University of Mississippi eGrove Archives & Special Collections: Finding Aids Library April 2020 Finding Aid for the Katallagete / James Y. Holloway Collection (MUM00249) Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/finding_aids Part of the History of Religion Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Katallagete \ James Y. Holloway Collection (MUM00249). Archives & Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library, The University of Mississippi This Finding Aid is brought to you for free and open access by the Library at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Archives & Special Collections: Finding Aids by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. University of Mississippi Libraries Inventory of the Katallagete / James Y. Holloway Collection MUM00249 TABLE OF CONTENTS GENERAL NOTE Summary Information by Jennifer Ford, Special Collections Librarian, The University of Mississippi Will Campbell and Christ's Ambassadors: Selections Return to Table of Contents » from the Dr. James Young Holloway Biographical information SUMMARY INFORMATION Scope and Content Note Administrative Information Repository University of Mississippi Libraries Controlled Access Headings Creator General note Holloway, James Y., 1927- Collection Inventory Title Notable Correspondents Katallagete / James Y. Holloway Collection and Katallagete Contributors ID James Holloway MUM00249 Correspondence Date [bulk] Boxes 13-19: General Bulk, 1965-1980 Correspondence Date [inclusive] General Manuscripts 1945-1992 1965-1980 Journal Business Extent Loose Journal Issues 40.0 Linear feet 37 boxes (BB-6 thru BB-7) Oversize Materials Abstract General Publications Manuscripts and correspondence related to Katallagete, the journal of the Committee of Southern Miscellaneous Churchmen. Published from the 1960s to 1991, the Academic Materials journal was edited by James Y. Holloway, and boasted contributions by notable people such as Thomas Merton, Fannie Lou Hamer, Billy Graham, and Will Campbell, among many others. The collection contains correspondence, meeting minutes, loose journal issues, and other materials relating to the creation and publication of Katallagete. Also contains materials that pertain to the career of James Holloway. Preferred Citation Katallagete \ James Y. Holloway Collection (MUM00249). Archives & Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library, The University of Mississippi Return to Table of Contents » WILL CAMPBELL AND CHRIST'S AMBASSADORS: SELECTIONS FROM THE The events of 1964 in the United States are a study of violent contradictions; from the campaign for African- American voter registration in the Southern United States, to the brutal murders of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi, to the announcement of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. The Committee of Southern Churchmen emerged as a response to these several events and to earlier reactions to the entrenched "separate but equal" doctrine of racial inequality. To better understand the message of Katallagete (Greek for "Be Reconciled!"), the journal published by the Committee, it is necessary to revisit the United States in 1964. The cultural tumult affecting the United States in the late 1950's and 1960's was a direct result of unresolved racial discrimination. The nineteenth century legal case of Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) established the doctrine of "separate but equal." This doctrine was used to separate the races and served to politically and legally control African- Americans by White-Americans. (1) By the late 1950's the doctrine was being opposed on several different fronts; in education, in law reform, and by civil disobedience. In education, the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling in Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, nullified the doctrine of "separate but equal" in public education, but the resistance of a majority of school districts in the Southern United States to the desegregation effort resulted in violent clashes, notably the violence following integration of the Little Rock school system in 1956-1957. 1962 brought an equally important and violent confrontation between segregationists and the law. The integration of the University of Mississippi by James Howard Meredith resulted in riots, two deaths, and a federal occupation of the campus. Much of the effort for desegregation was fought through the court system. The Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 focused primarily on the unequal system of voting rights for African-Americans. By 1964 the most stringent piece of legislation up to that point, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, was passed. "Jim Crow" laws authorizing separate facilities in all public buildings and spaces were prohibited by this Civil Rights Act of 1964. Acts of civil disobedience, protest, and direct action provided another method of opposing segregation. The refusal of Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama to relinquish her bus seat to a white and the ensuing retaliation by the establishment resulted in the Montgomery bus boycott of 1956. The early 1960's brought escalating trials of new desegregation laws by protesters, especially students, and resulted in the organization of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). (2) The "Freedom Rides" of 1961, involving the Congress of Racial Equality and members of SNCC, tested the newly established Supreme Court ruling of 1960 outlawing segregation in public transportation. The brutal attack on children by police during the Birmingham Children's March in May of 1963 graphically illustrated the chasm between factions in the United States. What was the role of organized religion during this turmoil? Not unlike society as a whole, some religious leaders and groups participated in the protests and sided against segregation and violence. But as Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" illustrated, there was also a great deal of willful blindness on the part of religious leaders and white moderates. (3) The Committee of Southern Churchmen entered into the fray in 1964 with a message of reconciliation for everyone. It is difficult to separate the Committee of Southern Churchmen from its elected "preacher at large," Will Campbell. The foundation of Katallagete can be traced both to the beliefs of the Committee and Will Campbell. Will Campbell, a Mississippi born, ordained Baptist preacher took an unusual educational path, first studying at Louisiana College, then graduating from Wake Forest and finally finishing his studies at Yale Divinity in 1952 with a degree in religion and higher education. (4) Personally, Campbell defies easy categorization. His first ministry after graduating from Yale took him to a small Baptist church in Taylor, Louisiana where he served from 1952-1954. His efforts to foster awareness among his parishioners to the inequalities of racial discrimination were met with casual indifference, irritation or amused condescension. Similar attempts at his next post, Director of Religious Life at the University of Mississippi, brought an entirely different reaction. His efforts to bring about awareness of the inherent evils of segregation served only to get him into trouble with the law, the University, and various student groups. The events of the infamous Religious Emphasis Week of 1956 serve as powerful notice of the challenges Campbell faced. This conference put Campbell in direct confrontation with the University administration since Campbell intended the conference to be simply an airing of racial issues. After a series of tactical maneuvers on both sides, the week concluded with a silent protest of university policy. Campbell left the University in 1956, accepting a position as Southern field director for the National Council of Churches, Division of Racial and Cultural Relations. In this position Campbell was to serve as an advisor and witness to racial disturbances across the South. This position allowed Campbell to combine his considerable abilities in mediation and observation with his knowledge of the situation in the South. Yet, over the next eight years Campbell increasingly felt uncomfortable with the established position of the National Council of Churches. As Merrill Hawkins points out in his 1997 book Will Campbell: Radical Prophet of the South Campbell began to subscribe more and more to the doctrine of original sin, the inherent evil of all mankind, and less to the belief that segments of the population would naturally do the right thing. After Campbell's actions at the 1962 National Conference on Religion and Race, the main office became more determined to regulate Campbell's activities. By the time of his departure from the National Council in 1963, Campbell had developed strong apprehensions regarding institutions and the conventional liberal world view. These inclinations would directly impact his next venture; the formation of the Committee of Southern Churchmen. (5) The Committee of Southern Churchmen grew from the remains of the largely moribund Fellowship of Southern Churchmen. (6), The Fellowship, created in the 1930's, strove to combat injustices in labor, politics, and race relations, but had become dormant by 1964. When Will Campbell left the National Council of Churches in 1963, the Fellowship was revived and reshaped by his supporters according to the tenets of Campbell's ministry. As a result of Campbell's distrust of large organizations, the newly renamed "Committee of Southern Churchmen" changed