information; Katherine Stoney, Secretary and Treasurer; Paul Williams and Guy Johnson, the previous president and vice president; and various members who were also friends, such as Judge Waties Waring and Hyman Rubin.

In 1952 the SRC faced financial difficulties. Included in this series is documentation on the eventually successful SRC appeal to various foundations for aid. Grants, large and small, came from the Fund for the Republic, the Ford Foundation, the AFL, the William C. Whitney Fund, and several others. These grants, were vital to the SRC's continued existence during the 1950s.

Also included in this series are minutes of Executive Committee meetings; copies of speeches by Wright and others; reports on the activities of SRC officers; correspondence concerning various controversies that arose during these years; and reports and studies on current issues.

In early 1958, when James M. Dabbs became president of the SRC, Marion Wright became vice-president. The correspondence after this date is mainly between Wright and the new officers: Dabbs, Albert Dent, Rufus Clement, Frederick Routh, Paul Anthony, Marge Manderson, John Constable, Ruth House Alexander, and others. Wright also continued his correspondence with Paul Williams and Harold Fleming.

In 1965 Wright vacated his post as vice-president, and became a member of the Council's Executive Committee. He continued to correspond with the organization's officers, including, John Wheeler, Raymond Wheeler, Josephine Wilkens, Joseph Haas, and a few others. The quantity of correspondence after 1965 decreased, however, with Wright's decreasing involvement with the SRC.

After the 1970 SRC elections, Wright resigned from his position on the Executive Committee. As a result, very little of the post-1970 material concerns the SRC. The last two folders in the series include newspaper clippings, 1951-1971, and a report (labeled "Clark Report") of the SRC Self Evaluation Consultant, probably dating from 1963.

Folder 1-4

Feb-Dec 1951

Folder 5-24

1952

Folder 25

Undated 1951-1952

Folder 26-45

1953

Folder 46-63

1954

Folder 64

Undated 1953-1954

Folder 65-92

1955

Folder 93-105

1956

Folder 106-119

1957

Folder 120

Undated 1956-1957

Folder 121-127

1958

Folder 128-135

1959

Folder 136-139

1960

Folder 140-143

1961

Folder 144-147

1962

Folder 148-151

1963

Folder 152

Undated 1961-1963

Folder 153

1964

Folder 154

1965

Folder 155-156

1966

Folder 157-159

1967

Folder 160-162

1968

Folder 163-172

1969

Folder 173

1970-1976

Folder 174

Undated 1968-1971

Folder 175

Miscellaneous clippings

Folder 176

Clark report (1963?)

2. Penn School, 1947-1977.

Approximately 3,500 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, reports, financial records, and minutes on Marion Wright's association with the Penn School. Wright became a member of the Penn School's Board of Trustees in 1947, immediately before the school's change in status from Penn Normal, Agricultural, and Industrial School to Penn Community Services, Inc. in 1948. In 1950, when Courtney Siceloff became Director of Penn Community Services in Beaufort County, the Board of Trustees was seeking to reorient its predominantly northern membership. Wright, who was originally from Beaufort, became the Board's chairman in 1957.

The majority of Wright's correspondence was with Mr.and Mrs. Siceloff and other Board members, notably Vice-Chairman Harold Evans, James M. Dabbs, Dr. Ira DeA. Reid, Tartt Bell, the Reverend Cornelius Wood, George H. Aull, Mrs. Eugene Spearman, Grace House, and Paul W. Brown Junior The series also includes correspondence with Penn's Advisory Board, which increased in membership during the first years of Wright's chairmanship. These correspondents include Francis R. Cope, George A. Buchanan, Grace T. Hamilton, Benjamin Mays, and Mrs. Y. W. Bailey. Wright also corresponded with organizations interested in Penn, such as the American Friends Service Committee; foundations, such as the Fund for the Republic; and other individuals, such as playwright Paul Green.

This series also provides a financial record of the organization-monthly and annual budget statements, annual budget proposals, personnel records, and records on Penn's land and other purchases. Also included in the series are minutes of Board meetings, quarterly reports, and committee and other reports. A few newsletters issued by Penn Community Services concerning its activities can be found among the papers, but they do not comprise a regular or continuous record.

Although the Penn series continues until 1977, the effective end of the series occurs with Marion Wright's resignation from the Board of Trustees at the end of 1963. Also, there is a gap in the papers between April 1956 and February 1957.

