Summary Information
William W. Finlator Papers
1935-1977
- Finlator, William W., 1913-
Micro 822
21 reels of microfilm (35mm)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of a North Carolina Baptist minister concerned with civil rights, civil liberties, ecumenism, and the Vietnam War, mainly consisting of correspondence, writings, and an alphabetical subject file. Correspondence, which is chiefly outgoing, forms two-thirds of the collection and dates primarily from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s. Much of it is routine pastoral mail, but there are letters which touch on Finlator's social and political activism. Writings include articles, addresses, book reviews, invocations, letters to editors, broadcast commentaries, a few sermons, and related correspondence and clippings. These deal with ecumenism, labor relations, prison reform, prayer in public schools, prohibition, and Billy Graham. Most noteworthy among the subject files which are made up of additional correspondence, clippings, reports, writings, and printed matter, are those pertaining to the Baptist State Convention, the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union, the North Carolina Council of Churches, and North Carolina Advisory Committee to the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, prisoners, and the Raleigh Committee of Clergymen Concerned with Vietnam.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-micr0822 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
A North Carolina minister known for his active concern with social issues such as capital punishment, civil rights, separation of church and state, prison reform, and the Vietnam War, the Reverend William W. Finlator was born in Louisburg, North Carolina, in 1913, the son of John H. and Dorothy B. Finlator. Raised in Raleigh, he graduated from Wake Forest College in 1934 and continued his studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he received a Master of Theology degree in 1937. Finlator was ordained to the Baptist ministry in 1935 and subsequently served churches at Bonlee, Liberty, Pittsboro, and Weldon, North Carolina. In 1945 he became pastor to the First Baptist Church of Elizabeth City, a position which he held until 1957 when he accepted the pastorate of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh. Reverend Finlator has been the vice-president of both the North Carolina Council of Churches and the North Carolina Council on Human Rights; an executive committee member of the North Carolina Conference on Social Welfare and the North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union; and chairman of the North Carolina Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.
Scope and Content Note
The papers consist primarily of correspondence, writings, a subject file, and biographical clippings. This arrangement corresponds with the order of the papers when they were located in the pastor's office. No attempt has been made to correct some inconsistencies in this order, and the researcher will want to check alternate filing locations when searching for material on a particular topic. Thus material on Finlator's involvement with Clergymen Concerned, for example, may be found not only under the Raleigh Committee in the subject file, but also in the outgoing correspondence filed under the name Richard Fernandez. Furthermore, some of Finlator's speeches and writings may be found under the name of the organization addressed rather than with writings of a similar genre.
CORRESPONDENCE, 1948-1977, is divided into incoming and outgoing mail with the latter forming the bulk of the collection. The outgoing correspondence primarily dates from the period 1966-1975; the incoming correspondence is more fragmentary, but spans the period 1948-1977. The outgoing correspondence is subdivided by year and then by letter, with each letter arranged chronologically. This correspondence deals primarily with his pastorate at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church and includes many routine letters, as well as some interesting items concerning capital punishment, civil rights, civil liberties, conscientious objection, church-state relations, politics, and the Vietnam War.
The second major portion of the collection consists of Finlator's SPEECHES AND WRITINGS and is divided into articles, addresses, sermons, book reviews, broadcast commentaries, letters to editors, and circulars to members of the Pullen congregation, together with related correspondence and clippings. This section concerns ecumenism, labor relations, prison reform, prayer in public schools, prohibition, and Billy Graham. The responses are wide-ranging and include both favorable reactions and vitriolic hate mail. Unfortunately the coverage given to his sermons in the collection is very limited.
SUBJECT FILES, 1959-1977, are arranged alphabetically and include incoming and outgoing correspondence, clippings, reports, writings, and printed matter. Among the largest and most interesting files are those concerned with the Baptist State Convention, the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union, the North Carolina Council of Churches, the North Carolina Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, prisoners, and the Raleigh Committee of Clergymen Concerned with Vietnam. The collection is completed by a small group of clippings titled BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL.
Prominent correspondents include Anne Braden, Cesar Chavez, James A. Dombrowski, Sam J. Ervin, Harry Golden, Paul Green, Jesse Helmes, Hugh Hester, Luther Hodges, Hubert Humphrey, Lyndon B. Johnson, Nicholas Johnson, Estes Kefauver, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Terry Sanford, and Norman Thomas.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by the Reverend William W. Finlator, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1966-1977. Accession Number: M66-313 and 313-1; M73-457; M74-98; M74-187; M75-76; M76-167, 281; 319; M77-215
Processed by Michael Stevens, April 1975, and Carolyn Mattern, March 1980.
