James A. Dombrowski Papers, 1918-1983


Summary Information
Title: James A. Dombrowski Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1918-1983

Creator:
  • Dombrowski, James A. (James Anderson), 1897-1983
Call Number: Mss 566

Quantity: 6.8 c.f. (17 archives boxes)

Repository:
Archival Locations:
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:
Papers, 1918-1983, of James Dombrowski, a leader of the Southern Conference for Human Welfare (SCHW), 1941-1948, and executive director of the Southern Conference Educational Fund (SCEF), 1948-1966. The papers consist largely of post-l966 letters and notes about his interest in social causes and in art, as well as some material from the 1920s and the 1930s. Included are letters from colleagues at Emory University and Union Theological Seminary, exchanges with Reinhold Niebuhr, and drafts of Dombrowski's dissertation and other written works. Prominent correspondents include Albert Einstein, Lyndon Baines Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and Aubrey Williams. Also included are materials collected by Frank Adams for an unpublished biography of Dombrowski, including additional correspondence, clippings, scrapbooks, notes, and diaries.

Note:

The collection has been microfilmed by Primary Source Media (an imprint of Gale and a part of the Cengage Learning) as a part of its Civil Rights and Social Activism in the South series. The 17 reels of positive microfilm are available in the State Historical Society of Wisconsin Library (P09-683 to P09-699).



Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00566
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Biography/History

James Dombrowski was born in Tampa, Florida in 1897. After serving in France in World War I, he attended Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he graduated in 1923. At Emory Dombrowski organized the Alumni Association, served as its executive secretary, and edited the Emory Alumnus. He graduated from Union Theological Seminary in New York with a bachelor of divinity degree and received a Ph.D. in philosophy at Columbia University. Dombrowski's doctoral dissertation, The Early Days of Christian Socialism in America, was published by Columbia University Press in 1940. He did graduate work at the University of California and Harvard, was a Rosenwald Fellow and Kent Fellow of the National Council on Religion in Higher Education, and taught Christian ethics at Union.

During his education, Dombrowski became active in social causes. He went to Elizabethton, Tennessee, and Gastonia, North Carolina, during textile strikes and was jailed as a suspect and later released in the killing of the Gastonia chief of police. From 1934 to 1941, Dombrowski served as staff director of the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee, and then joined the staff of the Southern Conference for Human Welfare as executive secretary. When this organization went out of existence after World War II, Dombrowski and others continued its educational wing, the Southern Conference Educational Fund (SCEF). During his tenure as executive director, he was active in the struggle against segregation and helped hold the organization together through the McCarthy era. Troubled by painful arthritis, Dombrowski hoped to retire in 1963, but in that year the New Orleans offices of SCEF were raided by state and local police and the organization's records were confiscated. Dombrowski and other SCEF officials were charged with violating Louisiana's anti-subversive law. Dombrowski and SCEF filed suit on the grounds that their first amendment rights had been violated. After several years of litigation, the organization's files were released by court order in April 1965. Dombrowski and SCEF won a legal victory in 1968 when the Supreme Court struck down large sections of the Louisiana law.

Dombrowski retired as SCEF executive director early in 1966 and was replaced by Carl and Anne Braden. He remained active in SCEF, however, in the post of special consultant. After his retirement, Dombrowski pursued his love of art. He attended the John McCrady Art School and produced paintings, drawings, and posters. His work, which reflected his interests in social causes, was exhibited at the University of New Orleans in 1976. From 1974 to 1978, Dombrowski held annual distributions of his artwork at which friends were invited to choose a Dombrowski piece to display in their homes for one year. Dombrowski died in April 1983.

Scope and Content Note

Most of the collection came directly to the Historical Society from Dombrowski in 1979 and was processed in 1981. Additional materials were received from Frank Adams in 1986, and a small amount of Dombrowski's personal files came to Wisconsin from the University of New Orleans in 1990. These additions were integrated into the collection in 1990.

The collection was microfilmed by Primary Source Media (an imprint of Gale and a part of Cengage Learning) in 2008 as part of the series Civil Rights and Social Activism in the South. For the microfilm the company assigned new folder numbers from 1 to 206, and it did not use a frame counter. It also prepared a name and subject index that is keyed to the new microfilm folder numbers. A copy of this guide can be found in the State Historical Society of Wisconsin Library (Pam 09-1349). To facilitate access, the container list which follows incorporates both the box and folder numbers for the paper collection and the new folder numbers assigned by the microfilm publisher. The new folder numbers are designated with the initials MF (for microfilm folder) at the end of each line in the container list. The following chart converts the new folder numbers to the appropriate reel numbers.

