- unitid
-
{"value"=>"20928", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc MG 386", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b17970341", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1926-1994", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1926/1994"}
{"value"=>"1950s-1980s", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1950/1989"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Doxey A. Wilkerson papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"35 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"26.63 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"An African American educator, Doxey A. Wilkerson made significant contributions to early childhood education and the education of secondary school teachers. The Doxey A. Wilkerson papers reflect Wilkerson's activities at the Jefferson School for Social Science and Yeshiva Universsity; as an educational consultant; and as a board member for many Connecticut-based civic organizations."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Wilkerson, Doxey Alphonso, 1905-1993", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>An African American educator, Doxey A. Wilkerson made significant contributions to early childhood education, especially with minority students, and the education of secondary school teachers.</p> <p>Wilkerson was born in 1905, in Missouri; he earned both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Kansas (in 1926 and 1927 respectively), and his Ph.D. from New York University in 1958 (specializing in higher education). Wilkerson was a professor of education at Howard University from 1935-1943, and he served as a research associate for the Carnegie Corporation study of the Negro in America, 1939-1940; he wrote the research memorandum, \"The Negro in American Education\", which was not included in the study's final publication. He served as national vice president of the American Federation of Teachers (1937-1941), using his office as a vehicle to garner support for federal aid for the education of Black Americans. Wilkerson joined the Communist Party in 1943 and served on its national committee. In 1953, he was investigated by the U.S. Senate subcommittee, chaired by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Wilkerson publicly resigned from the Party in 1957, disillusioned by revelations about Stalin. After leaving Howard University in 1943, Wilkerson became executive editor of the progressive Harlem newspaper, <span class=\"title\">The People's Voice</span>; in 1948, he became the Director of Curriculum with teaching responsibilities at Manhattan's Jefferson School of Social Science, known for its Marxist perspective.</p> <p>In order to help to improve education for Blacks in the South, Wilkerson accepted a position as Head of the Education Division at Bishop College in Marshall, Texas. He was at Bishop for only one year, from 1959 until 1960, because he was accused by the press of being an instigator at Marshall's first peaceful sit-in demonstration and the disclosure that he was a former Communist. From 1963-1973, Wilkerson was a professor of education and chairman of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Yeshiva University in New York. Also in the 1970s, he served on the board of the Little Red School House and the Elisabeth Irwin High School, a progressive private school in Manhattan. From 1973 until his retirement in 1984, he was a technical coordinator and vice president for Mediax Associates, an educational consulting firm in Westport, Connecticut. This company sought to further the educational growth of children through professional staff development.</p> <p>Wilkerson published numerous books, book chapters, and journal articles about equality of education for African Americans and the general populace. His earlier articles also focused on Communism. In 1962, he and his wife moved to South Norwalk, Connecticut, where he served on the boards of numerous local civic organizations. Throughout his retirement, he devoted his energy to the improvement of Connecticut. Wilkerson died at age 88 in 1993.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Doxey A. Wilkerson papers reflect Wilkerson's activities from the 1950s through the 1980s. Documented are his careers at the Jefferson School for Social Science and Yeshiva University, educational consulting, and board memberships for many Connecticut-based civic organizations. Although he also taught at Virginia State College and Howard University from the 1920s to 1940s, there is very little information about these positions, his four years as executive editor of <span class=\"title\">The People's Voice</span>, or his membership in the Communist Party.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Doxey A. Wilkerson papers are arranged in four series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/20928#c1664125'>Personal</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1926-1994</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Personal series includes biographical information and copies of Wilkerson's Master's thesis and Ph.D. dissertation. Material related to his membership and association with the Communist Party includes his testimony pertaining to the Smith Act in 1952, during which he provided testimony about his own participation in the affairs and activities of the Communist Party. Other documents related to Wilkerson's Communist affiliation concern his appearance before the U.S. Senate's Jenner Committee (the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee) in 1953; his resignation from the Communist Party in 1957; and a statement presented to the House on Un-American Activities (HUAC) in 1958. There are also FBI reports on Wilkerson, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Of interest is a 1983 interview about Paul Robeson conducted by Martin Duberman for his biography on Robeson.