Folder 177

1947

Folder 178-182

1948

Folder 183-184

1949

Folder 185

1950

Folder 186-188

1951

Folder 189-192

1952

Folder 193-196

1953

Folder 197-200

1954

Folder 201-204

1955

Folder 205-206

1956

Folder 207-215

1957

Folder 216-229

1958

Folder 230-238

1959

Folder 239-254

1960

Folder 255-267

1961

Folder 268-278

1962

Folder 279-290

1963

Folder 291-294

Jan-June 1964

Folder 295

Oct 1964-Feb 1965

Folder 296

1977

Folder 297-298

Printed Materials

3. Death Penalty, 1964-1982.

Approximately 2,500 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, statements, press releases, lists, and questionnaires documenting Wright's work against the death penalty in North Carolina, and the formation and activities of North Carolinians Against the Death Penalty (NCADP). NCADP was formed in January 1967, and Wright became its first president. The records in this series, however, date from 1964, when Wright began to gather information from similar organizations in other states. Also included here is Wright's correspondence with others, including Paul Green, the Reverend William Finlator, Charles Lambeth, and Mrs. Dean Thomas, relative to the establishment of NCADP. Also predating the founding of NCADP are records of Wright's lobbying for the abolition of the death penalty at the 1965 North Carolina General Assembly.

The majority of Wright's correspondence during and after 1967 is with other members of NCADP. In addition to the people mentioned above, Wright corresponded with Mrs. Matt Wall, secretary of the organization and a close friend of Wrights, George Armfield, Irving Carlyle, Reverend Jack Crum, Robert Kimzey, Reverend Robert Seymour and others. Wright also corresponded with legislators and officials on both the state and national levels, including Governor Robert Scott of North Carolina and Michigan Senator Philip Hart.

There is a great deal of documentation for 1967, when the organization was founded and the North Carolina General Assembly was considering a bill to abolish the death penalty. Included in Series 3 are releases concerning the death penalty and reasons for its abolition; lobbying statements; and lists of NCADP members and sympathizers, North Carolina legislators, and candidates for office. After the 1967 General Assembly defeated the bill to abolish the death penalty, NCADP took a survey of governors by using a questionnaire to determine each governor's position on the issue. The returned questionnaires as well as a report on the study can also be found among the 1967 papers.

After 1967, NCADP turned toward influencing the future members of the 1969 General Assembly. As a result, the papers for 1969 contain a large quantity of lists similar to those in 1967. Besides the continued correspondence between NCADP members, the post-1967 NCADP records include letters relating to publicity and fund-raising.

Folder 299-300

1964

Folder 301-303

1965

Folder 304-305

Undated 1964-1966

Folder 306

1966

Folder 307-308

Jan-Feb 1967

Folder 309

Diary 21 Feb-20 Apr 1967

Folder 310-332

Mar-Dec 1967

Folder 333-334

Undated 1967

Folder 335

"Criminal Homicide in California" 1967

Folder 336-338

Lists 1967

Folder 339-350

1967

Folder 351-358

1968

Folder 359-367

1969

Folder 368

Undated releases 1968-1969

Folder 369

Undated lists and a map of the legislature building 1969

Folder 370-380

1970

Folder 381

Undated releases 1970

Folder 382-384

Newspaper clippings 1964-1971

Folder 385-397

1971

Folder 398-399

1972

Folder 400

1973

Folder 401

1974-1975

Folder 402

1976

Folder 403

1977

Folder 404

1978-1979

Folder 405

1980

Folder 406

1981-1982

Folder 407

Undated

4. Speeches and Writings, 1912-1981.

Approximately 260 items.

Included are speeches, articles, and book reviews written by Marion Wright between 1912 and 1981. Most of these items were written between 1960 and 1980, and chiefly concern civil liberties and the abolition of the death penalty. Also included in the speeches and writings are 15 speeches by Wright which were recorded on 20 small discs. Most of the speeches on the discs also appear in the papers, with the exception of the "Don't Bend Speech" (discs 6-7), the "Tuskegee Speech" (discs 15-17), and the "Warren Wilson Speech" (discs 18-20).

The speeches and writings in Series 4 have been arranged in chronological order by year, and alphabetically by title within each year. Following the dated items are undated items, arranged alphabetically by title; undated and untitled items; typed notes and outlines for speeches and writings; and the discs, arranged alphabetically by title. The folder list which follows includes the year and a title or place to identify the speech or writing.