Reel Microfilm Folder (MF) Range
1 1-6
2 7-11
3 12-17
4 18-23
5 24-29
6 30-33
7 34-40
8 41-64
9 65-99
10 100-131
11 132-151
12 152-158
13 159-165
14 166-176
15 177-187
16 188-196
17 197-206

Virtually all of the Dombrowski collection either predates or follows his activity in SCEF. For the SCHW/SCEF years researchers should consult the papers of Carl and Anne Braden. In addition, a large collection of SCHW and SCEF records with documentation on Dombrowski is at Tuskegee Institute in Macon County, Alabama. Additional related records held by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin include the Highlander Research Center Records and the Frank Adams Papers. The collection consists of four series: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION, CORRESPONDENCE, SUBJECT FILES, and FRANK ADAMS FILES.

The BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION series contains a small number of clippings concerning high points in Dombrowski's life and career with SCEF. Also included are clippings and a program from a memorial service. CORRESPONDENCE consists of personal letters to friends and associates such as Virginia Durr and Aubrey Williams following Dombrowski's retirement in 1966. Included are letters from Carl and Anne Braden about SCEF activites and arrangements for his retirement pay. Dombrowski continued to assist SCEF with fundraising, and this activity is also documented here. Also included are letters from the 1920s and early 1930s and exchanges with Reinhold Niebuhr, Albert Einstein, Lyndon Johnson, and John F. Kennedy. (The originals of these are stored in the State Historical Society of Wisconsin autograph file.)

The SUBJECT FILES primarily reflect Dombrowski's private life and interests. They include records of his art distributions, papers pertaining to Emory University, medical records and articles, as well as some documentation of his years with SCEF and SCHW. Also here are memorials to friends and speeches and writings by Dombrowski. The Frank Adams file contains correspondence from Adams regarding his attempts to find a publisher for the Dombrowski biography.

The FRANK ADAMS FILES contain materials collected by Adams while writing his biography of Dombrowski in the late 1970s. The files are divided under two headings: Correspondence and Subject Files. In the Correspondence are letters written by Dombrowski to Ethyl Clyde, a major financial supporter of SCHW and SCEF, describing his activities with these organizations from 1937 to 1976. Also included is Adams' correspondence with Dombrowski and his associates seeking material for his biography; these letters are a rich source of biographical information. Adams' Subject Files include Dombrowski's notes and diaries, 1937-1977, and assorted articles and speeches. Although the notes are fragmentary, the development of his writings and speeches can be seen. Also included is some documentation of Dombrowski's SCHW and SCEF years, especially the dissolution of SCHW in 1948 and the 1963 raid. The court files contain records of the cases Dombrowski was involved in following the raid. For further documentation on this topic, the Braden Papers should be consulted. Also included in the Subject Files are some materials on the Highlander Folk School, including lecture notes for Dombrowski's course in labor economics.

Administrative/Restriction Information
Acquisition Information

Presented by James Dombrowski, New Orleans, Louisiana; Frank Adams, Somerville, Massachusetts; and the University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana; 1979-1990. Accession Number: M79-568, M81-388, M86-222, M90-158


Processing Information

Processed by Robert Burk, 1981, and Debra Shapiro, 1991. Prepared for microfilming, 2008.


