A Guide to the Microfilm Edition of BLACK STUDIES RESEARCH SOURCES Microfilms from Major Archival and Manuscript Collections General Editors: John H. Bracey, Jr. and August Meier BethuneBethuneMaryMary McLeod PAPERS THE BETHUNE FOUNDATION COLLECTION PART 2: CORRESPONDENCE FILES, 19141955 UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS OF AMERICA A Guide to the Microfilm Edition of BLACK STUDIES RESEARCH SOURCES Microfilms from Major Archival and Manuscript Collections General Editors: John H. Bracey, Jr. and August Meier Mary McLeod Bethune Papers: The Bethune Foundation Collection Part 2: Correspondence Files, 1914–1955 Editorial Adviser Elaine Smith Alabama State University Project Coordinator Randolph H. Boehm Guide Compiled by Daniel Lewis A microfilm project of UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS OF AMERICA An Imprint of CIS 4520 East-West Highway • Bethesda, MD 20814-3389 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bethune, Mary McLeod, 1875–1955. Mary McLeod Bethune papers [microform] : the Bethune Foundation collection microfilm reels. : 35 mm. — (Black studies research sources) Contents: pt. 1. Writings, diaries, scrapbooks, biographical materials, and files on the National Youth Administration and women’s organizations, 1918–1955. pt. 2. Correspondence Files, 1914–1955. / editorial adviser, Elaine M. Smith: project coordinator, Randolph H. Boehm. Accompanied by printed guide with title: A guide to the microfilm edition of Mary McLeod Bethune papers. ISBN 1-55655-663-2 1. Bethune, Mary McLeod, 1875–1955—Archives. 2. Afro-American women— Education—Florida—History—Sources. 3. United States. National Youth Administration—History—Sources. 4. National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (U.S.)—History—Sources. 5. National Council of Negro Women— History—Sources. 6. Bethune-Cookman College (Daytona Beach, Fla.)—History— Sources. I. Smith, Elaine M. II. Boehm, Randolph. III. Lewis, Daniel. IV. Bethune-Cookman College (Daytona Beach, Fla.) V. Title. VI. Title: Guide to the microfilm edition of Mary McLeod Bethune papers. VII. Series. [El85.97.B34] 370'.92—dc2l 96-48361 CIP The collection of papers, articles, and documents of Mary McLeod Bethune is the exclusive property of Bethune-Cookman College. Any use of these materials without the written permission of Bethune-Cookman College is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 1999 by University Publications of America. All rights reserved. ISBN 1-55655-663-2. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... vii Scope and Content Note .................................................................................................................... xvii Source Note........................................................................................................................................... xxi Editorial Note ....................................................................................................................................... xxiii Abbreviations....................................................................................................................................... xxv Reel Index Reel 1 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 “A”–Bethune-Volusia Beach ................................................................................................ 1 Reel 2 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. Bowen–Counselbaum............................................................................................................ 3 Reel 3 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. “D”–Dies Committee ............................................................................................................. 6 Reel 4 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. Dies Committee cont.–Grillo ................................................................................................ 9 Reel 5 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. “H”–Kefauver ......................................................................................................................... 11 Reel 6 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. “L”–“Mc” ................................................................................................................................ 14 iii Reel 7 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. “Mc” cont.–NYA .................................................................................................................... 17 Reel 8 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. “O”–References/Letters of Recommendation .................................................................. 20 Reel 9 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. Requests for Aid–“S” ............................................................................................................23 Reel 10 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. “S” cont.–Southern Conference for Human Welfare ....................................................... 26 Reel 11 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. Southern Conference for Human Welfare cont.–“U” ...................................................... 28 Reel 12 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. “V”–Hazel and George Wilson ............................................................................................ 31 Reel 13 Series 1. Alphabetical Correspondence, 1914–1955 cont. Hazel and George Wilson cont.–“Z” .................................................................................. 34 Series 2. Chronological Correspondence, 1927–1955 and Undated 1927–September 1945 ............................................................................................................ 35 Reel 14 Series 2. Chronological Correspondence, 1927–1955 and Undated cont. October 1945–March 1949..................................................................................................... 37 Reel 15 Series 2. Chronological Correspondence, 1927–1955 and Undated cont. April 1949–December 1951 ................................................................................................... 39 iv Reel 16 Series 2. Chronological Correspondence, 1927–1955 and Undated cont. January 1952–March 1954 ..................................................................................................... 42 Reel 17 Series 2. Chronological Correspondence, 1927–1955 and Undated cont. April 1954–March 1956 and Undated ................................................................................. 45 Series 3. Family Correspondence, 1925–1953 and Undated Albert Bethune, Sr.–Miscellaneous Family Correspondence.......................................... 46 Principal Correspondents Index ...................................................................................................... 49 Subject Index........................................................................................................................................ 79 v INTRODUCTION Mary McLeod Bethune and “So Many Varied Correspondents” During four decades of the twentieth century, the short, stoutish, raven- colored Mary McLeod Bethune (1875–1955) was “exhibit No. 1 for all who have faith in America and the democratic process.” She occupied a dominant position in significant developments impacting the common welfare at the community, state, regional, and national levels. These included the evolution of the black college, the community social services of voluntary women’s associations, the anguished passage of ebony women to visibility in national affairs, the regeneration of a black political presence in the federal government, and interracialism. This multiple front activist once described herself as “a woman who has so many varied correspondents.”1 Part 2 of the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation Collection features her in relation to these individuals primarily from the beginning of her Washington career in the mid-1930s to the end of her life. It reveals both her responses and initiatives to them via the mail. Had the correspondence been organized thematically, most would have fallen under three categories: leader at large of black America, leader of women, and educator, especially with regard to her school, Bethune-Cookman College (BCC). Such a schema would have been an impossibility, however, because Bethune’s major roles were so closely interfaced that they melded together and supported one another. Sometimes, she assumed all of them in a single letter! Bethune’s correspondents were indeed varied. They ranged from grade- schoolers to at least one virtual centenarian. They came from all income groups, all walks of life, and most shades of the political spectrum—although liberal democrats predominated. Seemingly, they were about equally divided between blacks and whites with a small fraction of “other.” They lived throughout the United States and in other parts of the world, particularly the Caribbean and West Africa. While these correspondents and Bethune generated the bulk of the second part of the Foundation Collection, sprinkled throughout are letters neither to nor from Bethune but involving her or of interest to her. Some are signed by secretaries Arabella Denniston, Margaret Johnson-Bethune, Bessie F. Bailey, Mame Mason Higgins, Senorita W. Crawford, and occasionally a few others who acted on Bethune’s behalf in acknowledging communications and relaying information. In 1939, Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace,