Creator: Ramsey, D. Hiden, 1892-1966.
Collection number: 3805
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Abstract: Darley Hiden Ramsey, of Asheville, N.C., was a newspaper editor, public speaker, city and state official, member of educational boards, writer, and sportsman. Correspondence, speeches, and writings of Ramsey, including more than 200 manuscript speeches on a wide variety of subjects and occasions and 30 essays and articles on public issues and events. Correspondence is with politicians, businessmen, educators, writers, and conservationists concerning the North Carolina Democratic Party and the civic life, economic development, and history of the North Carolina mountain region. Correspondents included Emily Bridgers, Oliver Max Gardner, Josiah William Bailey, Clyde Roark Hoey, Robert F. Campbell, John Temple Graves, Richard Heath Dabney, Virginius Dabney, Hoyt M. Dobbs, Josephus Daniels, Jonathan Daniels, Josh L. Horne, Glenn Tucker, and Wilma Dykeman. The bulk of the papers are 1940-1965, although the speeches date back to 1912. Also included are materials pertaining to the Asheville municipal government in the early 20th century, personal recollections concerning Thomas Wolfe and Woodrow Wilson, and information on the death of Elisha Mitchell.
Repository: Southern Historical Collection
Collection Highlights: Folder 147 includes a 1913 lecture on race relations.
Correspondence pertaining to race relations is primarily found between the years 1942 – 1949 (Folders 10 – 53). This includes letters written by Ramsey concerning his perception of an impending racial crises (1942); his opinion that school segregation was imperiled by the lag of some counties in supplying facilities for African Americans (1948); and his opinion concerning opportunities for African-American teachers in North Carolina as compared to opportunities in the North (1947).