Contents List
Mss 566
Series: Biographical Information
Box   1
Folder   1
, 1963-1983 (Microfilm Folder (MF) 1)
Note: See Scope and Content Note for reel number.
Series: Correspondence
Box   1
Folder   2-6
, 1918-1966 March (MF 2-6)
Box   2
Folder   1-6
, 1966 April-1968 June (MF 7-12)
Box   3
Folder   1-7
, 1968 July-1973 June (MF 13-19)
Box   4
Folder   1-6
, 1973 July-1974 (MF 20-25)
Box   5
Folder   1-6
, 1975-1976 (MF 26-31)
Box   6
Folder   1-5
, 1977-1978 (MF 32-36)
Box   7
Folder   1-3
, 1979-1980 (MF 37-39)
Box   7
Folder   4-6
, Undated (MF 40-42)
Series: Subject Files
Box   8
Folder   1
Adams, Frank, 1976-1980 (MF 43)
Box   8
Folder   2
Aero Pilots Club, 1944-1945 (MF 44)
Box   8
Folder   3
American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, 1969-1976 (MF 45)
Box   8
Folder   4
Appalachia, 1967-1968 (MF 46)
Box   8
Folder   5
Appalachian South Folklife Center, 1968-1975 (MF 47)
Art
Box   8
Folder   6
General, undated (MF 48)
Box   8
Folder   7
Auction to benefit SCEF, 1969 (MF 49)
Box   8
Folder   8
Calligraphy, undated (MF 50)
Box   8
Folder   9
Distribution, 1974-1978 (MF 51)
Box   8
Folder   10
Instituto de Allende, 1976-1978 (MF 52)
Box   8
Folder   11
“Memorial Day Massacre,” 1977 (MF 53)
Box   8
Folder   12
University of New Orleans exhibit, 1976 (MF 54)
Box   8
Folder   13
Ball, Lee, 1974 (MF 55)
Box   8
Folder   14
Beecher, John, 1977-1979 (MF 56)
Box   8
Folder   15
Blossum, Frederick, 1974 (MF 57)
Box   8
Folder   16
Bobrick, Robert L., 1978-1979 (MF 58)
Box   8
Folder   17
Braden, Anne, 1975-1977 (MF 59)
Box   8
Folder   18
Braden, Beth, 1973-1975 (MF 60)
Box   8
Folder   19
Braden, Carl, 1974-1975 (MF 61)
Box   8
Folder   20
Buckner, Floyd, undated (MF 62)
Box   8
Folder   21
Campbell, Clarice, 1975-1979 (MF 63)
Box   8
Folder   22
Charlotte Three Trial, undated (MF 64)
Box   8
Folder   23
Christian, Marcus, 1955-1957 (MF 65)
Box   8
Folder   24
C.I.A. and F.B.I. files, 1976-1978 (MF 66)
Box   8
Folder   25
Clyde, Ethyl, 1939-1978 (MF 67)
Box   8
Folder   26
Collins, Walter and Virginia, 1966-1974 (MF 68)
Box   8
Folder   27
Contributions, 1967-1974 (MF 69)
Box   9
Folder   1
Crosby, Alex and Nancy, 1972 (MF 70)
Box   9
Folder   2
Crown, John, 1972 (MF 71)
Box   9
Folder   3
Daniel, Franz, 1973-1978 (MF 72)
Box   9
Folder   4
Dombrowski, Ellen, 1942-1977 (MF 73)
Box   9
Folder   5
Durr, Clifford, 1951-1975 (MF 74)
Box   9
Folder   6
Einstein, Albert, 1955-1962 (MF 75)
Box   9
Folder   7
Emory University, 1928-1976 (MF 76)
Box   9
Folder   8
Esperanto, 1965-1979 (MF 77)
Box   9
Folder   9
Farris, Carl, 1979 (MF 78)
Box   9
Folder   10
Feild, Robin, 1965 (MF 79)
Box   9
Folder   11
Ferry, W.H., 1967-1974 (MF 80)
Box   9
Folder   12
Financial Papers, 1926-1975 (MF 81)
Box   9
Folder   13
Foreman, Clark, 1977 (MF 82)
Box   9
Folder   14
Freedom Information Service, 1974 (MF 83)
Box   9
Folder   15
Free Southern Theater, 1980 (MF 84)
Box   9
Folder   16
Gelders, undated (MF 85)
Box   9
Folder   17
Gordon, J. King, 1978 (MF 86)
Box   9
Folder   18
Grant, Jim, 1974 (MF 87)
Box   9
Folder   19
Green, Archie, 1976 (MF 88)
Box   9
Folder   20
Hackney, Sheldon, 1975 (MF 89)
Box   9
Folder   21
Highlander Center, 1959-1975 (MF 90)
Box   9
Folder   22
Hodes, Robert, 1974-1979 (MF 91)
Box   9
