Scope and arrangement
The Gerald Horne papers date from 1953 to 2016 (bulk dates 1975-2003) and consist of files chronicling Horne's career in academia; his academic research; his professional writing; his political activism; his legal work; and his personal life. The collection details Horne's professional life through files he kept at the colleges and universities where he was employed, as well as the research he conducted for the numerous books and articles he authored. The files primarily address Horne's academic, legal, and political work; however there is a selection of personal correspondence and photographs present.
The Gerald Horne papers are arranged in six series:
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1971-200941.7 linear feet; 322 Megabytes
Horne's career as college professor in history, law, and African American studies is detailed in Series I, which comprises files from each of the institutions where he has been employed, as well as some materials from his Ph.D. work at Columbia University. Although the University of California and University of North Carolina files are the most comprehensive, there is detailed correspondence, research files, and teaching materials present among the papers from both Ramapo College and Sarah Lawrence College.
The University of California, Santa Barbara files address Horne's tenure as professor of History and Black Studies, as chair of the Black Studies Department, and as acting director at the University's Center for Black Studies. These files contain materials from conferences Horne attended and helped to organize, professional correspondence, subject files, teaching materials, and files of academic writing. The subject files are arranged alphabetically, while all other files are arranged chronologically.
The subject files were created by Horne and contain research materials, newspaper clippings, and administrative items. The files address matters related to Horne's ongoing academic research, current political issues, course instruction, University policies, and campus events. Many folders addressing specific topics hold a combination of materials, such as clippings, annotated articles, and notes. Most of the clippings Horne retained feature a handwritten date and underlined passages. In some cases the files overlap with research themes addressed in Series II and Series III.
Files from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pertain to Horne's work as professor of history, communication studies, and African American Studies; his tenure as director of the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center; and his time as director for the Institute of African-American Research. Included is correspondence, files of research and writing, subject files, and teaching materials. All files are arranged chronologically except the subject files, which are arranged alphabetically.
The University of North Carolina subject files address administrative matters, Horne's research and instruction, and current events, but are less comprehensive than those he kept at the University of California. The most thorough topic addressed in the subject files is Horne's work with the Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center and the Institute of African-American Research.
More detailed research is found in the University of North Carolina research and writing files, which Horne did not arrange by topic. Instead, research is often accompanied by the writing it informed, but contains no label to indicate its subject matter.
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1953-201319 linear feet; 28.15 Megabytes
Series II holds files that compile Horne's career-spanning research. These files are arranged alphabetically by topic, with the exception of files lacking a title or topic, which are arranged chronologically. Boxes 222 to 225 contain index cards of research notes, and box 226 holds notebooks addressing general research matters.
Among the alphabetical research files are records Horne obtained as the result of Freedom of Information Act requests to the FBI. These files include documentation on the African National Congress, the Black Panther Party, Lawrence Dennis, Shirley Graham Du Bois, the National Maritime Union, the Pan African Congress, Ferdinand Smith, and Richard Wright. The other files contain clippings, annotated articles, publications, and notes.
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1974-20147 linear feet; 36.9 Megabytes
Writings authored by Horne, including articles, books, book chapters, papers, and presentations, comprise the files of Series III. All materials are arranged chronologically according to publication format. The articles held in this series include drafts intended for publication in academic journals, as well as clippings of newspaper editorials and commentaries.
There are manuscript drafts and notes from seventeen different books, including one unpublished volume on Malcolm X. The most thorough materials present are for Black Liberation/Red Scare: Ben Davis and the Communist Party; Fire This Time: The Watts Uprising and the 1960s; Class Struggle in Hollywood, 1930-1950: Moguls, Mobsters, Stars, Reds, and Trade Unionists; and Red Seas: Ferdinand Smith and the Radical Black Sailors in the United States and Jamaica. The typed manuscripts contain handwritten annotations and corrections, as well as some feedback from publishers. Some of the included notes and cited works reference research files in Series II.
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1974-200510.3 linear feet; 67.96 Kilobytes
Series IV addresses political causes of which Horne was involved or interested. The politics and activism files are arranged alphabetically according to titles assigned by Horne. Most abundant are the files related to Horne's 1992 Senate candidacy, which are found with the Peace and Freedom Party documents. These files hold items pertaining to official campaign filings and ballot access, flyers, promotional information, clippings, sample ballets, and official campaign literature.
Also of interest is a large collection of political buttons, which are located in boxes 227 to 230. There are some buttons promoting Horne's senate campaign, as well as those voicing opposition to NAFTA, Apartheid in South Africa, and nuclear weapons.
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1974-19997.5 linear feet; 110.1 kilobytes
Horne's legal work with the Affirmative Action Coordinating Center, the Local 1199 Union, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, and the National Lawyers Guild is documented through files of administrative materials, correspondence, court documents, memoranda, and meeting minutes. These files are arranged chronologically within each organization.
Horne also kept alphabetical subject files during his tenure with the National Lawyers Guild, which includes topics of interest to the organization as well as correspondence, meeting minutes, and committee information.
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1965-20157 linear feet
Horne's personal files include his address books, appointment books, correspondence with friends and acquaintances, two of his passports, and a small collection of photographs. Both the address and appointment books contain matters related to Horne's career, while some of the correspondence labeled as "personal" addresses topics from Horne's professional work.