Title: Elmer W. Henderson Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1937-2001

Creator:

• Henderson, Elmer W., 1913-2001

Call Number: M2002-058

Quantity: 3.5 c.f. (3 record center cartons, 1 archives box, and 1 oversize folder) and 16 photographs

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers, 1937-2001, of Elmer Henderson, a Baltimore native and lawyer who served on Roosevelt's Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) (1941-1948) which was responsible for integrating black workers into war industries. The bulk of the collection relates to Henderson's work with the FEPC, principally his role as a regional director in Chicago (1942-1946). Also included are materials from Henderson's work with the Illinois State Commission on the Condition of the Urban Colored population, the American Council on Human Rights (ACHR), and political involvement with the Democratic National Committee and Stevenson's 1956 presidential campaign with regard to African-American issues.

Note:

There is a restriction on use of this material; see the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-m2002058

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While on assignment for the FEPC, Henderson was denied service in a Southern Railways dining car. He complained to the Interstate Commerce Commission and, with the backing of the NAACP, appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1950 the court ruled that segregated dining cars violated the Interstate Commerce Act. In addition to working for the FEPC, Henderson was the executive director of the Illinois State Commission on the Urban Colored Population (1940-1941), the executive director of the American Council on Human Rights (1948-1955) and legal council to the Committee on Government Operations of the U.S. House of Representatives (1955-1982). Henderson taught political science at Howard University and sociology at Dillard University and was an adviser to Adlai Stevenson during his 1956 presidential campaign.

The FEPC material includes correspondence, field instructions, press releases, publicity clippings, national minutes, reports, and files of cases with which Henderson was involved. In addition, there is personal and professional correspondence, personal clippings, speeches and writings (including research done for Black Metropolis), and reflections on Henderson v. Southern Railways. The photographs depict Henderson's work with the FEPC, portraits of Henderson, and the 40th anniversary celebration of the Henderson v. Southern Railways decision.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is retained by the donor until July 22, 2022.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Ethel C. Henderson, Washington, D.C. Accession Number: M2002-058

M2002-058	Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC)
Box   1 Folder   1	Formation and background
	Correspondence and memos
Box   1 Folder   2	General
Box   1 Folder   3-4	Field operations, 1942-1945
Box   1 Folder   5	Chicago regional office, 1946
Box   1 Folder   6-7	Regional directors' memoranda, 1943-1945
Box   1 Folder   8-10	Field letters, 1943-1945
Box   1 Folder   11-12	Field instructions, 1943-1945
Box   1 Folder   13	Press Releases, 1941-1945
Box   1 Folder   14	Press clippings digest, 1942
Box   1 Folder   15-27	Publicity clippings, 1943-1944
Box   2 Folder   1-15	Publicity clippings, 1944-1946
Box   2 Folder   16	Minutes - national, 1941-1942
Box   2 Folder   17	Salaries and expenses, 1946
	Reports
Box   2 Folder   18	General, 1942-1945
Box   2 Folder   19	Racial situation [report], Gary, Indiana, 1944
Box   2 Folder   20	McQuay-Norris case - committee decision, 1944
Box   2 Folder   21	Meeting reports, 1943-1945
Box   2 Folder   22	Summaries of hearings, 1942-1943
Box   2 Folder   23	Regional-weekly, bi-weekly and monthly, 1943-1946
Box   2 Folder   24	Henderson field work, 1941-1942
Box   2 Folder   25	Negroes and the war survey, 1942, 1945
Box   2 Folder   26	Railroad case, 1943 September-December 14
Box   2 Folder   27	Model state FEPC bill
Box   2 Folder   28	Philadelphia Transportation Company case
Box   2 Folder   29	War Manpower Commission procedures, Regions II and VI
Box   2 Folder   30	Chicago Surface Lines case, 1944-1946
Box   2 Folder   31	National Urban League - Chicago, 1943-1945
Box   2 Folder   32	Speech - Illinois General Assembly, 1945 April 17
Box   2 Folder   33	U.S. Cartridge Company case, 1944
Box   2 Folder   34	Hearings - Birmingham, Alabama, 1942 June 20
Box   2 Folder   35	Chicago Council against Racial and Religious Discrimination, 1946
Box   2 Folder   36	Employment of Negroes in the Federal Government, 1945, 1957
Box   2 Folder   37	Chicago Rapid Transit Lines, Inc. case, 1943-1946
Box   2 Folder   38	Railroad case, 1943-1944
Box   3 Folder   1	Western Cartridge Company case, 1944-1945
Box   3 Folder   2	Chicago, 1946
Box   3 Folder   3	Dickerson, Earl B., 1942, 1961, 1987, 1989
Box   3 Folder   4	25th Anniversary Reunion, 1966
Box   3 Folder   5-6	Miscellaneous
	Illinois State Commission on the Condition of the Urban Colored Population
Box   3 Folder   7	General, 1940-1941
Box   3 Folder   8	Scrapbook [photocopied], 1940-1941
Box   3 Folder   9	Reports, 1941
Box   3 Folder   10	Chicago city wide forum, 1939-1941
	American Council on Human Rights (ACHR)
Box   3 Folder   11	Correspondence and press releases, 1948-1955
Box   3 Folder   12	Political statements - Henderson, 1948, 1952
Box   3 Folder   13-14	Board of directors minutes, 1948-1956
Box   3 Folder   15	Reports to board of directors, 1949-1954
Box   3 Folder   16	Ephemera
	Political involvement
Box   3 Folder   17	Democratic national convention - press correspondence, 1952
Box   3 Folder   18	Stevenson campaign, 1956
Box   3 Folder   19	Stevenson campaign trail, 1956
Box   3 Folder   20	Democratic civil rights platform analysis, 1956
Box   3 Folder   21	Stevenson - civil rights, 1956
Box   3 Folder   22	Democratic National Committee and civil rights, 1956-1958
Box   3 Folder   23	Correspondence - Democratic National Committee, 1958
Box   3 Folder   24	Nixon - civil rights, 1959
Box   3 Folder   25	Kennedy campaign, 1960
Box   3 Folder   26	Democratic party, 1962
Box   3 Folder   27	Campaign correspondence, 1964
	Correspondence
Box   3 Folder   28-29	Personal, 1941-1986
Box   3 Folder   30	Professional, 1941-1952
Box   3 Folder   31	Hate mail [Supreme Court decision], 1950
Box   3 Folder   32	Miscellaneous
	Clippings - personal
Box   3 Folder   33-39	1939-1949
Box   3 Folder   40	Henderson v. Southern Railways, 1949-1950
Box   3 Folder   41-48	1950-1959
	Speeches and writings
Box   3 Folder   49	Speeches, 1937, 1956, 1963, 1968
Box   3 Folder   50	67th Anniversary of greater institutional AME church, 1967
Box   3 Folder   51	Preparation material, undated
Box   3 Folder   52	Writings, 1940-1943, 1951
Box   3 Folder   53-55	Black Metropolis research, 1939
Box   4 Folder   1-2	Black Metropolis research, 1939 (continued)
Box   4 Folder   3	Conference of Southern Democrats, 1962
Box   4 Folder   4	State of the Race Conference, 1956
Box   4 Folder   5	Case file - Wilkinson v. Louisville and Nashville Railroad, 1952
Box   4 Folder   6	Henderson v. Southern Railways - Complainant brief, 1946
Box   4 Folder   7	Armed forces - Negroes, 1962-1963
Box   4 Folder   8	American Council on Race Relations, 1944-1947
Box   4 Folder   9	[Segregation in Washington, D.C., 1946-1947]
Box   4 Folder   10	Dillard University, 1941
Box   4 Folder   11	Clyde Dillard, 1953
Box   4 Folder   12	40th Anniversary of Henderson v. Southern Railways, 1990
Box   4 Folder   13	Henderson tributes, 1974, 1981, 2001
Oversize Folder	Political ephemera, 1940s-1960s
PH Box   3	Photographs