Folder   23
House, 1956-1979 (MF 92)
Box   9
Folder   24
Johnson, Kathleen, 1966-1976 (MF 93)
Box   9
Folder   25
Kennedy, John and Robert, 1957-1964 (MF 94)
Box   10
Folder   1
Kinoy, Arthur, 1965-1966 (MF 95)
Box   10
Folder   2
Koppel, Anci, 1974 (MF 96)
Box   10
Folder   2a
LaFollette Shirtworkers, 1934-1935 (MF 97)
Box   10
Folder   3
Lamont, Corliss, 1971-1978 (MF 98)
Box   10
Folder   4
Logsdon, Joseph-Wilmington Ten, 1972-1978 (MF 99)
Box   10
Folder   5
McSurely, Al and Margaret, 1975-1979 (MF 100)
Box   10
Folder   6
Martin Luther King, Jr. Workers' Conference, 1975-1976 (MF 101)
Medical Papers
Box   10
Folder   7
Aslan, Dr. Anna, 1955-1965 (MF 102)
Box   10
Folder   8
Mayo Clinic, 1973-1974 (MF 103)
Box   10
Folder   9
Medicare, 1967-1979 (MF 104)
Box   10
Folder   10
Rosenfeld, Cecilia, 1958-1965 (MF 105)
Box   10
Folder   11
Shangri-La Resort, 1973-1977 (MF 106)
Box   10
Folder   12
Warm Mineral Springs, 1973-1977 (MF 107)
Box   10
Folder   13
Miscellaneous receipts, 1966-1977 (MF 108)
Box   10
Folder   14
Melish, William Howard, 1966-1978 (MF 109)
Box   10
Folder   15
Mitford, Jessica, undated (MF 110)
Box   10
Folder   16
Mogulescu, Miles, 1974-1976 (MF 111)
Box   10
Folder   17
National Steelworkers' Rank and File Committee, 1976 (MF 112)
Box   10
Folder   18
Notes, 1963-1976 (MF 113)
Box   10
Folder   18a
Other travel documents (MF 114)
Box   10
Folder   19
Passport, 1965-1978 (MF 115)
Box   10
Folder   20
Peck, Jim, 1976-1977 (MF 116)
Box   10
Folder   21
People's Economic Conference, 1976 (MF 117)
Box   10
Folder   22-23
Postcards, 1918-1980 (MF 118-119)
Box   11
Folder   1
Reference materials, undated (MF 120)
Box   11
Folder   2
Rigg, Margaret, 1969-1980 (MF 121)
Box   11
Folder   3
Rogers, Walter and Elizabeth, 1966-1979 (MF 122)
Box   11
Folder   4
Salter, John, 1966-1979 (MF 123)
Box   11
Folder   5
Segal, Edith, 1973-1979 (MF 124)
Box   11
Folder   6
Smith, Benjamin E., 1967 (MF 125)
Southern Conference Educational Fund
Box   11
Folder   7
Board meetings, 1965, 1974 (MF 126)
Box   11
Folder   8
Financial records, 1965-1966 (MF 127)
Box   11
Folder   9
GROW Project, undated (MF 128)
Box   11
Folder   10
Hotel Roosevelt reception, 1966 (MF 129)
Box   11
Folder   11
IRS, 1974 (MF 130)
Box   11
Folder   12
Junta of Militant Organizations, 1971 (MF 131)
Box   11
Folder   13
Mailing lists, 1967-1972 (MF 132)
Box   11
Folder   14
North Carolina Project, circa 1973 (MF 133)
Box   11
Folder   15
Raid, 1963-1977 (MF 134)
Box   11
Folder   16
Southern Mountain Project, 1966-1967 (MF 135)
Southern Organization for Economic and Social Justice
Box   11
Folder   17
Carl Braden Memorial Fund, 1976-1978 (MF 136)
Box   11
Folder   18
Expanded Executive Committee meeting, 1980 (MF 137)
Box   11
Folder   19
Southern Rural Action Project, 1967-1968 (MF 138)
Box   11
Folder   20
Southern University killings, 1972 (MF 139)
Box   11
Folder   21
Speeches, 1965-1972 (MF 140)
Box   11
Folder   22
Sponsorships, 1963-1969 (MF 141)
Box   11
Folder   23
Gary Tyler Defense Fund, 1976-1977 (MF 142)
Box   11
Folder   24
Uphaus, Willard, 1975-1977 (MF 143)
Box   11
Folder   25
Vietnam, 1965 (MF 144)
Box   11
Folder   26
Ward, Lynd, 1935-1980 (MF 145)
Box   12
Folder   1
Ward, Harry F., 1974 (MF 146)
Box   12
Folder   2
