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Creator
White, Walter, 1893-1955
Call number
Sc MG 479
Physical description
0.42 linear feet (1 box)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], Walter White papers, Sc MG 479, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Sponsor
Home to Harlem Project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The Walter White Papers consists of writings, letters, contracts, printed matter, reports and financial records. The bulk of the collection consists of White's writings, including two published articles "Negro Segregation Comes North" (1925) and the "Negro and the Supreme Court" (1931), and two manuscripts entitled "Crossing the Color Line" and "Over the Color Line," which focus on "passing." There is also an unpublished manuscript, research material, notes and character sketches for "Blackjack" a work of fiction that deals with African Americans in the sport of boxing; and a description of the tableaux scenes for "Batoula", possibly based on the novel by René Maran, which was cast in Dahomey. There are also poems written by White's friend, Grace Mott Johnson (1928-1929).

Biographical/historical information

Walter White was one of the most important civil rights leaders of the twentieth century. From 1931 to 1955 he served as the executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). White established the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP, and came to the attention of James Weldon Johnson, the executive secretary of the national NAACP, who hired him in 1918 as the assistant executive secretary.

In his thirty-seven year career with the NAACP, White played a leadership role in the national effort to achieve political, economic and social rights for African Americans. He led the fight for anti-lynching legislation, as well as several legal campaigns to end white primaries, poll taxes and segregated housing and education. He was the author of nine books, including two novels, Fire in the Flint (1924) and Flight (1926), and Rope and Faggot: A Biography of Judge Lynch (1929), which was an study of lynching, and an autobiography A Man called White, which was published in 1948.

Scope and arrangement

The Walter White Papers consists of writings, letters, contracts, printed matter, reports and financial records. The bulk of the collection consists of White's writings, including two published articles "Negro Segregation Comes North" (1925) and the "Negro and the Supreme Court" (1931), and two manuscripts entitled "Crossing the Color Line" and "Over the Color Line," which focus on "passing." There is also an unpublished manuscript, research material, notes and character sketches for "Blackjack" a work of fiction that deals with African Americans in the sport of boxing; and a description of the tableaux scenes for "Batoula", possibly based on the novel by René Maran, which was cast in Dahomey. There are also poems written by White's friend, Grace Mott Johnson (1928-1929).

Printed material consists of items produced by the NAACP and abstracts of reports prepared by the research committee of the National Interracial Conference concerning health, education, industry and agriculture, among other topics.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift, 409 Edgecombe Avenue Tenant Association, 1988

Revision History

This finding aid was updated by Allison Hughes. (2022 January 27)

Separated material

This collection was separated from the 409 Edgecombe collection (Sc MG 804).

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