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NAACP and Civil Rights ephemera collection
Mss 331
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Title: NAACP and Civil Rights ephemera collection
Identifier/Call Number: Mss 331
Contributing Institution:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1.6 linear feet
(1 flat box)
Date (inclusive): 1952-1968
Abstract: Contains flyers, posters, pamphlets, and correspondence relating to the activities of several Civil Rights organizations--
including National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Harvard Society of Minority Rights, and Committee
of Racial Equality (CORE)-- during the Civil Rights movement.
Physical Location: Special Research Collections, UCSB Library
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Department of Special Research Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.
Library purchase, 2016.
[Identification of Item], NAACP and Civil Rights ephemera collection, Mss 331. Department of Special Collections, UC Santa
Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
The Civil Rights movement encompasses a wave of social movements in the United States, between the 1950s and 1960s, whose
main objectives were to end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans through the means of securing
legal recognition and protection of the citizenship rights enumerated in the Constitution and federal law. Prior to the 1960s,
issues of equality across America had reached a crisis point as disenfranchisement, segregation and various forms of oppression,
including race-inspired violence, existed with the continuation of Jim Crow laws and other "separate but equal" actions.
The movement was characterized by major campaigns of civil resistance by various organizations, students, and unions. One
of the most preeminent organizations was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), founded 1909,
which pressed for civil rights legislation. Between 1955 and 1968, acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience gained
momentum, and resulted in the passage of several major pieces of federal legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964
and The Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The collection mainly contains flyers, posters, pamphlets, and other ephemera relating to campaigns and protests for racial
equality. Much of the material consists of announcements of rallies, meetings, conferences, and forums and spans across different
civil rights issues from equality in education, the workplace, and elections. The collection is dated from 1948-1989, and
are representative of the many approaches and organizing methods by groups like Committee of Racial Equality (CORE), International
Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and Harvard Society for Minority Rights. The majority
of the papers are from the NAACP, which also contains announcements as well as adminstrative materials regarding membership.
Of particular note, the collection contains correspondence from Camille Carter, President of NAACP Youth Council, to Dwight
Eisenhower.
This collection is arranged alphabetically by title and organization.
Social Protest Collection, Mss 183, UC Santa Barbara Special Research Collections
Grover Barnes Papers, CEMA 115, UC Santa Barbara Special Research Collections
James Baldwin correspondence, Mss 329, UC Santa Barbara Special Research Collections
Subjects and Indexing Terms
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Committee of Racial Equality
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Civil rights -- United States
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.)
AFL-CIO