Title: Jacqueline Bernard Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1964-1967

Creator:

• Bernard, Jacqueline

Call Number: Mss 230

Quantity: 0.2 c.f. (1 archives box)

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 of Jacqueline Bernard, a New York City resident who was an active supporter of the southern civil rights movement during the 1960s. Included are letters from her son, Joel Bernard, who was a volunteer with COFO in Clay County, Mississippi, and general correspondence, which is mainly from other Clay County civil rights workers, black residents of the county, and northern friends involved in backing the movement. One undated letter gives volunteer Nancy Myron's reaction to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's decision to build a black leadership organization. Miscellany includes press releases, clippings, reports, and minutes and a brochure from a meeting of the Poor People's Corporation.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00230

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Jacqueline Bernard, a New York City resident, was an active supporter of the civil rights movement. Her son Joel worked for the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) on community organizing activities in Clay County, Mississippi, and she concentrated her energies on generating support in New York for Clay County projects. Initially she worked on a family-adoption program in which she interested northern friends in adopting a Clay County family to provide them with clothing and other basic necessities. In 1966, she chaired a “Blocks for Freedom” campaign for her local Democratic Party organization. The campaign raised funds for the purchase of cement blocks to construct a fire-proof building for the Una Sewing Co-op in Clay County. Mrs. Bernard also publicized the Clay County movement's need for general financial aid.

The Jacqueline Bernard Papers consist primarily of correspondence: (1) letters from Joel Bernard, including two widely-circulated letters detailing the situation in Mississippi and requesting financial assistance, and (2) general correspondence which is mainly from other Clay County civil rights workers, black residents of Clay County, and northern friends involved in backing the movement. One undated letter written by COFO volunteer Nancy Myron concerns white workers' reaction to the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee's decision to build a black leadership organization. Frequently there are carbons of Mrs. Bernard's letters which reveal her style and high level of interest.

The papers also include miscellaneous materials such as press releases, clippings, reports from Clay County COFO workers and from northern clothing project workers, materials concerning a civil rights bill introduced by New York Congressman Joseph Y. Resnick, and minutes from a 1965 meeting of the Poor People's Corporation plus a brochure concerning the Corporation.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has one of the richest collections of Civil Rights movement records in the nation, which includes more than 100 manuscript collections documenting the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964. More than 25,000 pages from the Freedom Summer manuscripts are available online as the Freedom Summer Digital Collection.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Mrs. Jacqueline Bernard, New York, New York, February 1, 1968. Accession Number: M68-100

Processing Information

Processed by Karen Baumann and Dan H., January 22, 1973.

Mss 230 Box   1 Folder   1	Joel Bernard correspondence, 1964-1966 Alternate Format: All or part has been digitized and is available online.
Box   1 Folder   2	General correspondence, 1964-1967, undated
Box   1 Folder   3	Miscellaneous materials, 1964-1966, undated