TABLE OF CONTENTS


Summary

SHORT HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS

Restrictions

SEARCHING IN OUR ON-LINE CATALOGUE FOR RELATED MATERIALS

Administrative Information

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS

Series 1: Predecessor Committees 1921-1929

Series 2: Administrative Papers 1929-1969

Series 3: Finance and Personnel 1935-69

Series 4: Correspondence 1929-1969

Series 5: Projects 1929-69

Series 6: Publications 1929-69

Series 7: Miscellaneous n.d.


Haverford College Quaker Collection

Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College


Glossary

Other Links

Back to List of Meetings


PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. COMMITTEE ON RACE RELATIONS.

A Finding Aid for its Records Deposited in Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College



Summary

Creator: Committee on Race Relations of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Title Records
Dates: 1921-1969
Abstract: Records, 1921-1969, of the Race Relations Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and its predecessors, the Anti-Lynching Committee (1919-1921), Committee on the Interests of the Colored Race (1921-1929) Committee on Race Relations (1921-1929), and the Joint Committee on Race Relations(1929-1955).
Quantity: 12 boxes; 6 linear ft.
Repositories: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Location: For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Libraries' online catalog: http://tripod.brynmawr.edu

SHORT HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE

In 1919, Esther Morton Smith of the Arch Street (Orthodox) Meeting of Philadelphia brought forth a concern on the lynching of African Americans. After voicing her concern to the Women’s Meeting, she took it to the Men’s Yearly Meeting, and a body named the Committee on Lynching was formed to study the problem. Smith also addressed the Race Street (Hicksite) Meeting, and they, too, formed an Anti-Lynching Committee after consideration in the Men’s Yearly Meeting. The two committees cooperated until both were laid down in 1921, whereupon Hicksite Friends formed a Committee on the Interests of the Colored Race and the Orthodox Friends formed a Committee on Race Relations to “encourage all right methods tending to a better understanding between the white and colored races.” (1921 PYM [O] proceedings, p. 16) The committee was also expressly “empowered to add to its members those other than Friends.” (1921, p. 39 [O])

The two committees worked separately (albeit with occasional cooperative efforts) until 1929 on such projects as Housing and Education and with groups such as the Southern Conference on Inter-Racial Cooperation (supported by Orthodox Friends) and the Interracial Committee of Philadelphia (organized by Hicksite Friends). In 1929, on the recommendation of the American Friends Service Committee, the two committees merged to form a “Joint Committee on Race Relations.” Sixteen years of cooperation between the two meetings followed, during which time the foremost objective was exposure of white Friends to “educated Negroes.” The committee was especially impressed by Crystal Bird, a singer of spirituals hired by the American Friends Service Committee, and with her help they began sending various black representatives to schools, meetings, and clubs in the Philadelphia area in an effort to eliminate prejudices and build understanding. The committee also became concerned with episodes of anti-Semitism prior to and throughout the Second World War, during which time they published and distributed pamphlets designed to counteract negative publications then in circulation. Their primary focus, however, remained what they termed White-Negro relations in the United States, to which they compared the anti-Semitism in Central Europe: “We are aghast at what is going on in Germany, but we need to realize that we have never given full rights as human beings to the largest minority group in our own country.” (1936, p. 126 [O]) (The committee published one annual report which was issued in both sets of Yearly Meeting Proceedings.) During this time period, guests of the committee included W.E.B. DuBois, Marian Anderson, and Alan Patton, among others.

Following the 1955 “organic union” of the two Philadelphia Yearly Meetings, the committee continued its work, starting a yearly conference entitled “Beliefs Into Actions,” supporting various Fair Housing organizations, and developing a very successful “Green Circle” program designed to educate children in a prejudice-free fashion. Beginning in the 1960s, the committee saw increased activity as Race Relations became a national concern. It worked to integrate Friends’ Schools as well as Philadelphia public schools, to educate both whites and blacks, and to eliminate cultural deprivation and housing and workplace discrimination. A Meeting for Social Concerns was created in 1969, and the Committee on Race Relations, along with seven others, was placed under its jurisdiction. Later in 1969 the committee was jarred by the demands of the Black Manifesto and the group that published it, the Black Economic Development Conference. In special sessions of the Yearly Meeting, Friends were addressed by Muhammed Kenyatta , a Black civil rights leader, and struggled to find unity with the ideas of reparations and Black Power. In 1970 the Committee was laid down, and its functions and experience were continued by the Community Involvement Program under the Meeting for Social Concerns.

Return to the Table of Contents


BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS

Contains Minutes, Correspondence, and Financial Records of the Committee as well as records documenting its involvement in various projects and publications it produced and collected.

Series 1: Predecessor Committees, 1921-1929

Series 2: Administrative Papers, 1929-1969

Series 3: Finances and Personnel, 1935-1969

Series 4: Correspondence, 1929-1969

Series 5: Projects, 1929-1969

Series 6: Publications, 1929-1969

Series 7: Miscellaneous, n.d.

Subjects of interest in the collection include the Beliefs Into Action conference, the Green Circle educational program, fair employment, integration, fair housing, interracial marriage, the Institute of Race Relations, and lynching.

