Congress of Racial Equality Records, 1941-1967

Container Title
Series: Series 1: Director's File, 1945-1965
Scope and Content Note

When it was founded, the Congress of Racial Equality had no definite staff positions other than those of chairman, James Farmer, and executive secretary. As executive secretary, George M. Houser, carried on most of the correspondence and organization functions for CORE. In the early years, the organization worked closely with the Fellowship of Reconciliation; most of the CORE staff, who served on a voluntary basis, were also members and officers of FOR. Not until 1961 did CORE establish and maintain a stable organizational structure with designated responsibilities for its top officers. Prior to 1961, its national office had a constantly shifting policy in regard to titles and offices, and a fairly frequent turnover in personnel. Besides the change in personnel, there were many staff members who held more than one position and who carried out a variety of duties.

The Director's primary function has been to supervise personnel and coordinate departments and activities, to guide in establishing policies for the national organization, and to provide leadership for the national organization as a whole. The national Director plans projects that the organization decides to undertake, and often has been an active participant in demonstrations and freedom rides. The Director's file contains primarily correspondence from 1959 to 1964, This series also contains extensive material relating to the organizations with which CORE worked. There are records covering the CORE conventions, its constitution, and various CORE chapters. In processing, it was possible to keep a number of the Director's files intact, just as they were received from the National Office.

The Director's files are similar in organization to every other series in the collection, since they represent most of the subjects and projects with which CORE was primarily concerned. The Director is a member of the National Action Council which, within the structure of CORE, determines the philosophy and direction of the Congress of Racial Equality.

