Part 1 (Mss 488, Audio 805A, PH 2917): Original Collection, 1960-1966
Physical Description: 2.8 c.f. (8 archives boxes), 3 tape recordings, and 422 images on 83 contact strips and 9 photographs in 1 archives box 
Scope and Content Note

The collection has been arranged into six major series: Records of the Arkansas Project, Gould Citizens for Progress Files, Pine Bluff Movement Files, St. Francis County Achievement Committee Files, Personal Papers of SNCC Workers, and Photographs. Material distributed statewide has been incorporated into the files of the Arkansas Project, and duplication eliminated. Many of the original papers were photocopied and returned to the donors.

Contained within the RECORDS OF THE ARKANSAS PROJECT are papers created and collected by many SNCC workers, and maintained in the central files in the Little Rock headquarters. Included are general correspondence, office files, and a news clippings file. The general correspondence contains letters sent and received by staff members, to SNCC national headquarters, Friends of SNCC groups, other civil rights organizations, and interested individuals. In particular, SNCC field secretary and Freedom Centers Coordinator Nancy Stoller, and State Project Director Ben Grinage, are well represented in these files. Office files are composed of reports, memos, notes, clippings, and associated correspondence arranged alphabetically by subject into reference and working files. Of major interest are the 1964 Arkansas Project Annual Report, and the Arkansas SNCC Records, which contain fragmentary financial records, staff working papers, memos (some drafted by Mitchell Zimmerman), notes of meetings, and phone lists. Field Reports provide detailed, often first-hand accounts of the activities of SNCC workers. The material from the counties, dated 1962 and 1963, generally deals with voter registration drives, while the Little Rock reports from 1965 and 1966 contain reports of demonstrations. Papers in the file on Freedom School Workshops consist of typed notes and a list of attendees at a workshop held March 27-April 7, 1965 at the Highlander Center, Knoxville, Tennessee. General SNCC guidelines for all new staff members are also found in this series. Examples of harassment, intimidation, and brutality encountered by SNCC workers throughout Arkansas are recorded in the folder of Incident Reports. Two folders of material regarding suspected fraud in voter registration and voting procedures in Phillips County contain requests and applications for absentee ballots and statements and lists of voters. The “WATS Record” lists incoming calls and messages for Little Rock SNCC staff.

The News Clippings File contains photocopied copies of articles taken from Arkansas newspapers regarding events and activities in the nation, and particularly, in Arkansas. An undated list of “newspapers subscribed to during the clipping period” is located in the folder of Miscellany (Box 2, Folder 6).

The files of the GOULD CITIZENS FOR PROGRESS illustrate the efforts to desegregate public facilities and schools in Gould, voter registration, and other projects. Particularly noteworthy are the minutes of meetings, 1965-1966, and the folder regarding Gould programs and activities. Much of the material consists of handwritten notes, probably made by SNCC worker Laura Foner.

The records of the PINE BLUFF MOVEMENT include the correspondence, memos, and miscellaneous related materials of SNCC field secretaries for the area, Arlene Wilgoren and Vincent J. O'Connor. The “daily record,” apparently kept by Wilgoren in June-July 1965, is in reality, fragmentary and incomplete notes, addresses, and drafts of field reports and letters. In 1965 and 1966, O'Connor, a San Francisco native, was a SNCC worker in Pine Bluff. Although his civil rights activities are documented in the general files of the Pine Bluff Movement, O'Connor's diary and personal correspondence also reveal a great deal about his work and the community.

During the latter part of his stay in Arkansas, O'Connor grew increasingly interested in the anti-war movement, partially as an outgrowth of his religious convictions. He was a draft resister and sought status as a conscientious objector. Much of his correspondence is with pacifist groups and individuals interested in the anti-war movement, and with his draft board. He attempted to spur anti-war feeling in the state, and worked with the Arkansans for Peace in Vietnam group. After the dissolution of the SNCC organization in Arkansas late in 1966, O'Connor worked to organize local farmers and farm workers into cooperatives and was active in Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service election campaigns. Notable correspondents include activists Carl and Anne Braden.

Records of the ST. FRANCIS COUNTY ACHIEVEMENT COMMITTEE include correspondence, memos, minutes of meetings, project weekly reports, and notes concerning the work of the Committee. Efforts centered around the boycott of Forrest City's Lincoln High School in an attempt to force improvement of conditions there. Literary writings, including play drafts and art work, illustrate the activities of the Freedom School and Center in Forrest City.

The PERSONAL PAPERS OF SNCC WORKERS consist of personal and work-related material of four SNCC volunteers. Laura Foner's papers include copies of her correspondence, newspaper articles regarding her, brochures, posters, and records pertaining to her involvement with school desegregation in Gould. Foner, a graduate of Brandeis University, ran the Gould Freedom Center in conjunction with Robert Cableton. There is relatively little of a personal nature in her papers.