Return to the Table of Contents


Restrictions

Access

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Copyright has not been assigned to the Repositories. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the individual Meeting or its successor. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Repositories as the holder(s) of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by reader.

Return to the Table of Contents


SEARCHING IN OUR ON-LINE CATALOGUE FOR RELATED MATERIALS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in TRIPOD, the joint on-line catalog of Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Earlier Names

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (Orthodox : 1827-1955). Committee on Lynching (1919-1921)
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (Hicksite : 1827-1955). Anti-Lynching Committee (1919-1921)
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (Hicksite : 1827-1955). Committee on the Interests of the Colored Race (1921-1929)
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (Orthodox : 1827-1955). Committee on Race Relations (1921-1929)
Joint Committee on Race Relations (Society of Friends : 1929-1955)

Later Names

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Community Involvement Program.

Additional Authors

Davis, Bainbridge C., 1910-1993
Deming, Vinton

Subjects:

American Friends Service Committee
Earlham College -- History
Friendly Acres (Secane, Pa.)
Friends Chester Project
Friends Mississippi Project
Green Circle (Program)
Institute of Race Relations (Swarthmore, Pa.)
Joint Committee on Race Relations (Society of Friends : 1929-1955)
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Washington, D.C., 1963
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (Orthodox : 1827-1955). Committee on Lynching (Orthodox: 1919-1921)
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (Hicksite : 1827-1955). Anti-Lynching Committee (1919-1921)
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (Hicksite : 1827-1955). Committee on the Interests of the Colored Race (1921-1929)
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (Orthodox : 1827-1955). Committee on Race Relations (1921-1929)
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.Committee on Race Relations (Unified: 1955-1970)
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Community Involvement Program.
Project FREE for Real Estate Equity
Beliefs Into Actions (Program)
Fauset, Crystal Dreda Bird, 1893-1965
Kenyatta, Muhammed, d. 1992
A Declaration of Intention (Petition)
African Americans -- Civil rights
African Americans -- Pennsylvania
Civil rights leaders -- Pennsylvania
Lynching
Race Relations -- Pennsylvania
Race relations -- Religious aspects -- Society of Friends.
Racism -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Slavery and the Church -- Society of Friends
Society of Friends -- Education
Society of Friends -- Pennsylvania.
Levittown (N.Y.) -- History
Pennsylvania -- Race relations
Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Race relations

Return to the Table of Contents


Administrative Information

Accession information

Deposit, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

Return to the Table of Contents


DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS

Note to Researchers: These records may only be consulted at Swarthmore (SW), and are not available through inter-Library loan.

Series 1: Predecessor Committees, 1921-1929

Title/Date(s): Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Arch St.) Committee on Race Relations, 1921-29, with gaps
Affiliation: O
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 1
Minutes.

Title/Date(s): Philadelphia Yearly Meeting , Committee on the Interests of the Colored Race, 1928-29
Affiliation: H
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 1
Minutes.

Return to the Table of Contents



Series 2: Administrative Papers, 1929-1969

Title/Date(s): Policy Statements, 1942-69
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 1

Name: Agendas, 1939-1969
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 3 folders
Agendas, 1939-1956; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O/U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 1.
Agendas, 1957-1964; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O/U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 1.
Agendas, 1965-1969; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O/U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 1.

Name: Minutes, 1929-1969
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 6 folders
Minutes, 1929-36; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 2.
Minutes, 1936-43; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 2.
Minutes, 1943-50; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 2.
Minutes, 1950-56; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 3.
Minutes, 1956-1963; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 3.
Minutes, 1964-1965; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 3.

Title/Date(s): Annual Reports, 1923-1968, with gaps
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 3

Title/Date(s): Membership Lists, 1928-1968
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 3

Return to the Table of Contents



Series 3: Finance and Personnel, 1935-69

Title/Date(s): Treasurer's Reports & Financial Correspondence, 1935-69, with gaps
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 3

Title/Date(s): Financial Appeals, 1949-67
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 4

Name: Taxes and Withholding, 1946-68
Size: 3 folders
Taxes and Withholding, 1946-1951Affil.: H/O; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 4.
Taxes and Withholding, 1950-1956Affil.: H/O; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 4.
Taxes and Withholding, 1966-1968Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 4.

Title/Date(s): Personnel, 1949-69
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 4
Includes job descriptions.

Title/Date(s): Miscellaneous Financial Papers, 1951-68
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 4

Return to the Table of Contents



Series 4: Correspondence, 1929-1969

Name: Correspondence of Committee, 1929-1969
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 10 folders
1960-63 correspondence includes a letter of Wm. W. Baker to President Woodrow Wilson 10/15/1913, protesting racial discrimination in hiring by the U.S. Government.
Correspondence, 1929-39; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 4.
Correspondence, 1940-45; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 4.
Correspondence, 1949-59; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O/U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 4.
Correspondence, 1960-63; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 4.
Correspondence, 1964; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 5.
Correspondence, 1965; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 5.
Correspondence, 1966; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 5.
Correspondence, 1967; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 5.
Correspondence, 1967-68; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 5.
Correspondence, 1969; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 5.

