Scope and arrangement
The Ira De Augustine Reid papers consist primarily of published and unpublished writings. Included are a small amount of professional correspondence; a diary of a West Indian trip which 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. Manuscripts include "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), and "Survey of Negro Life in New Jersey" (1932), among others. Playscripts include "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 items. 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 by Reid's student, Hanna L. Schussheim, "Negroes of Early Philadelphia: Roots of Today's Struggle" (1968).
The Ira De Augustine Reid papers are arranged in six series:
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1931-1967
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1925-1966