Mss 14/Micro 806
Box/Folder   1/1
Reel   1
A - General File, 1961-1964
Box/Folder   1/2
Reel   1
Africa, 1960, 1962, 1964, undated
Box/Folder   1/3
Reel   1
American Civil Liberties Union, 1962 April-1964 August
Box/Folder   1/4
Reel   1
American Committee on Africa, 1959 September-1964 August
Box/Folder   1/5
Reel   1
American Friends Service Committee, 1959 July-1964 May
American Negro Leadership Conference on Africa
Box/Folder   1/6
Reel   1
1962 May-November 23
Box/Folder   1/7
Reel   1
1962 November 23-1963 September
Box/Folder   1/8
Reel   1
Americans for Democratic Action, 1962 January-1964 August
Box/Folder   2/1
Reel   1
Assessment Project, 1963
Box/Folder   2/2
Reel   1
B - General File
Box/Folder   2/3
Reel   1
Blaugrund, Samuel, 1961
Box/Folder   2/4
Reel   1
Boy's Athletic League, 1962-1963
Box/Folder   2/5
Reel   1
Brooklyn CORE, 1961-1964
Box/Folder   2/6
Reel   1
C - General File
Box/Folder   2/7
Reel   1
Carey, Gordon, 1962-1964
Box/Folder   2/8
Reel   1
Citizens Action League, 1963
Box/Folder   2/9
Reel   1
Civil Rights - general
Box/Folder   2/10
Reel   1
Commission on Human Rights, 1962-1963
Box/Folder   2/11
Reel   1
Committee of Inquiry, 1962
Box/Folder   2/12
Reel   1
Committee to Aid the Monroe Defendants, 1961-1963
Box/Folder   2/13
Reel   2
Community Relations, 1963-1964
Box/Folder   3/1
Reel   2
Constitutions, 1947, 1949-1950, 1952, 1958-1959, 1961-1964
Box/Folder   3/2
Reel   2
Contributions, 1962-1963
Box/Folder   3/3
Reel   2
Conventions, 1949-1950, 1954, 1957, 1959-1960, 1962-1964
CORE
Box/Folder   3/4
Reel   2
Articles of Interest to
Box/Folder   3/5
Reel   2
Miscellaneous
Box/Folder   3/6
Reel   2
Local offices - alphabetical, 1961-1964
Box/Folder   3/7
Reel   2
Cornell University, 1962-1963
Box/Folder   4/1
Reel   2
D - General File
Box/Folder   4/2
Reel   2
Danville, Virginia, 1963
Box/Folder   4/3
Reel   2
Dayton CORE, 1962-1964
Box/Folder   4/4
Reel   2
Department of Justice, 1962-1963, undated
Box/Folder   4/5
Reel   2
E - General File
Box/Folder   4/6
Reel   2
F - General File
Farmer, James
Box/Folder   4/7
Reel   3
1959-1962 March
Box/Folder   4/8
Reel   3
1962 April-August
Box/Folder   4/9
Reel   3
1962 September-1963 January
Box/Folder   4/10
Reel   3
1963 February-June
Box/Folder   5/1
Reel   3
1963 July-November
Box/Folder   5/2
Reel   3
1963 December-1964 May
Box/Folder   5/3
Reel   3
1964 June-July
Box/Folder   5/4
Reel   3
1964 August-December, undated
Box/Folder   5/5
Reel   3
Field Staff
Box/Folder   5/6
Reel   3
Finances
Box/Folder   5/7
Reel   3
Freedom Highways Project, 1962
Box/Folder   5/8
Reel   3
Freedom Rides, 1961
Box/Folder   5/9
Reel   3
G - General File
Box/Folder   5/10
Reel   3
Gilligan Case, 1964
Box/Folder   6/1
Reel   3
H - General
Box/Folder   6/2
Reel   4
Haley, Richard, 1963-1964
Box/Folder   6/3
Reel   4
Hittner, Marianne, 1962
Box/Folder   6/4
Reel   4
I - General
Box/Folder   6/5
Reel   4
J - General
Box/Folder   6/6
Reel   4
K - General
Box/Folder   6/7
Reel   4
L - General
Legal
Box/Folder   6/8
Reel   4
General, 1961-1964, undated
Box/Folder   6/9
Reel   4
Finney, Jones, Worthy, Kunstler, 1961-1963
Box/Folder   6/10
Reel   4
M - General
Box/Folder   6/11
Reel   4
McKissick, Floyd, 1963
Box/Folder   6/12
Reel   4
Minimum Wage, 1962-1963
Box/Folder   6/13
Reel   4
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, 1965, undated
Box/Folder   7/1
Reel   4
Mutual of New York, 1963
Box/Folder   7/2
Reel   4
N - General
Box/Folder   7/3
Reel   4
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 1961-1964
National Action Council
Box/Folder   7/4
Reel   4
1945-1962 July
Box/Folder   7/5
Reel   4
1962 September-1964
Box/Folder   7/6
Reel   4
National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing, 1961-1964, undated
Box/Folder   7/7
Reel   4
National Committee for Sane Nuclear Policy, 1961-1963, undated
Box/Folder   7/8
Reel   4
Negro American Labor Council, 1961-1963
Box/Folder   7/9
Reel   4
New School for Social Research, 1962, 1964
Box/Folder   7/10
Reel   4
News Releases
Box/Folder   7/11
Reel   5
New York, City of, 1962-1964
Box/Folder   8/1
Reel   5
New York, State of, 1962-1964, undated
Box/Folder   8/2
Reel   5
NYU, 1962
Box/Folder   8/3
Reel   5
O - General
Box/Folder   8/4
Reel   5
Oldham, Charles, 1962
Box/Folder   8/5
Reel   5
P - General
Box/Folder   8/6
Reel   5
Pension Plan, 1963-1964
Box/Folder   8/7
Reel   5
Presidents Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, 1963-1964
Box/Folder   8/8
Reel   5
R - General
Box/Folder   8/9
Reel   5
Rachlin, Carl - Legal, 1962-1963
Box/Folder   8/10
Reel   5
Resumes
Box/Folder   8/11
Reel   5
S - General
Box/Folder   8/12
Reel   5
San Francisco CORE, 1963-1964
Box/Folder   8/13
Reel   5
Socialist Organizations, 1961-1962
Box/Folder   8/14
Reel   5
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 1961-1965
Box/Folder   8/15
Reel   5
Southern Regional Conference, 1962
Box/Folder   8/16
Reel   5
Student Non-violent Co-ordinating Committee, 1962-1963, 1965
Box/Folder   9/1
Reel   5
Student Peace Union, 1961-1962
Box/Folder   9/2
Reel   5
T - General
Box/Folder   9/3
Reel   5
U - V - General
Box/Folder   9/4
Reel   5
Unions - General, 1961-1963
Box/Folder   9/5
Reel   5
U.S. Government Agencies - alphabetical, 1961-1964
Box/Folder   9/6
Reel   5
Urban League, 1962
Box/Folder   9/7
Reel   5
Vladeck and Ellias - Legal, 1961-1964
Box/Folder   9/8
Reel   5
Voter Registration Project, 1962-1964
Box/Folder   9/9
Reel   5
W - General
Box/Folder   9/10
Reel   6
Washington, D.C. CORE (Hobson Issue), 1964
Box/Folder   9/11
Reel   6
Washington, D.C. CORE
Box/Folder   9/12
Reel   6
X - Y - Z - General