Folder 408

1912 Protesting Innocence Weldon Died (report for the Columbia Record)

Folder 409

1921 Poverty and Wealth

Folder 409

1921 Saluda Commencement Speech

Folder 409

1921 untitled item (1)

Folder 410

1922 Address at Woodman Unveiling at Booths Church

Folder 410

1922 The Patriotism of Peace

Folder 410

1922 The Value of a Name

Folder 411

1923 Address Delivered on Sunday School Day at Marion, South Carolina

Folder 412

1925 The Pioneer

Folder 413

1926 The Function of a Chamber of Commerce

Folder 414

1930 Sidelights on the Constitutional Convention

Folder 415

1932 Education, a Fundamental of Good Citizenship

Folder 415

1932 George Washington

Folder 415

1932 Rock Hill

Folder 416

1933 Columbia

Folder 417

1934 Some Social and Political Trends and Their Implications for Libraries

Folder 417

1934 State Librarians' Association

Folder 418

1935 The Attitude of the Teacher Toward Public Affairs

Folder 419

1936 The Citizens Library Movement

Folder 419

1936 Morticians' Convention

Folder 420

1938 The Rooster that Laid an Egg

Folder 420

1938 untitled item (1)

Folder 421

1939 Conway American Legion

Folder 421

1939 Need Of A State Library System For South Carolina

Folder 421

1939 untitled item (1)

Folder 422

1940 The Disposition of Punitive Damages

Folder 423

1945 Facing Facts in South Carolina

Folder 424

1947 The American Pipit

Folder 424

1947 Schizophrenia at Upper Creek

Folder 425

1948 Best Part of the Calf

Folder 425

1948 Segregation vs. the Space Age

Folder 426

1949 Alaskan Stevedore

Folder 426

1949 Cooling Off Period

Folder 426

1949 David Winecoff, Stockholder

Folder 426

1949 My Winter in the Yukon

Folder 426

1949 On Presenting a Compass to Dr. C.L. Busbee (poem)

Folder 426

1949 Outside Interference in Civil Rights

Folder 426

1949 Port of Debunkation

Folder 426

1949 To Be or Knot to Be

Folder 427

1950 Additional Colloquialisms Observed in Horry County, South Carolina

Folder 428

1951 Making Democracy Work in South Carolina

Folder 429

1952 After the Supreme Court Decision on Segregation in Public Schools, What?

Folder 429

1952 Harvard Law School Forum

Folder 430

1953 Our American Heritage

Folder 430

1953 South Carolina Vendetta

Folder 430

1953 Southerners for Civil Rights

Folder 430

1953 untitled item (l)

Folder 431

1954 Lanier Society

Folder 431

1954 The Library and Civil Rights

Folder 431

1954 Literacy and the Free Mind

Folder 431

1954 untitled item (1)

Folder 432

1955 How to Implement the Supreme Court Decision of May 17

Folder 432

1955 National Committee for Rural Schools

Folder 432

1955 Our New Responsibilities in the Field of Race Relations

Folder 432

1955 President's Annual Address

Folder 432

1955 Progress in the South

Folder 432

1955 Voice from the Tallahatchie

Folder 432

1955 untitled items (2)

Folder 433

1956 The Fellowship of the Concerned

Folder 433

1956 The Library and Civil Rights

Folder 434

1957 Integration and Public Morals

Folder 434

1957 Public Ethics and the Integration Question

Folder 434

1957 Tribute to George S. Mitchell

Folder 435-436

1958 The Churches' Moral Problem

Folder 435-436

1958 Fall-Out

Folder 435-436

1958 Firm Foundations for Democratic Advance

Folder 435-436

1958 Integration Trends in the South

Folder 435-436

1958 Progress in Desegregation? View from the South

Folder 435-436

1958 Role of Southern Women in 1960 (previous title: College Woman as Citizen)

Folder 435-436

1958 Signs of the Times

Folder 435-436

1958 The Southern Dilemma

Folder 435-436

1958 Southerner on Race

Folder 435-436

1958 untitled items (3)

Folder 437-438

1959 Aftermath of the Decision

Folder 437-438

1959 Anatomy of the Resistance

Folder 437-438

1959 By-Products of Resistance

Folder 437-438

1959 The Citizens Responsibility

Folder 437-438

1959 The College Woman as Citizen

Folder 437-438

1959 Everyone is Responsible for Applying Principles

Folder 437-438

1959 Integration Trends in the South (abridged version)

Folder 437-438

1959 Legal and Moral Aspects of Segregation

Folder 437-438

1959 New Invasion of the North

Folder 437-438

1959 New Role of the Private Citizen

Folder 437-438

1959 Segregation Today--North and South

Folder 437-438

1959 Todays Challenge to the Schools

Folder 437-438

1959 Who is a Subversive

Folder 437-438

1959 untitled items (2)

Folder 439-443

1960-1960 Biennial Conference of ACLU

Folder 439-443

1960 The Changing South

Folder 439-443

1960 Civil Disobedience

Folder 439-443

1960 The College and Accelerated Social Action

Folder 439-443

1960 Doughnuts and Democracy

Folder 439-443

1960 Editor at War (review)

Folder 439-443

1960 Executive Action in the School Crisis

Folder 439-443

1960 The Image of the United States at Home and Abroad

Folder 439-443

1960 The Impact of Social Change on the Goals of Our Colleges

Folder 439-443

1960 The New Proclamation

Folder 439-443

1960 Public Interest in Private Acts

Folder 439-443

1960 Race Relations in the South Today: Progress and Prospect

Folder 439-443

1960 Role of the Southern Woman in 1960

Folder 439-443

1960 Some Events of 1960: Their Implications for North Carolina

Folder 439-443

1960 Southern School Situation

Folder 439-443

1960 The Students New Role

Folder 444-447

1961 The City and the National Image

Folder 444-447

1961 The Impact of Social Change on the Goals of Our Colleges

Folder 444-447

1961 The Impact of a State

Folder 444-447

1961 Lonely Judges (review)

Folder 444-447

1961 Looking Ahead with the South

Folder 444-447

1961 The Minister as Citizen

Folder 444-447

1961 The Minister and the State

Folder 444-447

1961 The New Proclamation

Folder 444-447

1961 The Positive Approach

Folder 444-447

1961 Progress and Prospect

Folder 444-447

1961 The Right to Protest

Folder 444-447

1961 The South and Civil Disobedience

Folder 444-447

1961 The Student and a Changing Society

Folder 444-447

1961 You Can't Go Home Again

Folder 448

1962 Freedom Ride (review)

Folder 448

1962 The Negro College and Adult Education

Folder 448

1962 The New Enemy is Entrenched Guile

Folder 448

1962 Progress in Southern Race Relations since 1954

Folder 448

1962 The Right to Protest

Folder 448

1962 The Role of Government in Intergroup Relations

Folder 448

1962 The South and the New World Order

Folder 448

1962 untitled item (1)

Folder 449

1963 Citizen and State

Folder 449

1963 Garden Notes

Folder 449

1963 More Bricks with Less Straw

Folder 449

1963 New Role of the Southern Liberal

Folder 449

1963 Public Accommodations: Panel Discussion at Chapel Hill

Folder 449

1963 Role of the Southern Liberal

Folder 449

1963 The Sit-in Movement: Progress Report and Prognosis

Folder 449

1963 Sociology, Psychology and Civil Rights

Folder 449

1963 untitled item (1)

Folder 450

1964 Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

Folder 450

1964 Law and Brotherhood

Folder 450

1964 Parkinson's Disease

Folder 450

1964 Paul Green: An Appreciation

Folder 450

1964 Poverty, Race, and Capital Punishment

Folder 450

1964 South Carolina and Civil Liberties

Folder 450

1964 untitled items (2)

Folder 451

1965 Mexican Tour 1965

Folder 451

1965 Private Folks and Southern Fraternity

Folder 451

1965 Relation of Ethics to Government

Folder 451

1965 Shall North Carolina Abolish the Death Penalty?

Folder 451

1965 untitled items

Folder 452

1966 The Diverse Society

Folder 452

1966 untitled item (1)

Folder 453

1967 Importance of the Public Library

Folder 453

1967 The Morality of Capital Punishment

Folder 454

1968 The Death Penalty

Folder 454

1968 Federal vs. State Power

Folder 454

1968 Juvenile Delinquency

Folder 455

1969 Civil Liberties and the Diverse Society

Folder 455

1969 Exercise in Total Recall

Folder 455

1969 Organizations of North Carolinians vs. Death Penalty

Folder 455

1969 Report on Activities of North Carolinians Against the Death Penalty

Folder 455

1969 untitled item (1 poem)

Folder 456

1970 Is This Death Necessary?

Folder 456

1970 Like Father, Like Son

Folder 456

1970 On Presentation of Civil Liberties Award to John Wheeler

Folder 456

1970 A Plea for the Simple

Folder 456

1970 The State is Ashamed (editorial)

Folder 457

1971 Crime and Punishment

Folder 457

1971 Death Penalty and Prison Reform

Folder 457

1971 Is This Death Necessary?

Folder 457

1971 The Morality of the Death Penalty

Folder 457

1971 Organized Labor and the Death Penalty

Folder 457

1971 Presenting the Frank Porter Graham Civil Liberties Award to Julius Chambers

Folder 457

1971 The Progressive South (editorial)

Folder 457

1971 untitled item (1)

Folder 458

1972 Anatomy of Tyranny

Folder 458

1972 The Crime of Punishment

Folder 458

1972 N.C. Coalition--Address

Folder 458

1972 N.C. Coalition Report (Introduction)

Folder 458

1972 Presenting the Frank Porter Graham Civil Liberties Award to Dr. Paul Green

Folder 458

1972 State Goals

Folder 458

1972 The Student and Civil Liberties

Folder 459

1973 Compassion in Government

Folder 459

1973 Editorial Opinions on the Death Penalty

Folder 459

1973 Shall We Reactivate the Gas Chamber

Folder 460

1974 Conferring the Frank Porter Graham Award upon Professor Dan Pollitt

Folder 460

1974 Introducing Arlie Schardt at NCCLU

Folder 460

1974 Notes on the Lib Movement [On Busing]

Folder 460

1974 Reflections on the Southern Regional Council

Folder 460

1974 Repeat Now

Folder 460

1974 Statement for N.C. Advisory Committee to the Commission on Civil Rights

Folder 460

1974 Two Teachers Made a Difference

Folder 461

1975 Blacks Have Advanced

Folder 461

1975 James McBride Dabbs

Folder 461

1975 Poems: First and Last (review)

Folder 461

1975 Presenting the Frank Porter Graham Award to Senator McNeill Smith

Folder 462-463

1976 Amnesty

Folder 462-463

1976 Brainwashing is Possible (editorial)

Folder 462-463

1976 Civil Liberties and a Diverse Society (editorial)

Folder 462-463

1976 Crime Figures and the Death Penalty

Folder 462-463

1976 The Death Penalty and Public Morals

Folder 462-463

1976 Death Penalty Won't Deter Crime (editorial)

Folder 462-463

1976 The Electric Chair: A Sacred Treasure?

Folder 462-463

1976 Interview with Marion Allan Wright

Folder 462-463

1976 John Brooks

Folder 462-463

1976 Linville Falls Revisited

Folder 462-463

1976 Opposing Capital Punishment in N.C.

Folder 462-463

1976 Presenting the Frank Porter Graham Civil Liberties Award to Reverend Charles Jones

Folder 462-463

1976 Two Men Who Made a Difference

Folder 462-463

1976 untitled item (1 poem)

Folder 464

1977 The Case for Prisoners' Associations (editorial)

Folder 464

1977 Changing the Record of Failure (editorial)

Folder 464

1977 Crime and Punishment

Folder 464

1977 Fear of the Outsider (editorial)

Folder 464

1977 Jim Denny

Folder 464

1977 Letter to President Ford

Folder 464

1977 A Look Fore and Aft

Folder 464

1977 Presenting Frank Porter Civil Liberties Award to Charles F. Lambeth Junior

Folder 464

1977 Remarks before N.C. House Judiciary Committee

Folder 464

1977 A S.C. Prophet Reflects Upon the Past

Folder 464

1977 Turning Point in Library History

Folder 464

1977 Two Southerners Who Made a Difference

Folder 465

1978 Carter Should Rebuke Evangelists (editorial)

Folder 465

1978 Diplomacy by Big Stick is an Idea of the Past

Folder 465

1978 Doctors, Lawyers Deserved Rebuke (editorial)

Folder 465

1978 Interview MAW on N.C. and the Death

Folder 465

1978 Jesse, John and God

Folder 465

1978 A Look to the Future

Folder 465

1978 Presenting the Frank Porter Graham Civil Liberties Award to Norman B. Smith

Folder 465

1978 Speech We Doubt Will Ever Be Delivered in the Senate

Folder 465

1978 South Carolina Vendetta

Folder 465

1978 untitled item (1)

Folder 466

1979 Juvenile Delinquents: We All Create Them (editorial)

Folder 466

1979 Presenting the Frank Porter Graham Civil Liberties Award to Dr. Raymond Wheeler

Folder 466

1979 Reader Believes State Wrong in HEW Controversy (editorial)

Folder 466

1979 The Train and Trenton

Folder 466

1979 untitled item (1)

Folder 467

1980 Presenting the Frank Porter Graham Civil Liberties Award to Dr. W.W. Finlator

Folder 467

1980 untitled item (1)

Folder 468

1981 Right to Read

Folder 468

1981 Paul Green: An Appreciation

Folder 469

A Corn in the Shock

Folder 469

A Cup of Coffee

Folder 469

The Hippie's Paean (poem)

Folder 469

Hospital Talk

Folder 469

How Horry went for Hampton

Folder 469

Integration and the Average Person

Folder 469

Is World Government the Path to World Peace

Folder 469

James Dudley, M.D.

Folder 469

Lazarus (play)

Folder 470

Leadership

Folder 470

Memo on Non-violence

Folder 470

Memorandum: Re Capital Punishment

Folder 470

New Role of the Private Citizen

Folder 470

Notes on Manners and Dress

Folder 470

The Passing of the Family

Folder 470

A Plea for the Simple

Folder 470

Principle or Tabu?

Folder 470

Quotations on the Generation Gap

Folder 470

Religion and the Law

Folder 470

Review: The Magnolia Jungle (fragment)

Folder 470

Senator, Duck that Thought Wave

Folder 470

Short Ballot

Folder 470

Socrates on the Congaree

Folder 470

A Statement on the Race Problem in South Carolina

Folder 470

To Governor James E. Holshauser

Folder 470

Votes for People

Folder 470

The Wounded Lion Strikes Back (poem)

Folder 471

Undated/untitled items

Folder 472-473

Typed notes and outlines

Audiodisc D-3830/1

"Compassion in Government," before the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union, Chapel Hill, NC. 20 Oct 1973.

Audiodisc D-3830/2

"The Crime of Punishment," before the Unitarians, Charlotte, NC. 9 Jan 1972.

Audiodisc D-3830/3

"Crime of Punishment," before the Kiwanis Club, Greensboro, NC. 30 Jan 1972.

Audiodisc D-3830/4

"Crime of Punishment," [1971?, 1977?]

Audiodisc D-3830/5

"Death Penalty and Prison Reform," before the North Carolinians Against the Death Penalty, Raleigh, NC. 16 Feb 1971.

Audiodisc D-3830/6-7

"Don't Bend Speech," before the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union, Greensboro, NC. 1 Nov 1969.

Audiodisc D-3830/8

"Federal vs. State Government," [1968?]

Audiodisc D-3830/9

"North Carolina Coalition," [1972?]

Audiodisc D-3830/10

"On Presenting Civil Liberties Award to Paul Green," Chapel Hill, NC. 3 November 1972.

Audiodisc D-3830/11

"Organized Labor and the Death Penalty," [1971]

Audiodisc D-3830/12

"Repeal Now," before a mass meeting in the Civic Auditorium, Raleigh, NC. 13 Jan 1974.

Audiodisc D-3830/13

"Some Reflections on Southern Regional Council," Atlanta, GA. 15 Nov 1974.

Audiodisc D-3830/14

"State Goals," before Opportunity School, Columbia, SC. 12 Dec 1972.

Audiodisc D-3830/15-17

"Tuskegee Speech," undated (A few notes are included.)

Audiodisc D-3830/18-20

"Warren Wilson Speech," undated

5. General Correspondence, 1945-1982.

Approximately 7,500 items.

These files, designated by Marion Wright as personal correspondence, consist primarily of incoming letters from family (including Alice Spearman before and after her marriage to Wright), friends, and others associated with Wright. There are also carbon copies of outgoing correspondence.

The correspondence in Series 5 deals with a variety of personal, professional, and routine matters. There is extensive correspondence from organizations such as the Southern Regional Council, Penn School, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Red Cross, and the American Friends Service Committee. Included also is correspondence relating to speeches and articles written by Wright, to the dissolution of his law practice in 1947, and to legal cases in which he continued to be interested.

