Title: Charles A. and Roena L. Haynie Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1963-1965

Creators:

• Haynie, Charles Atkinson
• Haynie, Roena L.

Call Number: Mss 563; Tape 831A

Quantity: 0.4 c.f. (1 archives box) and 3 tape recordings

Repository:

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

Archival Locations:

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

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers collected by Charles Haynie, a field director of the voter registration project of the Fayette County Civic and Welfare League (Tennessee), and his wife Roena, a hygiene and family planning instructor there. Included are project reports, published articles, and other papers by Haynie; correspondence and memoranda; and affidavits, election reports, complaints, statistics, political leaflets and flyers, and other election material. There are also a few papers of the League and recorded interview with local residents and participants in the league's projects.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00563

Supporters of the voter registration project in Tennessee included the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Fayette County at Cornell University, where Charles Haynie did his graduate work prior to his appointment as professor of mathematics at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania. Although blacks in Fayette County had been allowed to register to vote since 1959, the same year that the League was formed, segregation and discrimination were still widespread in the early 1960s. The efforts of the Haynies were directed toward increasing voter awareness, registering new voters, and generally assisting the majority black population to secure their rights.

The collection includes papers written by Haynie, such as project reports, published articles, and handwritten notebooks; and correspondence and memos written by both Charles and Roena Haynie, describing their work. Information on voter registration, the elections of August and November 1964, and irregularities in the balloting may be found in folders of affidavits, election reports, complaints, and statistics, and political leaflets and flyers. There are a few papers of the League, as well as copies of many newspaper articles regarding the situation in Fayette County, some of which were printed in the Cornell University student newspaper. There is also a folder of miscellany. The three tapes were apparently made by Haynie, and consist of interviews with local residents and participants in the League's projects. On Reel 1 several persons describe the Monday March and other events which occurred during the summer of 1963. Reel 2 consists of recorded talks, reports, songs, and chants from a mass meeting held August 12, 1963, and Reel 3 contains further interviews with local residents.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Charles A. Haynie, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1965. Accession Number: M65-120

Mss 563 Box   1 Folder   1	Affidavits re: Voting and Election Irregularities, August, November 1964
Box   1 Folder   2	Articles re: Fayette County, Tennessee, 1963-1964
Box   1 Folder   3	Correspondence and Memos, 1963-1965
Box   1 Folder   4	Election Reports, Complaints, and Statistics, 1964
Box   1 Folder   5	Fayette County Civic and Welfare League Papers and General Material, 1963-1965
Box   1 Folder   6	Miscellany
Box   1 Folder   7	Notebooks, 1964
Box   1 Folder   8	Political Leaflets and Flyers
Box   1 Folder   9	Reports and Writings by Haynie, 1963-1964
Tape 831A	Tape Recordings Note: All tapes are 9 1/2 i.p.s.
No.   1	Interviews concerning events in Fayette County during the summer of 1963 Scope and Content Note: Interviewees include Fanny Vinson and Gloria Dowdy, describing the Monday March, Rev. Dowdy, Ezra Shaw, John McFerren, and others.
No.   2	Recording of the August 12, 1963 mass meeting Scope and Content Note: Consists of songs, chants, and prayers led by Rev. June Dowdy and her congregation, talks, and reports on school integration, the civil rights bill, and freedom marches, plus remarks by Haynie and others.
No.   3	Recorded talks by local residents concerning country schools and other topics Scope and Content Note: Speakers include Claudette Morrow, Mrs. McFerren, H. Jameson, and Mrs. Puckett, speaking about Tent City.