Winchester Area Branch #7127, NAACP Records

1697 THL

Inventory created by Archives Staff 12/1976. Last revised 01/2020.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection is open to all researchers. Restrictions apply to some materials as noted in the container list below.

USE RESTRICTIONS: Restrictions may apply concerning the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a member of the archives staff for information concerning these restrictions. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright.

EXTENT: 3.0 linear feet

DATE: 1940 - 2019

SCOPE AND CONTENT: This collection contains the minutes, correspondence, and other materials from Winchester Area Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. NAACP.  The bulk of the material is from the 1970s and 1980s when Raymond Radcliffe occupied the position of director. Materials continue to be added. More recent files include programs for banquets and celebrations.

Of note, the collection contains a letter from Martin Luther King Jr. to Harano Childs, dated May 21, 1956, in which King thanks Childs for his support of the Montgomery Improvement Association. Mr. Childs also received a comic book, “Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story.” The letter and comic book have been scanned and framed and may be viewed on the first floor of the Handley Library, along with a short article about the items.

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, commonly referred to as the NAACP, was founded in New York City on February 12, 1909. Its stated purpose was to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all persons and to eliminate racial discrimination. Local chapters of the organization have existed almost since the national society’s conception. Like the national organization, local chapters of the NAACP were actively involved in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The Winchester Area Branch includes the city of Winchester, Frederick County, and Clarke County, Virginia.                                  

CITE AS: Winchester Area Branch #7127, NAACP Records, 1697 THL, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, VA

ACQUISITION INFORMATION: This collection contains some items acquired as gifts, while other materials are on long-term loan. Please ask Archives staff for further information.

ORGANIZATION:

BOX 1

33^rd Anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education – 1 booklet, 8 leaves, printed

American Legacy Magazine – contains an interview with Historian Douglas Brinkley concerning research for a biography of Rosa Parks, pgs. 78-82, 1 magazine, printed

Blank Forms – unnumbered leaves

Brochures – 8 items, printed

Constitution of the NAACP, 1994 – 2 copies in booklet form, printed

Conventions, 1970s – unnumbered leaves, printed

Conventions, 1980s – unnumbered leaves, printed

Conventions, 1990s and 2000 – unnumbered leaves, printed

Correspondence, August 24, 1948 – 1 leaf, typescript (photocopy)

Correspondence, 1962-1975 – unnumbered leaves, manuscript, typescript, printed

Correspondence, 1976-1977 – unnumbered leaves, manuscript, typescript, printed

Correspondence, 1978-1979 – unnumbered leaves, manuscript, typescript, printed

BOX 2

Correspondence, 1980-1981, unnumbered leaves, manuscript, typescript, printed

Correspondence, 1983 – unnumbered leaves, manuscript, typescript, printed

Correspondence, 1990s – unnumbered leaves, manuscript, typescript, printed

Correspondence, no date – unnumbered leaves, manuscript, typescript, printed

The Crisis, January and March, 1975 issues – 2 magazines, printed

The Crisis, 1977-1980 (November, 1977, May, 1979, June, 1980) – 3 magazines, printed

Education – unnumbered leaves, manuscript, typescript, printed

Flyers, 1949-1980s – unnumbered leaves, typescript, printed

“How the NAACP Began”, January, 1995 – 1 booklet, 6 pages, printed and 1 brochure, 3 pages, printed

Membership Dinner/Freedom Fund Banquet (folder includes the following):
NAACP Membership Dinner Program, dated August 15, 1980 typescript, printed
NAACP Life Membership Banquet Program, dated march 6, 1993, typescript, printed
NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet Programs (3) dated September 14, 2013, September 12, 2015 and September 10, 2016, typescript, printed.
NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet Programs, (3) dated September 9, 2017, September 8, 2018 and September 14, 2019, typescript, printed
Winchester Area NAACP 70^th Anniversary Freedom Fund Banquet Booklet, dated September 13, 2019, 20 pages, typescript, printed

Membership dues envelopes – 20 envelopes, printed

Membership Campaigns – unnumbered leaves, manuscript, typescript, printed

Michaux, Elder Lightfoot Solomon, Last Sermon, August 28, 1968 – 6 pages, printed

Miscellaneous Items – unnumbered leaves, manuscript, typescript, printed

BOX 3 Minutes 1975-2001

Minutes, 1974 – unnumbered leaves, typescript

Minutes, 1975 – unnumbered leaves, typescript

Minutes, 1976-1978 – unnumbered leaves, typescript

Minutes Book, 1979-1981 (incomplete) – October 4, 1979, November 6, 1980, December 4, 1980, February 5, 1981, booklet, unnumbered leaves, manuscript

Minutes Book, January 22, 1981 – 1 book, manuscript

Minutes, 1980s – unnumbered leaves, typescript

Minutes, 1994-1996 – unnumbered leaves, typescript

Minutes, 1997-2001 – unnumbered leaves, typescript

BOX 4

News Articles – unnumbered leaves, printed

Newsletters, 1958; 1970s-1990s – unnumbered leaves, printed

Public School Survey, 1976 – 27 leaves, typescript and printed

Recruitment Poster – n.d., 1 item, printed

Raymond Ratcliffe Foundation – unnumbered leaves, typescript

Requests for Assistance, 1970s-1990s – unnumbered leaves, manuscript, typescript

Request for Assistance, no date – unnumbered leaves, typescript, manuscript

Rules and Guidelines – unnumbered leaves, typescript and printed

Stationary – 12 leaves, printed

BOX 5

Treasurers Reports, 1970s – unnumbered leaves, typescript

Treasurer Reports, 1974 – unnumbered leaves, manuscript

“While You Were Out” Notes, n.d. – unnumbered leaves, printed and manuscript

Winchester Housing Code, 1977 – unnumbered leaves, printed

Plaque – Grand Feature Float Civic and Service Admiral Byrd Award, First Place, Apple Blossom Festival, 1981, Winchester, VA

BOX 6

Scrapbook – covering events between 1970-present

Winchester Area Branch NAACP ball point pen – 1 item

Folded American Flag, recipient unknown

BOX 7

Plaque – City of Winchester Proclamation, 70^th Anniversary of the Winchester Branch of NAACP, Sept. 2014

Letter of Apology and Repentance to Winchester NAACP from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Winchester, dated Dec. 14, 2019, framed

BOX 8

Childs, Harano (folder contains the following):
Letter from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Harano Childs, May 21, 1956, thanking him for support of Montgomery Improvement Association, 1 leaf, mimeograph copy
News article, “Man uncovers Dr. King letter during move” by Alison Laurio, Winchester Star, February 20, 2015, pages C5, C6.2 leaves, printed, photocopy
Article by John Copenhaver, Harono’s son- in-law, about Mr. Childs and the letter, 1 leaf, typescript

“Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story”—comic book/graphic novel of Dr. Martin Luther King; 8 leaves, printed

“Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story”—comic book/graphic novel of Dr. Martin Luther King; 8 leaves, printed, 3 scanned copies

Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Fund of the Winchester NAACP, Program from announcement of scholarship fund, 1 leaf, printed

BOX 9

Notebooks (purple loose-leaf), photos of NAACP members and events to be used for displays, (2 copies, duplicate)

MAP CASE 1 DRAWER 16

Charter – Winchester Area Branch, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, January 12, 1976

PHOTOGRAPHS: Photographs and other images belonging to this collection may be accessed online through http://handley.pastperfectonline.com/