Return to the Table of Contents



Series 5: Projects, 1929-69

Title/Date(s): ASFC Community relations: joint work (Provident Trust Co.), 1955
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 6

Name: Beliefs into Actions Committee, 1961-70
Affiliation: U
Size: 4 folders
Finances, 1961-70; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 6.
General, 1957-60; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 6.
General, 1961; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 6.
General, 1962; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 6.

Title/Date(s): Citizen’s Advisory Committee to the Superintendent on Integration & Inter-group Education, 1965
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 6

Title/Date(s): Committee of Concerns for Philadelphia, 1965
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 6

Name: Committee on Fair Employment, 1945-46, 1967
Affiliation: U
Size: 2 folders
Committee on Fair Employment, 1945-46; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 7.
Committee on Fair Employment, 1967; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 7.

Title/Date(s): Conferences, 1928-69
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 7

Title/Date(s): Davis, Bainbridge, Reports, 1964-66
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 7

Title/Date(s): "Declaration of Intention", 1956
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 7

Title/Date(s): Deming, Vinton, 1967
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 7

Title/Date(s): Digest of visits to public schools, 1929
Affiliation: H/O
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 7

Title/Date(s): Earlham College interracial marriage incident, 1952
Affiliation: H/O
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 7

Title/Date(s): Fellowship Weekends, 1956-66
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 7

Title/Date(s): "Friendly Acres" correspondence, 1964-66
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 7

Title/Date(s): Friends Chester Project, 1965-68
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 8

Name: Friends Schools and Colleges, 1937-68
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 4 folders
Questionnaires and Correspondence, 1937-64; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O/U; Loc.: Box 8.
Questionnaires and Correspondence , 1927-64; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O/U; Loc.: Box 8.
Questionnaires and Correspondence, 1927-64; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O/U; Loc.: Box 8.
Miscellaneous Documents, 1947-68; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O/U; Loc.: Box 8.

Title/Date(s): Friends Service Association for the Delaware Valley, 1951-64
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 8

Title/Date(s): Girard College, 1965
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 8

Title/Date(s): Grass Roots Program: Ad Hoc Committee, 1962-65
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 8

Title/Date(s): Green Circle, 1961-67
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 9

Title/Date(s): Housing, 1955-64
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 9

Title/Date(s): Immigration Reform Laws, 1963-65
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 9

Title/Date(s): Institute on Race Relations, 1932-41
Affiliation: H/O
Size: 2 folders
Repository: SW
Location: Box 9

Title/Date(s): International Industrial Relations Institute: Correspondence, 1937-38
Affiliation: H/O
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 9

Title/Date(s): The Levittown Crisis, 1957
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 9

Title/Date(s): March on Washington, 1963
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 10

Title/Date(s): Mass Meeting against Lynching, 1930, '36-'40
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 10

Title/Date(s): Mission to Mississippi, 1963-67
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 10

Title/Date(s): Operation Freedom, 1961-63
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 10

Title/Date(s): Police, 1968
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 10

Title/Date(s): Project F.R.E.E., 1968
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 10

Name: Questionnaires, 1930-68 (gaps)
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 4 folders
"Call to Action", 1964-65; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 10.
Concerning Friends' Institutions, 1930, '58-63; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O/U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 11.
To Monthly Meetings, 1942-59; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: H/O/U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 11.
Miscellaneous, 1966-68; Desc.: 1 folder; Affil.: U; Repos.: SW; Loc.: Box 11.

Title/Date(s): Religious Council for Equality, 1965
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 11

Title/Date(s): Retreats, 1962-68
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 11

Title/Date(s): Seminar on segregation, 1934
Affiliation: H/O
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 11

Title/Date(s): Speeches and Programs, 1949-57
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 11

Title/Date(s): Subcommittee on Banking, 1967-68
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 11

Title/Date(s): Swarthmore College: Correspondence, 1968-69
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 11

Title/Date(s): Tapes: Ed Randall, 1961
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 11

Title/Date(s): United Nations, 1962-69
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12
Includes annual reports by Gerda Hargrove.

Title/Date(s): Visits to Monthly Meetings, 1964-66
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Title/Date(s): Westtown School Senior Projects, 1969
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Title/Date(s): William Penn High School: Wings Program, 1960-64
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Return to the Table of Contents



Series 6: Publications, 1929-69

Title/Date(s): Newsletter, 1942-68
Affiliation: H/O/U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Title/Date(s): Press Releases, 1969
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Title/Date(s): Letterhead samples, n.d.
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Title/Date(s): Other Publications, 1929-68
Affiliation: U
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Return to the Table of Contents



Series 7: Miscellaneous, n.d.

Title/Date(s): Clippings, n.d.
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Title/Date(s): Photographs, n.d.
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Title/Date(s): Miscellaneous articles concerning race relations, n.d.
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Title/Date(s): World Fellowship, Inc., 1946
Affiliation: H/O
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Title/Date(s): Notes for Articles, n.d.
Size: 1 folder
Repository: SW
Location: Box 12

Return to the Table of Contents