LOMAX, MICHAEL. Michael Lomax papers, 1772-2010 [bulk 1965-2010] Emory University Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library Atlanta, GA 30322 404-727-6887 [email protected] Collection Stored Off-Site All or portions of this collection are housed off-site. Materials can still be requested but researchers should expect a delay of up to two business days for retrieval. Descriptive Summary Creator: Lomax, Michael. Title: Michael Lomax papers, 1772-2010 [bulk 1965-2010] Call Number: Manuscript Collection No. 785 Extent: 54.75 linear feet (56 boxes), 6 oversized papers boxes and 9 oversized papers folders (OP), 3 extra-oversized papers (XOP), 3 bound volumes (BV), 2 oversized bound volumes (OBV), AV Masters: 2.5 linear feet (3 boxes), and .25 linear feet born digital material (1 box and 50.5 MB of data with 108 files) Abstract: Papers of African American businessman, educator, and politician Michael Lomax including personal and professional papers, printed material, photographs, audiovisual material, and born digital material. Language: Materials entirely in English. Administrative Information Restrictions on Access Special restrictions apply: Use copies have not been made for audiovisual material in this collection. Researchers must contact MARBL at least two weeks in advance for access to these items. Collection restrictions, copyright limitations, or technical complications may hinder MARBL's ability to provide access to audiovisual material. Access to processed born digital materials is only available in the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (the Rose Library). Use of the original digital media is restricted. Emory Libraries provides copies of its finding aids for use only in research and private study. Copies supplied may not be copied for others or otherwise distributed without prior consent of the holding repository. Michael Lomax papers, 1772-2010 [bulk 1965-2010] Manuscript Collection No. 785 Series 1: Correspondence, financial records, and some family papers are closed to patrons until 2066. Subseries 2.4: Amistad Corporation records are closed to researchers until 2046. Collection stored off-site. Researchers must contact the Rose Library in advance to access this collection. Terms Governing Use and Reproduction Special restrictions apply: Series 2, Professional papers, contains some copies of original materials held by other institutions; these copies may not be reproduced without the permission of the owner of the originals. Source Gift, 1996 with subsequent additions. Citation [after identification of item(s)], Michael Lomax papers, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University. Appraisal Note Acquired by Curator of African American Collections Randall Burkett, as part of the Rose Library's holdings in African American history and culture. Blank floppy disks in this collection were discarded. Processing Arranged and described at the folder level by Sarah Quigley, Haylee Harrell, and Ingrid Meintjes, 2016. Born digital materials were processed by Sarah Quigley and Dorothy Waugh in 2017. Born digital materials currently available to researchers include Microsoft Word documents, dBase files, and photographs taken from 14 3.5" floppy disks and three compact disks. For additional information about how these files were processed, see Series 6: Born digital material. This finding aid may include language that is offensive or harmful. Please refer to the Rose Library's harmful language statement for more information about why such language may appear and ongoing efforts to remediate racist, ableist, sexist, homophobic, euphemistic and other oppressive language. If you are concerned about language used in this finding aid, please contact us at [email protected]. Collection Description Biographical Note Michael Lomax, African American politician, educator, and businessman, was born in California in 1947 to Almena Davis Lomax and Lucius Lomax, Jr. He enrolled at Morehouse College (Atlanta, Georgia) at the age of 16 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1968. He earned a master's degree from Columbia University (1971) and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts at Emory University (1984). His dissertation was entitled, Counteé Cullen: From the Dark Tower. He taught English and literature courses throughout the 1970s and 1980s at Emory 2 Michael Lomax papers, 1772-2010 [bulk 1965-2010] Manuscript Collection No. 785 University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Morehouse College, and Spelman College. In 1994, he became president of the National Faculty, an organization which works to invigorate public schools through teacher development, and in 1997 became President of Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lomax first entered politics as a volunteer in Maynard Jackson's 1973 campaign for Mayor of Atlanta. Following Jackson's election, Lomax served as Director of Cultural Affairs (1975-1977) and Commissioner of Parks, Libraries and Cultural Affairs (1977-1978), both for the City of Atlanta. He was elected a Commissioner-at-large on the Fulton County Board of Commissioners in 1978, and served as Commission Chairman from 1981-1993. As Chairman, he was part of early efforts to bring the Olympics to Atlanta, was founder of the National Black Arts Festival, and led city government programs to combat HIV/AIDS. He ran for Mayor of Atlanta twice, in 1989 and 1993. He was president and CEO of Amistad Corporation, a funeral services company, from 1991-1993. Lomax has also served on numerous boards and committees including Teach for America, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the United Way, as well as a variety of boards and committees within Emory University and other educational institutions. He has been president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund since 2004. In 1973, Lomax married playwright and novelist Pearl Cleage; the couple had one daughter, Deignan, before divorcing in 1979. He married Cheryl Ferguson, an executive at Coca-Cola, in 1987. They have two daughters, Michele and Rachel. Scope and Content Note The collection consists of the papers of Michael Lomax from 1772-2010 (bulk 1965-2010) and includes personal papers, professional papers, printed material, photographs, audiovisual material, and born digital material. Personal papers contain correspondence, family papers, memorabilia, and other items documenting Lomax's education, recognition for his professional and political achievements, and relationships with family and friends. Family papers and genealogical research document Michael Lomax's paternal ancestry and include vital records such as birth, marriage and death certificates, wills of estate, prison and cemetery records, and other legal documents, as well as genealogical charts of the Deignan family, Lomax's paternal grandmother's family. Professional papers illuminate Lomax's political and business ventures. Records of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners document projects and business between the Board and departments and committees such as the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, Central Area Study II Public Safety Task Force, the Georgia Department of Human Resources' task force on Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the Fulton County Jail and Police, and the Fulton-Dekalb Hospital Authority. Campaign records include documents relating to Lomax's campaigns for public office, as well as records documenting Maynard Jackson's 1973 campaign for Mayor of Atlanta. The records detail the candidates' campaign administration, financial and fundraising activities, and campaign platforms on crime, housing, public safety, gay and lesbian rights and, women's rights. Writings by Lomax consist primarily of speeches made during his tenure as Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and during his campaigns for public office, as well as drafts of scholarly works and fiction. Other professional papers are comprised of agendas; appointment books; board and committee files documenting Lomax's 3 Michael Lomax papers, 1772-2010 [bulk 1965-2010] Manuscript Collection No. 785 service on Boards of Directors of the National Black Arts Festival, Teach for America, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the United Way; teaching and university files from Atlanta University Center, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Dillard University; and the records of the Amistad Corporation. Printed material contains articles about Lomax's political career, mostly featured in Atlanta Magazine, and newspaper clippings primarily covering his mayoral campaign in 1989. Other printed material consists of items collected by Lomax, including writings by his first wife Pearl Cleage and his brother Lucius Lomax, IV, and newsletters and other items documenting the Shrine of the Black Madonna. Photographs include Lomax family photographs, photographs relating to Lomax's genealogical research on the Deignan and Lomax families, images of and by Pearl Cleage, and professional and candid images of Lomax documenting his political career and his tenure in higher education administration as President of Dillard University and President and CEO of the United Negro College Fund. There are numerous photographs from Lomax campaign events and from Fulton County Board of Commissioners events. Audiovisual material primarily contains recordings relating to Lomax's campaigns for Fulton County Board of Commissioners (1978) and Mayor of Atlanta (1989), produced by Citizens for Lomax and Women for Lomax, in addition to a few items relating to the establishment