Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Bureau of Social Science Research (Washington, D.C.)

Description

1. 12.4 lin. ft. (29 archival boxes)

Summary

1. The Bureau of Social Science Research Files collection are comprised of materials from the two sociological studies for which Albert Gollin was the principal investigator; the March on Washington (1963) and the Poor People's Campaign (1968). In addition to material generated by the BSSR in their study and analysis of these events, the collection contains documents from both the March on Washington and the Poor People's Campaign that Gollin and his team gathered for their studies.
2. The March on Washington series has been divided into three sub-series: Study, Reference and Survey. Included are planning documents on Gollin's organization of the study of the March; reference material used to analyze it and previous marches; survey instruments and questionnaires; interview guidelines and transcripts; media-related materials such as newspaper clippings and television program transcripts; and reference material for the final report. Of interest are transcripts of interviews with James Farmer, Dr. Anna Arnold Hedgeman, John Lewis, Cleveland Robinson, Bayard Rustin and Whitney Young.
3. The Poor People's Campaign (PPC) series documents the active planning for the PPC beginning in early 1968 and intensifying in May of that year. The series is arranged into four sub-series: Study, Survey, Reference and Media. The Study sub-series encompasses the BSSR's study of the campaign, reports and other writings, and studies of civil disobedience. Gollin's involvement with SCLC's administration of the PPC is evident in the files and documents included here. The Survey sub-series includes codebooks, survey instruments, and interview guidelines. There are transcripts of interviews conducted by BSSR staff and volunteers with participants as well as caravan reports from participant-observers who travelled with the caravans. The Reference sub-series contains documents related to the lobbying efforts of the organizers of the PPC and shows the role of the national and local organizations that collaborated with the PPC. The Media sub-series includes articles and reports on the civil rights movement, as well as newspaper clippings and periodicals, 1963-1970, containing articles about both the March on Washington and the Poor People's Campaign in black and mainline publications.

Subject

1. Gollin, Albert E.
2. Lewis, John
3. Hobson, Julius
4. Randolph, A. Philip (Asa Philip), 1889-1979
5. Farmer, James
6. Hedgeman, Anna Arnold, 1899-1990
7. Robinson, Cleveland
8. Rustin, Bayard, 1912-1987
9. Young, Whitney
10. Bureau of Social Science Research (Washington, D.C.)
11. Lemberg Center for the Study of Violence
12. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.)
13. Council on Racial Equality
14. National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
15. Southern Christian Leadership Conference
16. Civil rights -- United States
17. Civil rights movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century
18. Civil rights demonstrations -- Washington (D.C.)
19. March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Washington, D.C., 1963
20. Poor People's Campaign
21. Civil disobedience -- United States
22. Civil rights workers -- United States
23. Labor movement -- United States
24. African Americans -- Civil rights
25. United States -- Politics and government -- 1969-1974

Call number

1. Sc MG 406

Language

1. English

Biography (note)

1. The Bureau of Social Science Research, which existed from 1950-1986, was a non-profit research agency created to conduct research in basic and applied social science. The overall purposes of the Bureau were the development of social theory and research methods and their application to contemporary social problems. The Bureau's principle areas of interest included mass communication, urban studies, occupational and military sociology, higher and vocational education, social welfare, criminology and criminal justice administration, and the social research enterprise.
2. Albert E. Gollin (1930-1999), a media sociologist, was a research associate of the Bureau of Social Science Research and conducted sociological studies of the March on Washington, August 28, 1963 and the Poor People's Campaign, May-August 1968. The goal of the two studies was to provide a sociological analysis of the events and the media coverage given to both those who planned the events and those who participated in them. As a media sociologist, Gollin was interested in the role of the media as it covered, related to and influenced the MOW and the PPC.

Connect to:

1. Finding Aid

Local subject

1. Black author.