Contents List
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Series: Correspondence
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Reel
1
Frame
1
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Incoming, 1948-1977
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Outgoing
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Reel
1
Frame
745
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1956, Elizabeth City
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Reel
1
Frame
982
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1965; 1966, A-Z, Carlyle Campbell
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1967
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Reel
2
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A-F
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Reel
2
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Federal and state officials
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Reel
2
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Finlator family
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Reel
2
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G-H
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Reel
3
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I-R
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Reel
3
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Raleigh Council of Churches
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Reel
3
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S-W
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Reel
4
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Y-Z
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1968
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Reel
4
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A-F
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Reel
4
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Federal and state officials
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Reel
4
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Finlator family
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Reel
4
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G-K
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Reel
5
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L-W
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Reel
5
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Woolard, Frazier
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Reel
5
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Wright, Marion
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Reel
5
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Y
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1969
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Reel
5
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A
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Reel
5
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AFL-CIO
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Reel
6
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B-E
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Reel
6
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Federal and state officials
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Reel
6
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Finlator family
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Reel
6
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F-K
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Reel
7
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L-M
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Reel
7
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Mitchell family
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Reel
7
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N-W
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Reel
7
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Woolard, Frazier
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Reel
7
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Wright, Marion
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Reel
7
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Y
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1970
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Reel
8
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A-F
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Reel
8
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Federal officials
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Reel
8
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Finlator family
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Reel
8
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G-L
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Reel
9
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Mc-M
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Reel
9
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Mitchell, T. W.
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Reel
9
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N-V
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Reel
9
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Woolard, Frazier
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Reel
9
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W-Z
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1971
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Reel
9
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A-B
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Reel
10
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C-F
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Reel
10
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Federal and state officials
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Reel
10
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Finlator family
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Reel
10
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G-M
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Reel
11
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Mitchell, T. W.
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Reel
11
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N-V
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Reel
11
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Woolard, Frazier
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Reel
11
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W-Z
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1972
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Reel
11
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A-F
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Reel
11
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Federal and state officials
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Reel
11
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Finlator family
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Reel
12
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G-W
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Reel
12
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WRAL-TV
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Reel
12
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Woolard, Frazier
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Reel
12
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Wright, Marion
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Reel
12
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Y
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1973
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Reel
12
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A-B
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Reel
13
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C-N
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Reel
14
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O-W
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Reel
14
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Woolard, Frazier
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Reel
14
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Wright, Marion
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Reel
14
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Y, Z
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1974
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Reel
14
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A-C
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Reel
15
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D-F
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Reel
15
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Federal and state officials
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Reel
15
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G-H
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Reel
15
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Hobby, William
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Reel
15
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I-Z
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1975
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Reel
16
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A-F
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Reel
16
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Federal and state officials
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Reel
16
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G
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Reel
16
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General Assembly of North Carolina
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Reel
16
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H-Z
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Series: Speeches and Writings
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Articles, addresses, and responses
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Reel
16
Frame
754
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1940-1955, October
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Reel
17
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1959, October-1971, January
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Reel
18
Frame
1
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1971, March-1977, November, undated
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Reel
18
Frame
335
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Book reviews, 1963-1974
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Reel
18
Frame
387
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Circulars, 1967-1975
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Reel
18
Frame
417
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Invocations and tributes, 1963-1977
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Reel
18
Frame
484
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Letters to editors, 1964-1977
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Reel
18
Frame
694
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WRAL-TV commentaries, 1972
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Series: Subject File
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Baptist State Convention
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Reel
18
Frame
723
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Baptism Controversy, 1972-1973
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Reel
18
Frame
819
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Public Affairs Committee, 1960-1970
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Reel
19
Frame
1
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Capital punishment, 1961-1967
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Reel
19
Frame
91
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Clergy for McGovern, 1972
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Reel
19
Frame
112
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Fellowship of Reconciliation, 1971-1972
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Reel
19
Frame
122
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Minimum wage legislation, 1959
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Reel
19
Frame
148
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National Committee Against Repressive Legislation, 1959
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Reel
19
Frame
163
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National Conference of Christians and Jews, 1961-1962
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Reel
19
Frame
209
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Negotiation Now, 1967
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Reel
19
Frame
225
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North Carolina Coalition, 1972
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Reel
19
Frame
241
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North Carolina Civil Liberties Union, 1967-1975
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Reel
19
Frame
597
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North Carolina Committee of the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1967-1975
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Reel
20
Frame
1
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North Carolina Council of Churches, 1956-1975
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Reel
20
Frame
205
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North Carolina Council on Human Relations, 1956-1967
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Reel
20
Frame
327
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North Carolinians Against the Death Penalty, 1966-1967
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Reel
20
Frame
431
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Personal, 1973, 1976
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Reel
20
Frame
531
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Prisoners correspondence, 1972-1977
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Reel
20
Frame
983
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Prisoners Union, 1973
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Reel
20
Frame
1034
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Privileged communications, 1966-1967
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Reel
21
Frame
1
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Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State, 1957-1959
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Reel
21
Frame
35
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Pullen Committee on Community Concerns, 1966-1971
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Reel
21
Frame
76
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Raleigh Baptist Pastoral Conference, 1961
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Reel
21
Frame
85
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Raleigh Conference on Christian Faith and Human Relations, 1957-1959
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Reel
21
Frame
110
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Raleigh Committee on Clergymen Concerned, 1966-1968
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Reel
21
Frame
304
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Right to work laws, 1961-1962
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Reel
21
Frame
343
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Secular wedding ceremonies, 1971
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Reel
21
Frame
351
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SCEF, 1958-1965
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Reel
21
Frame
418
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Textile Workers Union of America, 1967
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Reel
21
Frame
439
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United World Federalists of North Carolina, 1962
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Reel
21
Frame
444
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Williams, T. Mel, assistant minister, 1971-1973
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Reel
21
Frame
498
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Series: Biographical Material, 1935-1967
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