The Goodlett Papers on this film span the years 1942, 1946-1967. They filled almost two cubic feet of space prior to filming and include correspondence, speeches and articles, form letters and brochures, clippings, reports, and miscellaneous material. They are organized into one alphabetical sequence, mainly of subject and organization titles. (A complete list of titles is below.) When the quantity of material under a title warranted, the correspondence was segregated and put into its own file unit preceding the retaining materials under that title. For example, the file unit “Peace: Correspondence, 1959-1966” immediately precedes the file unit “Peace: Miscellaneous materials, 1962-1967.” Civil Rights and peace are the dominant subject themes of the papers. Civil rights materials concern discrimination in employment, in the courts, and in government appointments; demonstrations against such discrimination; local and national attempts to influence government and legislation; and national and regional leadership conferences. Much material from the years when Goodlett headed the San Francisco N.A.A.C.P. branch is included. Of particular interest are items testifying to Goodlett's and others' gradual disillusionment with California's Governor “Pat” Brown and Brown's defense of his actions and criticism of the Negro press (See “Brown, Edmund C. 'Pat,' 1960”). Also interesting is a 1962 exchange of letters between Goodlett and S. I. Hayakawa, the general semanticist (See “N.A.A.C.P.: Correspondence”).
In contrast to Dr. Goodlett's involvement in civil rights activities, which was generally within the framework of formal organizations, his involvement in the peace movement, as evidenced by these papers, seems to be less that of an organization's representative than that of an individual working privately with other individuals. He corresponds with people from Germany, Hungary, Britain, Canada, Australia, India, and the Soviet Union; and he discusses finances, trip arrangements, the state of the American Peace movement, and efforts to gain the admission of mainland China to the United Nations. Of special interest in this subject area is a letter written by Goodlett and dated January 21, 1964 (in “Peace: Correspondence”), describing the dissension in the American peace movement, and a letter to Goodlett from Julie Medlock discussing and enclosing a copy of a letter from Retread Russell concerning Russell's role and the role and problems of his protegé Ralph Schoenman (in “Peace: Correspondence,” September 16, 1965).
