The collection consists of miscellaneous papers concerning the activities of Reverend Samples between 1965 and 1967. All correspondence to and from him is arranged in one chronological order, with the remainder of the collection divided by organization, and the papers arranged chronologically within each folder. The folders include such materials as constitutions of the organizations, newsletters, correspondence, minutes, handbills, news releases, membership lists, affidavits, and reports. Of note in the Atlanta Grass Roots Crusade folder is correspondence in support of Adam Clayton Powell and Julian Bond; other material on Bond is in the folder labeled “Political statements and handbills.” The Scott Crossing Civic League folder contains, in addition to other materials, the will, autobiography, and testimonial of Ortelus Shelmon. Case files assembled by Shelmon and Samples about insurance claims, housing evictions, prison treatment, parole, etc., are also in the collection.
Besides providing information on Atlanta civil rights activities, the Samples Papers are significant because of the great amount of information they provide on poverty in a major American city. The problems of poor people in Atlanta emerge in detail.
