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Creator
Reid, Ira De Augustine, 1901-1968
Call number
Sc MG 359
Physical description
3 linear feet
Preferred Citation
Ira De Augustine Reid papers, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request access to this collection.

The Ira De Augustine Reid papers consist primarily of published and unpublished writings and are divided into personal and professional papers, research notes, writings, Haverford College, subject file and writings by other authors. Included are a small amount of professional correspondence, a diary of a West Indian trip Reid took in 1939, and a few research notebooks. His writings date from his 1925 Master's thesis ("The Negro in the Major Industries and Building Trades of Pittsburgh") through 1966. A few of the many manuscripts are "Negro Immigration to the United States" (1940), "Africans, Black: A Study in Negro Immigration," "A Research Memorandum on the Negro in the American Economic System" (1940), "Survey of Negro Life in New Jersey" (1932), and play scripts including "John Henry: A Comedy in One Act" (1936). Examples of his numerous reports are "The Negro Baptist Ministry" (1951), "State Commission Against Discrimination: An Analysis of its Operations" (1957), "Report of the Commission Appointed by the Governor to Investigate Charges of Excessive Use of Force by Police in Chester, Pennsylvania" (1964) and "Cultural Deprivation and the Schools of Chester, Pennsylvania (1965).

Biographical/historical information

Ira De Augustine Reid was a noted sociologist and author. Born in Clifton Forge, Virginia, he spent his boyhood in Pennsylvania, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in 1922 and was awarded the Master of Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1925. In 1939 Reid received his Ph.D. degree in sociology from Columbia University.

He served as industrial secretary for the New York Urban League (1924-1928), and from 1928 to 1934 he was editor of "Opportunity" and director of research of the National Urban League. In the latter capacity, he was responsible for a series of studies conducted in African American communities around the country, many of which were published. In addition, Reid directed or worked on many other sociological studies and surveys. Between 1934 and 1946 Reid was professor of sociology at Atlanta University, where in 1942, he helped establish and became director of the People's College, an adult education program. In 1943 he became chairman of the Department of Sociology and editor of "Phylon" (1943-1946). He was visiting professor of educational sociology, School of Education, New York University (1946-1947). From 1947 until his retirement in 1966, Reid was professor and chairman of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Haverford College. He was also a visiting professor at several universities, served as a consultant and was on the board of a variety of sociological and educational organizations.

Reid was a prolific writer and was particularly known for his work on black immigrants, the studies produced while he was at the National Urban League, and his work on youth and education.

Scope and arrangement

The Ira De Augustine Reid papers consist primarily of published and unpublished writings and are divided into personal and professional papers, research notes, writings, Haverford College, subject file and writings by other authors. Included are a small amount of professional correspondence, a diary of a West Indian trip Reid took in 1939, and a few research notebooks. His writings date from his 1925 Master's thesis ("The Negro in the Major Industries and Building Trades of Pittsburgh") through 1966. A few of the many manuscripts are "Negro Immigration to the United States" (1940), "Africans, Black: A Study in Negro Immigration," "A Research Memorandum on the Negro in the American Economic System" (1940), "Survey of Negro Life in New Jersey" (1932), and play scripts including "John Henry: A Comedy in One Act" (1936). Examples of his numerous reports are "The Negro Baptist Ministry" (1951), "State Commission Against Discrimination: An Analysis of its Operations" (1957), "Report of the Commission Appointed by the Governor to Investigate Charges of Excessive Use of Force by Police in Chester, Pennsylvania" (1964) and "Cultural Deprivation and the Schools of Chester, Pennsylvania (1965).|||Haverford College material includes course related material. Topics for the several subject files in the collection include Black Muslims, Freedmen's Bureau-children and Reconstruction, and the Jackson Whites. Several manuscripts by other authors complete the collection, notably Reid's student, Hanna L. Schussheim, "Negroes of Early Philadelphia: Roots of Today's Struggle" (1968).

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift, Reid, Anne Cooke, 1988

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor