John Kenyon Chapman Papers, 1969-2009

Creator: Chapman, John Kenyon.
Collection number: 3419
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Abstract: John Kenyon Chapman (1947-2009), known as Yonni, was a life-long social justice activist, organizer, and historian who focused his academic and social efforts on workers rights and African American empowerment in central North Carolina. Chapman was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in 1947; graduated from Harvard University in 1969; and then moved to Atlanta, Ga., to join the fight for African American equality. He relocated to North Carolina in 1975 and worked as a laboratory technician at the North Carolina Continue reading “John Kenyon Chapman Papers, 1969-2009”

Raymond B. Mallard Papers, 1937-1970s

Creator: Mallard, Raymond B.
Collection number: 5518
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Abstract: Raymond Bowden Mallard was born in Faison, N.C., in 1908. He was an attorney, state legislator, North Carolina Superior Court judge, and first chief judge of the North Carolina State Court of Appeals. Mallard died in 1979 in Tabor City, N.C. The collection documents Raymond B. Mallard’s judicial career and related civic activities. Materials include correspondence; briefs and other legal documents for a variety of cases, most of which probably duplicate the official records that are filed with the North Carolina Court System; writings; court notes; his diary from the Superior Court special terms of 1964; informal notes and annotations on envelopes and other materials; speeches; newspaper clippings; and photographs, including a few relating to the civil rights protests in Chapel Hill, N.C. The bulk of the materials documents Mallard’s judicial career on the North Carolina Superior Court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Topics include the establishment and function of the Court of Appeals; the trials stemming from the civil rights demonstrations in Chapel Hill; the North Carolina Civil Rights Advisory Committee’s reports on African American participation in instrumentalities of justice and voting history; judicial responsibility for protection of rights of the defendant in high profile cases; preparation and delivery of jury charges; inherent powers of the courts of North Carolina; the Henderson Cotton Mills trials; conflicts with the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI); inmate requests for parole and Mallard’s opinions on criminal recidivism; his interest in student activism on campus; and the North Carolina Bar Association position on legal aid clinics. The collection also documents Mallard’s early work as an attorney for the town of Tabor City, N.C., and board of trustee matters at Pembroke State College, including the conflict over administrative decisions and planning that purportedly diminished the roles and presence of Native Americans at the school.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: Folders 186-188, 196, 197 document cases in the Superior Court relating to Civil Rights. Folders 206-233 particularly contain legal documentation, clippings, letters, and other materials related to the Civil Rights protests in Chapel Hill in 1964.

Image Folder PF-5518/1 also contains a number of photographs of the protests from 1964.

Chang and Eng Bunker Papers, 1832-1874, 1933-1967, 1998

Creator: Bunker, Chang, 1811-1874. Bunker, Eng, 1811-1874.
Collection number: 3761
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Abstract: Chang and Eng Bunker, the original Siamese twins, married sisters Sarah and Adelaide Yates in 1843 and established homes and families in Wilkes County and later Surry County, N.C. The collection includes correspondence, bills, and receipts, including slave bills Continue reading “Chang and Eng Bunker Papers, 1832-1874, 1933-1967, 1998”

William Stevens Powell Material for Iredell and Adjacent Counties, N.C., 1793-1924

Creator: Powell, William Stevens, 1919-, collector.
Collection number: 3300
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Abstract: Papers collected by William S. Powell pertaining to Iredell and adjacent counties of North Carolina. The bulk consists of family correspondence, 1867-1901, and account books of two generations of the Goodman family. Letters are personal correspondence of Tobias Continue reading “William Stevens Powell Material for Iredell and Adjacent Counties, N.C., 1793-1924”

Nash County Historical Association Collection, 1806-1928

Creator: Nash County Historical Association.
Collection number: 5480
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Abstract: The Nash County Historical Association (NCHA), a non-profit group headquartered in Rocky Mount, N.C., was organized in 1970 to promote the study and preservation of local history and genealogy. Since 1975, NCHA has been responsible for the administration, restoration, and
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Ruth West Ramsey Papers, 1961-1972

Creator: Ramsey, Ruth West.
Collection number: 5502
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Abstract: Ruth West Ramsey worked for the Wayne County (N.C.) Welfare Department in the 1960s and attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina School of Social Work, first for a masters in social work, 1961-1962, and then for a supervisory certificate, 1964-1965. The collection contains letters, graduate school papers, a lecture transcript, and Continue reading “Ruth West Ramsey Papers, 1961-1972”