Weber v. Kaiser Aluminium, 1978 (MF 147)
Box   12
Folder   3
Williams, Aubrey, 1953-1965 (MF 148)
Box   12
Folder   4
Aubrey Williams Foundation, 1966-1979 (MF 149)
Box   12
Folder   5
Williams, Claude, 1976-1979 (MF 150)
Writings
Box   12
Folder   6
The Early Days of Christian Socialism in America, 1940 (MF 151)
Box   12
Folder   7
“Elizabethton,” 1929, undated (MF 152)
Box   12
Folder   8
“A Civil Liberties Tour of the Tennessee Valley,” 1939 (MF 153)
Box   12
Folder   9-10
Fire in the Hole, circa 1940 (MF 154-155)
Box   12
Folder   11
Micellaneous articles, 1949-1952 (MF 156)
Series: Frank Adams Files
Correspondence
Box   13
Folder   1-2
Adams incoming mail, 1975-1979 (MF 157-158)
Box   13
Folder   3-7
Clyde, Ethyl, 1937-1976 (MF 159-163)
Box   14
Folder   1
Daniels family (Franz, Zilla, and Berthe), 1935-1940 (MF 164)
Box   14
Folder   2
Dewey, Maybelle and Malcolm, undated (MF 165)
Box   14
Folder   3
Dombrowski, Ellen Krida, 1932-1968 (MF 166)
Box   14
Folder   4
Dombrowski search letters, 1975-1978 (MF 167)
Box   14
Folder   5
Freeborn, W.E., 1974-1976 (MF 168)
Box   14
Folder   6
Miscellaneous, 1931-1979 (MF 169)
Subject Files
Box   14
Folder   7
Christian Socialism, undated (MF 170)
Box   14
Folder   8
Continental Walk for Peace, 1975 (MF 171)
Court Cases
Box   14
Folder   9
Dombrowski v. Eastland, 1963-1967 (MF 172)
Box   14
Folder   10
Dombrowski v. Pfister, 1963-1976 (MF 173)
Box   15
Folder   1
Church Research and Information Project, 1978 (MF 174)
Box   15
Folder   2-4
Diary and notes, 1937-1977 (MF 175-177)
Box   15
Folder   5
Dombrowski, Ellen Krida, 1942-1979 (MF 178)
Box   15
Folder   6
Dombrowski student notes, circa 1932 (MF 179)
Box   15
Folder   7
Eastland hearings transcript, 1954, Volume 1 (MF 180)
Box   15
Folder   8
Emory University, 1942-1963 (MF 181)
FBI file
Box   15
Folder   9
, 1942-1963 (MF 182)
Box   16
Folder   1-2
, 1942-1963 (MF 182 (continued)-184)
Box   16
Folder   3
Frantz School desegregation, 1960 (MF 185)
Box   16
Folder   4
Green, Archie, 1968-1976 (MF 186)
Highlander Folk School
Box   16
Folder   5
, 1932-1940 (MF 187)
Box   16
Folder   6
Lecture notes, labor economics course, 1937 (MF 188)
Box   16
Folder   7
Miscellaneous articles, 1945 (MF 189)
Box   16
Folder   8
Phillips, Jan, 1971 (MF 190)
Southern Conference Educational Fund
Box   16
Folder   9
General, 1950-1967 (MF 191)
Box   16
Folder   10
New Orleans Item, 1957 (MF 192)
Box   16
Folder   11
Raid, 1963 (MF 193)
Box   16
Folder   12
Louisiana Committee on Un-American Activities, Reports 8 and 9, 1967 (MF 194)
Southern Conference for Human Welfare
Box   17
Folder   1-3
General, 1938-1948 (MF 195-197)
Box   17
Folder   4
Charles H. Martin paper, 1979 (MF 198)
Box   17
Folder   5
, November 1946 meeting-photocopied photographs (MF 199)
Box   17
Folder   6
Scrapbook, 1958-1959 (MF 200)
Box   17
Folder   7
Shuttlesworth, Fred, 1978 (MF 201)
Box   17
Folder   8
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, clippings, 1961-1962 (MF 202)
Box   17
Folder   9
Speeches, 1942-1957 (MF 203)
Union Theological Seminary
Box   17
Folder   10
General papers, 1929-1939 (MF 204)
Box   17
Folder   11
Dissertation, Religion and Vested Interests in the South, 1931 (MF 205)
Box   17
Folder   12
Williams, Aubrey, 1956-1979 (MF 206)