William W. Hansen (1939- ), originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, left Xavier College in his junior year to work full-time for SNCC. His first assignment was Cambridge, Maryland in 1961, when local civil rights leaders invited SNCC to aid in their fight on unemployment and discrimination in public accommodations. Hansen subsequently traveled through Virginia and North Carolina, visiting African American college campuses and attempting to organize students. In 1962 he spent some time in Albany and Atlanta, Georgia, prior to going to Arkansas in the fall. There, Hansen quickly became involved in sit-in demonstrations held to protest segregated restaurants and lunch counters. With Ben Grinage, Hansen traveled throughout the state, organizing students and community residents. In February 1963 Hansen organized lunch counter demonstrations in Pine Bluff, where he met his wife, Ruth (or Ruthie) Buffington, a student at Arkansas A & M College. Ruth joined the demonstrations, and was expelled from college. The Hansen's marriage on October 12, 1963, and later residence and work in Arkansas, created a statewide uproar. Hansen's papers include correspondence and related material, primarily concerning SNCC's car fleet and driving privileges, copies of court injunctions and legal papers, election and voting data, and copies of Hansen's field reports from his work in Maryland, Georgia, and Arkansas in 1962. The collection also includes two tape recordings made by Society staff member Bob Gabriner, with the Hansen's in Little Rock, August 7, 1966. On tape both Bill and Ruthie discuss their background, how each became involved with the civil rights movement, Bill's earlier civil rights work in Maryland and Georgia, and the beginnings and evolution of SNCC. Other interesting parts of the discussion are Hansen's recollections of the difficulties encountered by SNCC; problems within SNCC such as personnel, personalities, ideas, and the strains of the black-white, native Arkansan-outsider difficulties (Hansen was the only white SNCC field secretary). Hansen also gives his opinion of SNCC leaders James Forman, Stokely Carmichael, and Bob Moses, and talks about SNCC's financial woes and its lack of a realistic program in Arkansas at that time.

Collin Minert (1943- ), a native of Milwaukee and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin in political science, worked for SNCC during the summer of 1965. Living in the town of West Helena, Minert was active in local voter registration programs and taught in the Freedom Center. His papers include a copy of his application to the Summer Project, and related correspondence, and a descriptive letter written to friends in Wisconsin. Also present are two notebooks of Minert's notes from SNCC meetings; information regarding the state and its government; and names, addresses, and phone numbers of West Helena SNCC staff members and residents. This is the only material in the collection specifically dealing with SNCC activities in West Helena.

The folder of papers of Mitchell Zimmerman (1942- ) may provide the most complete view of the operation of SNCC of any personal papers. Zimmerman, a native of the Bronx, New York, and a graduate student in political science at Princeton University, spent the summer of 1964 working in the Atlanta SNCC office. From August 1965 through 1966 he worked in Arkansas, serving as communications officer for the Arkansas Project, and also doing field work for a short time in Forrest City and West Memphis. As communications chief, Zimmerman acted as press officer, manned the “WATS'” line, and was in a position to oversee the operations of the Project; he committed many of his observations and conclusions to paper. In his correspondence, a diary, field reports, and drafts of reports, Zimmerman noted the decentralization of state SNCC operations, and the considerable autonomy exercised by local organizations within the state itself. According to Zimmerman, by late 1965, most of the Arkansas projects were functioning well, under the supervision of 23 SNCC staff members. Some of his other observations were taped by Bob and Vicki Gabriner in Little Rock, August 8, 1966, in a joint interview with SNCC worker Jim Jones.

The PHOTOGRAPHS document activities of SNCC from 1964 to 1966. Included are images of the Little Rock SNCC office and staff meetings, Freedom Schools, Freedom Centers, demonstrations, political campaigns, court hearings, peace demonstrations, and a Black high school. The photographs were made by Brian E. Rybolt, Dwight Williams, and Don Shaw.

Series: Records of the Arkansas Project

Subseries: General Correspondence, 1965 March-1966 August

Subseries: Office Files

Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, 1966

Arkansas Data, General, 1965-1966

Arkansas Politics, 1965-1966

Arkansas Project Annual Report, 1964

Arkansas SNCC Records, 1965-1966

Court Injunctions and Other Documents, 1965 September

Economic Data, 1960 Report on Arkansas

Education and Freedom Schools, 1965-1966

Employment, Discrimination, and the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1965

Field Reports

Jefferson County, 1963-1965

Lincoln County, 1963

Little Rock, 1965-1966

Phillips County, 1962-1965

St. Francis County, undated

Freedom School Workshops, 1965

Government Officials, 1965-1966

Guidelines for Staff Members and Applicants

Incident Reports, 1965 June-September

Material regarding Brutality, Violence, Intimidation, Jail Conditions, Hate Mail, 1965-1966

Miscellany

Phillips County Absentee Voter Applications (“Fraud”), 1964-1965

Phillips County Absentee Voter Records, 1964

Press Releases, 1965-1966

School Desegregation, 1965-1966

SNCC Staff Conference at Kingston Springs, 1965 May 11-17 - Agenda and Notes

Voter Registration Project, 1966

“Wats Record,” 1965 June-September

Subseries: News Clippings File

Agriculture and Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, 1965-1966

Arkansas Politics and Politicians, 1965-1966

Bond, Julian, 1966

Bond Elections, 1965-1966

Capitol Club Integration, Little Rock, 1965

Civil Rights in Other States, 1965-1966

Economic Data, 1965-1966

Education and Schools, 1965-1966

Elections, 1965-1966

Employment, 1965-1966

Extremism, 1965-1966

Federal Government, 1965-1966

Government, 1965-1966

Housing, 1965-1966

Judiciary, 1965-1966

Miscellaneous

Political Parties, 1965-1966

Prison Whippings, 1965-1966

Reapportionment, 1965-1966

Representatives in Congress, 1965-1966

SNCC in Arkansas, 1965-1966

SNCC Outside of Arkansas, 1966

War on Poverty, 1965-1966

Welfare, 1965-1966

Series: Gould Citizens for Progress Files

Affidavits, Notes, and Record of Arrests and Police Brutality, 1965-1966

Correspondence, 1965-1966

Gould Programs and Activities, circa 1965-1966

Minutes, 1965-1966

School Desegregation and Complaint, 1965

Schools, 1966

Voting and Elections, Lists of Voters, 1965-1966

Welfare - Correspondence and Notes, 1965-1966

Series: Pine Bluff Movement Files

Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service Papers, 1965

Correspondence and Related Material, 1963, 1965-1966

“Daily Record,” 1965 June-July

Executive Committee Minutes, 1963 March-December

Poll Tax Roster, 1964

Voter Registration Papers and Maps

Papers of Vincent O'Connor

Diary of Work with SNCC, 1965 February-1966? June

Correspondence

1965-1967 March

regarding Conscientious Objector Status, 1965-1966

with Carole Anne Mathison, 1965-1966

with Pacifist Groups, 1965-1966

Series: St. Francis County Achievement Committee Files

Art Work and Posters

Correspondence and Related Material, 1965-1966

Donations, 1965

Education and Scholarships

Freedom Center

Freedom School Writings, 1965

Incident Reports and Affidavits regarding Discrimination, 1965-1966

Mailing and Address Lists, 1965-1966

Organization Records and History, 1965

Play Drafts and Other Writings by Millard L. (Tex) Lowe

Reports and Minutes, 1965

School Desegregation and Boycott, 1965-1966

Social Services Files, 1965

Voters List, 1963

West Memphis Federal Assistance Application and Data, 1966

Series: Personal Papers of SNCC Workers

Foner, Laura, Papers, 1965-1966

Hansen, William W.

Correspondence and Related Material, 1962-1966

Court Injunctions and Other Documents, 1964

Election Research Council, Inc., Report, 1965

Field Reports - Maryland, Georgia, and Arkansas, 1962

Voting Data

Bob Gabriner's interview with Bill and Ruthie Hansen, 1966 August 7
Note: Background voice is provided by the Hansen's small son, Billy.

Minert, Collin, Papers, 1965

Zimmerman, Mitchell, Papers, 1965-1966

Bob and Vicki Gabriner's interview with Mitchell Zimmerman and Jim Jones, 1966 August 8
Scope and Content Note: Most of the tape records Jones's recollections of the Arkansas Summer Project, his work in Pine Bluff and Lincoln County, and other areas where he tried to organize local residents. He also discusses projects in Mississippi (his original home, the black-white tensions among workers, and gives his personal opinion of Bill Hansen. Zimmerman, a relative latecomer to the Movement, spends a short time discussing his work from the fall of 1965 to 1966. The tape ends in the midst of his discussion. Tracks 1, 2, and 4 of the tape have good sound, track 3 is missing.

Series: Photographs

SNCC

Office, Little Rock, 1966 Winter

Staff meetings

Little Rock

Ferncliff, 1965 August

Statewide pre-conference committee meeting, 1965 November

Freedom House, Mitchellville

Demonstrations

Little Rock Peace demonstrations, 1966 February 12

Stuttgart Greyhound bus station demonstration, 1965 October

[School Board] Campaigns

Joel Hines, 1965 August

Truman Bolden and Mrs. Bradley, 1965 August

A.B. Allen, 1965 September

Gould Citizens for Progress

Black high school, Gould

Freedom House, Gould

Pine Bluff Movement

Alteimer school, Pine Bluff, 1966 March 20

Packingtown [Bluff River vicinity] school, 1966 March 20

St. Francis County Achievement Committee

Forrest City

“White's Only” public facilities demonstrations, [196?] September 17-26

Demonstration and freedom meeting, 1965 September-November

Forrest City court hearing held in Little Rock, 1965 September 29

Washington, D.C. trip, 1965 October

African American living conditions [possibly Helena, Arkansas]

Store destroyed by fire, “Finger Groc,” 1965 September

People

Stuttgart teenagers

Charles Tounson

Dwight Williams, Wynn, Arkansas, 1965 July

Part 2 (M2004-217): Additions, 1965-1971
Physical Description: 0.4 c.f. (1 archives box) 
Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1965-1971, consisting of Vincent O'Connor's FBI files requested by him through the FOIA and his correspondence with the FBI regarding these requests. The papers document O'Connor's draft resistance and his incarceration at Terminal Island (California), as well as his activities while a worker for Arkansas SNCC from 1965 through April 1967.