{"value"=>"<p>This series comprises the bulk of the Pettis Perry papers. It documents his tenure in New York, from 1948 to 1955, as Secretary of the Negro Commission, Chairman of the Farm Commission, and Alternate Member of the Executive Committee, and his membership on the Southern California District Board upon his return to California in 1957. A folder of general correspondence includes letters from Claude Lightfoot, Eugene Dennis, Eslanda Robeson, and others discussing such subjects as relations with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and African American community, anti-colonial movements, and party meetings. The National Executive Committee folder consists of assorted speeches, reports, and memoranda sent to Perry by William Z. Foster and others concerning tactics, organization, and ideology. It includes a transcript of discussions by party leaders concerning labor unions in preparation for the national convention of 1954.</p> <p>The series also contains Perry's writings regarding the Communist Party-USA's position on the \"Negro Question\" and the issue of self-determination, debated at length throughout the 1940s and 1950s. These discussions may be found in the folders of both the Negro Commission and the Southern California District Board. In addition, there are memoranda, reports, and speeches concerning a variety of topics such as the role of African Americans in World War II, election campaigns from 1944 to 1958, colonialism, labor unions, and ideological questions.</p> <p>Subject files have been created reflecting a variety of printed material and other writings retained by Perry concerning such topics as the Walter-McCarran Act, Mexican workers, regional Communist Parties, school desegregation, Jewish organizations, and trade unions. A folder for Cuba includes excerpts of writings by Blas Roca Calderio and Fabio Grobart on socialism and discrimination and a speech by Fidel Castro. A miscellaneous international folder includes articles by Eslanda Robeson on world events for publication in <span class=\"title\">Freedom</span> and a booklet of speeches and reports from the 1952 World Peace Council in Berlin. The Southern Christian Leadership folder contains a draft report by John Henry discussing the Party's relationship with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.</p>"}