William Pickens Papers (Additions), 1909-1950

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Creator

Pickens, William, 1881-1954.

Location

Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division

Extent

• Originals: 11 lin. ft.
• Copies: 25 microfilm reels.

Scope/Contents Notes

Collection primarily relates to Pickens' work as NAACP Field Secretary and Director of Branches, and contains a great deal of correspondence with NAACP officials. Of interest is material chronicling Pickens' and the NAACP's involvement in the Scottsboro Case in Alabama. Correspondents relating to the NAACP include James Weldon Johnson, Walter Francis White, Mary White Ovington, ArthurB. Spingarn, Joel E. Spingarn, Roy Wilkins, Thurgood Marshall, and W. E. B. Du Bois. Other correspondence is between Pickens and friends, acquaintances, fellow scholars, and business associates. There is correspondence with many organizations with which Pickens was involved, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, League for Industrial Democracy, Socialist Party of America, National Council of the Young Men's and Women's Christian Association, American Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born, and the Council for Pan American Democracy. Correspondents include Claude A. Barnett and Percival L. Prattis of the Associated Negro Press, and other individuals in government, education, andchurch affairs, among them John Haynes Holmes of the Community Church of New York. Writings are primarily composed of typescripts (manuscripts and editorials), speeches, and mimeographed Associated Negro Press columns and newspaper clippings of articles and editorials writtenby Pickens. Subjects dealt with in these different formats cover a wide range and serve to reveal Pickens' broad interests and intellectual scope.

Subjects include race relations, World War II and the relationship of blacks to the war effort, politics and world events, culture, and social commentary, as well as individuals such as Marcus Garvey. Additional correspondence concerns his numerous speaking engagements.Other material concerns his employment as a savings bond salesman for the United States Treasury Department, 1941-1950. Also, personal papers, correspondence, and other material regarding his trip to Cuba with Mary McLeod Bethune in 1930, and the damaging effect on his career of the charges brought against him by the United States HouseCommittee on Un-American Activities.

Biographical/Historical Note

Author, educator, official of the National Association forthe Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 1920-1942; employee of the United States Treasury Department, 1941-1951.

Controlled Access Terms

• Pickens, William, 1881-1954.
• Spingarn, Joel Elias, 1875-1939.
• Johnson, James Weldon, 1871-1938.
• White, Walter Francis, 1893-1955.
• Ovington, Mary White, 1865-1951.
• Spingarn, Arthur B. (Arthur Barnett), 1878-1971.
• Wilkins, Roy, 1901-
• Marshall, Thurgood, 1908-1993.
• Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963.
• Barnett, Claude, 1890-
• Prattis, Percival L.
• Bethune, Mary McLeod, 1875-1955.
• Holmes, John Haynes, 1879-1964.
• Garvey, Marcus, 1887-1940.
• United States. Dept. of the Treasury.
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
• Socialist Party (U.S.)
• National Council of the Young Men's Christian Association.
• Young Women's Christian Association of the U.S.A. National Board.
• American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born.
• Council for Pan American Democracy (New York, N.Y.)
• Associated Negro Press.
• Young Women's Christian Association of the U.S.A.
• African Americans -- Societies, etc.
• African Americans -- Political activity.
• African Americans -- Civil rights.
• Civil rights -- United States -- Societies, etc.
• Trials (Rape) -- Alabama -- Scottsboro.
• Socialist parties -- United States.
• Race relations.
• Young Men's Christian associations -- United States.
• African Americans -- Social life and customs.
• African American press.
• News agencies -- United States.
• United States -- History -- World War, 1939-1945.
• United States -- Race relations.
• United States -- Social conditions -- 1918-1932.
• United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945.
• United States -- Social conditions -- 1945-
• Alabama -- Social conditions.
• United States -- Politics and government -- 1933-1945.
• United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1953.
• Cuba -- Description and travel.
• Speeches.

Additional Creator Names

• Pickens, William, 1881-1954.
• Spingarn, Joel Elias, 1875-1939.
• Johnson, James Weldon, 1871-1938.
• White, Walter Francis, 1893-1955.
• Ovington, Mary White, 1865-1951.
• Spingarn, Arthur B. (Arthur Barnett), 1878-1971.
• Wilkins, Roy, 1901-
• Marshall, Thurgood, 1908-1993.
• Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963.
• Holmes, John Haynes, 1879-1964.
• Barnett, Claude, 1890-
• Prattis, Percival L.
• Bethune, Mary McLeod, 1875-1955.