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/20928#c1664159'>Professional</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1936-1993</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Professional series includes Wilkerson's alphabetical files; these files contain material on Councilman Benjamin J. Davis, Jr.'s reelection in 1949, Paul Robeson's struggle to secure his passport, and the attempt by Edna Winston to have the prison sentence of her husband Henry Winston (African American Communist Party leader) commuted. The Employment subseries contains Wilkerson's manuscripts and supporting documentation for the research memorandum, \"Negro in American Education\", 1939-1940, which he wrote for the Carnegie Corporation study, \"The Negro in America\". Wilkerson's years as director of curriculum at the Jefferson School of Social Science, 1948-1956, are represented by his teaching notes, study guides, and curricula for courses he taught in philosophy, psychology, and political economy. There is printed material, including course listings, and files about the closing of the school in 1956. Wilkerson's one-year stint at Bishop College in Marshall, Texas (1959-1960), is documented via a file regarding his forced resignation due to media reports that he was an instigator of student demonstrations. The Yeshiva University files, 1963-1973, focus on his involvement in designing programs for prospective elementary school teachers of socially disadvantaged children; they include a report and related information about Project Beacon and teaching material for the course \"Teaching the Black Experience\". Wilkerson's employment with Mediax Associates, an educational firm, is represented by files for projects such as the Boston Middle School Reading Program, Head Start Program, and various projects for Public Education Associates (PEA). Among the documents in the PEA files is Wilkerson's testimony regarding the value of Board of Examiners' teacher examinations. The Consultancies subseries, 1962-1990, contain files on the American Jewish Congress (New York City school integration project, 1962-1963); Chicago Public Schools; and Norwalk (Connecticut) Public Schools (which includes several programs involving minorities, students of differing socioeconomic statuses, and desegregation). The subseries Subject files, 1947-1987, contains printed material, correspondence, and notes. Of special interest are files pertaining to W. E. B. Du Bois which include his 1947 address, \"The United Nations and Colonies\"; a 1954 typescript by Du Bois, \"The Passing of Alain Locke\"; Wilkerson's manuscript regarding Du Bois's indictment of the Peace Information Center; and correspondence between the two men. In addition, in the folder \"School for Drug Addicts\", 1972, there is information about a New York City school operating independently of a school board. The subseries Writings is divided into Wilkerson's writings about communism and education. Most of his writings concern ways of improving teaching methods for Black and socioeconomic disadvantaged youth, and reporting on the changing social status of Blacks in the North. There are also writings about education by other authors. In the Professional affiliations subseries are files from Wilkerson's service on boards of national- and New York-based educational organizations. Of interest are his addresses given before the American Federation of Teachers (1937), one with an appeal for federal aid to schools in the South teaching Black children (1937-1944). Records from the Little Red School House and the Elisabeth Irwin High School in Manhattan (a progressive private school) include minutes, director's reports, and financial records. Files for the National Committee on the Education of Migrant Children reflect some of the organization's activities.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/20928#c1664391'>Civic affiliations</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This reflects Wilkerson's commitment to education and the advancement of Blacks. He served on the board of a wide range of organizations in his home state of Connecticut, particularly Norwalk. Some of the organizations include the George Washington Carver Foundation (a community-based organization which provides programs for low income minority youth), Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now (provides assistance programs to economically disadvantaged residents of the greater Norwalk area), the Operation SPEAR, Norwalk Drug Abuse Committee, and the Village Creek Homeowners Association (a cooperative community formed in 1949 that was open to blacks and other minorities; Wilkerson resided in this community). The records of the organizations in this series consist of minutes, reports, correspondence, planning documents, and financial records.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/scm/20928#c1664426'>\"To Read and File\"</a></div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains files on which Wilkerson had intended to work, and it retains his title. The material includes correspondence, reports, clippings, and other printed material.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>Papers organized into four series: I. Personal; II. Professional; III. Civic affiliations; and IV. \"To Read and File\"</p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Gift, Doxey A. Wilkerson and Estate, 1989 and 2000.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p> Transferred to the General Research and Reference Division: printed material.</p> <p>Transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division: photographs.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Accessioned by Janice Quinter, May 2008.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>Associated materials Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture:</p> <p> Carnegie-Myrdal Study of the Negro in American Research Memoranda Collection, Sc Micro R-6534</p> <p>Ralph Bunche papers, Sc MG 290</p>"}
- revisiondesc
-
{"value"=>"Finding aid updated by Lauren Stark.", "date"=>"2021 December 13"}
- date_start
-
1926
- keydate
-
1926
- date_end
-
1994
- date_inclusive_start
-
1926
- date_inclusive_end
-
1994
- date_bulk_start
-
1950
- date_bulk_end
-
1989
- extent_statement
-
26.63 linear feet (35 boxes)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"[Item], Doxey A. Wilkerson papers, Sc MG 386, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library"}