The papers of C. Gerald Fraser cover the bulk of his career as a print journalist where he works as a reporter for
New Amsterdam News
(1952-1956?),
New York Daily News
(1963-1967),
New York Times
(1967-1991), and as editor for
Earth Times
(1991-2001). The papers contain reporter's notebooks, interviews, research, drafts, and clippings of his journalism work. Stories covered include the Civil Rights Movement; significant African Americans including athletes, jazz musicians, scholars, and actors; the United Nations; and environmental issues. A major part of the collection includes the research materials, interviews, and drafts for an unpublished biography on jazz musician Milt “Bags” Jackson entitled “Bag's Groove.” Also includes biographical information, professional correspondence, information on African American organizations, and other writings.
The collection arrived mostly unarranged and was then arranged into seven series: BIOGRAPHICAL and PERSONAL MATERIAL; CORRESPONDENCE; PRINT JOURNALISM; “BAG'S GROOVE”; OTHER WRITINGS AND ADDRESSES; AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY ACTIVISM; and AUDIO RECORDINGS. The Print Journalism series is further arranged into Reporters notebooks and other notes; Drafts, interview transcripts, and research; Drafts of articles for
Earth Times
; By-lines;
New York Times (NYT); African American Journalists; and Awards and press passes. The “Bag's Groove” series is further divided into Research; Manuscripts and drafts; and Correspondence. Other Writings and Addresses are split by Speeches; Classwork; and Works by others. The Audio Recordings are organized by “Bag's Groove” interviews and research; and other recordings.
The BIOGRAPHICAL and PERSONAL MATERIAL series, 1969-2011, includes several autobiographical writings including growing up in Boston, Massachusetts, and experiences as a black journalist, résumés, passports, an address book, and obituaries and memorial programs of friends and colleagues. Also contains information on retirement from the
New York Times
in 1991, which includes a spoof retirement
NYT
front page. Also includes information on Joseph Robert Love, his maternal great-grandfather from the Bahamas, who was a medical doctor, clergyman, teacher, journalist, and politician in the Bahamas, the United States, Haiti, and Jamaica.
The CORRESPONDENCE series, 1955-2012, contains incoming and outgoing letters. Most of the incoming correspondence, 1955-2011, are responses to information requests for an article or contain praise or criticism of articles written. Some copies of the outgoing correspondence for information requests are with the incoming letter. The outgoing correspondence, 1970-2012, contains drafts of letters sent by Fraser to other journalists, with story ideas, as well as some postcards sent while on his travels. Also includes some correspondence Fraser was copied on, mostly concerning the
New York Times
coverage of African American stories.
The PRINT JOURNALISM series, 1954-2006, contains reporter notebooks and other notes, drafts, interview transcripts, research, by-lines, information on African American journalists, photographs, and awards and press passes.
The reporter notebooks are arranged by subject or by date, circa 1966-2006. Subjects include the Caribbean, South America, Black Panthers, Milt Jackson, and journalist groups. These notebooks show how a mid-20th century newspaper journalist functioned out in the field.
The drafts, interview transcripts, and research, circa 1962-circa 2003, are arranged by subject or article title. Subjects of articles predominantly deal with significant African American persons and issues, as well as the United Nations and the environment. Also includes drafts of book reviews and obituaries. A common theme is civil rights and racism in New York City and the United States, including an article on
Amos 'n' Andy.
The drafts of articles for
Earth Times
mostly concern the United Nations and the environment. Several floppy discs arrived with the collection, but the files were only readable on one disc. The discs were returned to the donor after paper copies were printed for the collection. The drafts are arranged by file name with descriptions following, if needed.
The by-lines are final drafts and published copies of Fraser's articles mostly from his time at the
New York Times
and
Earth Times. Of interest is the clippings file from the bulk of his career at the
NYT. Also includes his coverage of the Emil H. “Sonny” Scott execution in 1954.
The
New York Times
includes memoranda to the staff including post-mortem notes and memos written by Fraser, documents related to the Minority Caucus class action discrimination lawsuit brought against the newspaper in the 1970s by several
Times
employees.
The African American journalists segment includes information on the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ), as well as articles and conferences on the perspective of journalists of color and inequality in the field of journalism.
The photographs contain pictures of Fraser covering stories such as the Columbia University protests in 1968, and the New York City school strikes of 1968, as well as of him working in his offices at the
New York Times,
Earth Times, and his home office.
The “BAG'S GROOVE” series concerns the unpublished biography on the jazz musician Milt “Bags” Jackson and contains research, manuscripts and drafts, and correspondence in relation to getting the book published. The papers in this series are closed until January 1, 2021 and Marion Phyllis Cunningham retains the intellectual copyright related to the unpublished manuscript. The research includes articles, interviews, on Milt and Sandra Jackson, the Modern Jazz Quartet (with Jackson on the vibraphone), other jazz musicians, and a general jazz subject file.
OTHER WRITINGS AND ADDRESSES includes speeches made by Fraser, classwork, and works by others. The few speeches include a panel on non-fiction writing and African Americans. The classwork, from the late 1980s and early 1990s, include assignments from a media and propaganda class, and media criticism. The works by others mostly concern African Americans, and also includes an article on journalism ethics.
The AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY ACTIVISM is a small series with some information concerning all aspects of activism including education, health, children, crime and police, teachers and librarians, and the arts. The documents contain information about the Black Panther Party, Students for a Democratic Society, Congress of African Peoples, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
The AUDIO RECORDINGS series mainly includes interviews and other informational materials for the biography on Milt Jackson, including interviews with Jackson himself. The remainder of the audio includes work done as a journalist. The portion relating to “Bag's Groove” is closed until January 1, 2022.
