The papers, 1964-1971, consist of microfilmed correspondence and clippings, news releases and statements, memorabilia, and a film. They reflect public reaction to Andrew Goodman's death and, to a lesser extent, to the civil rights movement in 1964. The papers are organized in three series: correspondence, clippings and publications, and miscellany.
The correspondence consists mainly of condolences from the general public and from friends and acquaintances, as well as donations or pledge cards announcing the dedication of trees, masses, and other things to Andrew's memory. Arranged alphabetically are the letters from well-known people such as President Johnson, singers Harry Belafonte and Mary Travers, pediatrician and anti-war activist Benjamin Spock, government figures Nicholas DeB. Katzenbach, Jacob Javits, Kenneth Keating, Robert Kennedy, John Lindsay, and Nelson Rockefeller, and civil rights leaders James Farmer, Aaron Henry, Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young Jr. Accompanying the condolences are master lists of correspondents used by Mrs. Goodman in answering the flood of mail. Additional correspondence concerns memorial services, the 1967 conspiracy trial, and other miscellaneous topics. The Goodmans also received a small amount of hate mail following Andrew's death.
The clippings and publications series consists mainly of clippings from nationwide newspapers and news magazines, 1964-1971. Included are three large scrapbooks prepared by Mrs. Goodman and arranged by newspaper, and unmounted clippings arranged by year, plus news releases and press statements made by the Goodmans and others, and newsletters and miscellaneous publications.
The miscellany series mainly concerns memorial activities and dedications, but also includes legal documents, photographs, and some of Andy's own belongings. Programs, eulogies, and artistic works such as poems, songs, and drawings created in the memory of Andrew Goodman comprise the materials concerning memorial activities. Also present are publicity and form letters from the Andrew Goodman Scholarship Fund, and publicity and preliminary materials from the Chaney-Goodman-Schwerner Community Center in Meridian, Mississippi. The folder of legal documents contains a copy of Goodman's death certificate, correspondence with the assistant Attorney General, and memoranda from the grand jury investigation and Supreme Court appeal resulting in the trial and conviction of the conspirators. Andrew's belongings include a paper he wrote on the development of the Black Panthers, and several blank post cards, all discolored by finger print tests made by the FBI.
Two dramatic works based on Goodman's death are represented: And People All Around, a 1966 script for George Sklar's American Playwrights Theatre production; and a film of “Andy A.M.,” a WNBC-TV program.
