Summary Information
Samuel Walker Papers
1964-1966
Mss 655
0.6 c.f. (2 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of a civil rights volunteer who was connected with the Gulfport, Mississippi project during the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer and through 1965 and 1966. Included are Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee position papers and WATS reports; a Council of Federated Organizations report; Freedom School, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and Free Southern Theater materials; and staff reports, minutes of community organizing and voter registration activities, newsletters, and other papers from the Gulfport Project.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00655 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
While a student at the University of Michigan, Samuel Walker spent the summer of 1964 as a civil rights worker in Gulfport, Mississippi. The Gulfport project was part of the larger Mississippi Freedom Summer Project sponsored by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), and other civil rights groups. The Freedom Summer Project involved the whole state in black voter registration and Freedom Schools.
Scope and Content Note
The collection is arranged in two series: General Records and Gulfport Project Records. Most of the materials consist of near-print reports of meetings or project activities, flyers, newsletters, news releases, and similar material.
The GENERAL RECORDS files contain many near-print SNCC and COFO materials, including position papers, reports, memoranda, project materials, and clippings. There are printed essays entitled “What is the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee?” by James Forman, and “What is COFO?”, and others on topics of interest to SNCC and COFO. Some were produced by the Students for a Democratic Society. There is an account by John Lewis and Donald Harris of their 1964 trip to Africa; papers about the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project; and WATS reports, recording incidents of harassment and abuse of civil rights workers. Freedom School files contain curriculum materials, including black history study materials, and some student records. Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party papers consist of reports, newsletters, news releases, and clippings. A small file of clippings and news releases is also available for the Free Southern Theater.
RECORDS OF THE GULFPORT PROJECT have been arranged by topic and pertain specifically to the project. Included are a printed report and analysis of community organizing in Gulfport, 1965, authored by staff members Walker and John Else; issues of the project newsletter, “The Liberty Bell”; minutes of community meetings and records of organizing activities; voter registration lists and materials; affidavits and letters regarding harassment and beatings; reports; flyers; and applications. A folder of staff reports contains financial reports, reports of Gulfport Project director Charles McKeller, and staff biographical information.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Samuel Walker, Omaha, Nebraska, 1965, 1982. Accession Number: M66-357, M82-322
Processed by K. J. Kube and Joanne Hohler, 1985; and Bill Beaudreau and Menzi Behrnd-Klodt, 1986.
Contents List
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Series: General Records
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Council of Federated Organizations Papers
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Box
1
Folder
2
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SNCC Africa Trip, 1964
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Box
1
Folder
3
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SNCC-COFO Essays, 1964-1965
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Box
1
Folder
4-5
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WATS Line Reports, 1964-1965
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Staff Reports, 1964-1965
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Mississippi Legislation; SNCC Memo on Federal Law Enforcement Authority
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Box
1
Folder
8
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COFO Federal Programs Project
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Box
1
Folder
9
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Freedom Schools
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Box
1
Folder
10
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Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
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Box
1
Folder
11
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Free Southern Theater
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Box
1
Folder
12
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Miscellaneous
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Box
1
Folder
13
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Clippings
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Series: Gulfport Project Records
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Box
2
Folder
1
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“A Report and Analysis of Community Organizing in Gulfport, Mississippi,” by COFO staff members Sam Walker and John Else
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Box
2
Folder
2
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“The Liberty Bell” - Newsletter of the Gulfport Project
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Staff Reports, 1964-1965
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Community Meetings, Activities, 1964-1966
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Box
2
Folder
5
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Voter Registration, 1965
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Box
2
Folder
6
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Affidavits and Letters regarding Harassment and Beatings
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Box
2
Folder
7
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Freedom Schools
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Box
2
Folder
8
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Welfare, Food Stamps
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Box
2
Folder
9
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Applications for Food and Clothing Donated by Northern Support Groups
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