The correspondence in Series 5 has been left in its original order. It was arranged by Wright in alphabetical order within distinct chronological periods, which appear in the following folder list.

Folder 474-479

1945-1953

Folder 480-484

1954-21 Sep 1956

Folder 485-489

22 Sep 1956-19 Feb 1957

Folder 490-494

19 Feb 1957-27 Jan 1958

Folder 495-498

27 Jan-16 Jul 1958

Folder 499-503

16 Jul 1958-22 Jan 1959

Folder 504-508

23 Jan-24 Jun 1959

Folder 509-513

24 Jun-7 Nov 1959

Folder 514-518

7 Nov 1959-20 Apr 1960

Folder 519-524

20 Apr 1960-6 Mar 1961

Folder 525-530

6 Mar 1961-12 Jan 1962

Folder 531-537

12 Jan 1962-13 Jul 1963

Folder 538-583

13 Jul 1963-Jun 1969

Folder 584-588

5 Jul 1969-21 May 1970

Folder 589-593

21 May 1970-Mar 1972

Folder 594-595

1973

Folder 596-597

1974

Folder 598

1975

Folder 599-600

1976

Folder 601-603

1977

Folder 604-605

1978

Folder 606-607

1979

Folder 608

1980

Folder 609

1981

Folder 610

1982 and undated

6. Subject Files, 1913-1982.

Approximately 1,500 items.

Arrangement: Alphabetical by file title.

Chiefly correspondence, newspaper clippings, and other material, most of which has been arranged into subject categories by Wright. Included are materials relating to the Advisory Committee to the U.S. (folders 616-630) which includes correspondence with officials of the Southern Regional Council; the American Civil Liberties Union; and the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union. Also included are correspondence, reviews, and articles concerning publications of Marion Wright. Of special interest are materials relating to the publication of Human Rights Odyssey (1978), a collection of Wright's speeches and articles, edited by Arnold Shankman (folders 637-651, and 664-675).

Folder 611

American Freedom Association

Folder 612-615

American Civil Liberties Union, 1959-1962

Folder 616-630

Civil Rights Commission, North Carolina Advisory Committee

Folder 631

Dabbs, James McBride

Folder 632-634

Editors & Publishers

Folder 635

Evangelists, 1978

Folder 636

Evans, Betty Cotton, 1978

Folder 637-651

Human Rights Odyssey, 1978-1979

Folder 652

Linville Falls Community Church Library, 1965-1968

Folder 653-661

North Carolina Civil Liberties Union, 1972-1982

Folder 662

Panama Canal

Folder 663

Prisoners' Rights

Folder 664-675

Shankman, Arnold

Folder 676-678

Taylor, Sarah E.B.

Folder 679

University of South Carolina-presidency

Folder 680

Ward, Beatrice

Folder 681-683

Waring, J. Waites

Folder 684-688

Whitman, Wanda Wilson

Folder 689

Winthrop College: Mitchell-Johnson Affair, 1913

Folder 690-691

Wright, Marion Allan: Biographical and other materials

7. Pictures, 1964-1977.

5 items.

Arrangement: Pictures of Marion Allan Wright, pictures of identified persons, pictures of unidentified persons.

Five photographs of Marion Allan Wright and his friends and associates taken during the 1960s and 1970s.

Image P-3830/1

MAW taken as he was leaving for a trip around the World, [1962 or 1979?]. Photo.: 20.5 x 25.3 cm.

Image P-3830/2

MAW, 1973. Photo.: 11.2 x 11.4 cm.

Image P-3830/3

Lettie Billings in Hawaii, 1964. Photo.: 9 x 12.7 cm. Info. on verso: "Taken Dec 27, by a sidewalk photographer. Not usually dressed so sedately. Have gone to muu muus and zoris."

Image P-3830/4

Alzelina J. Pinkney and unidentified woman, circa 1965. Photo.: 8.3 x 10.8 cm. Info. on verso: "To U.M. Love & best wishes, 'JO'"

Image P-3830/5

Members of the North Carolinians Against the Death Penalty during a protest march, 1977. Photo.: 12.6 x 8.8 cm. An enclosure with a letter written by Alan Galbraith, 15 September 1977 (Death Penalty Series).