Civil rights-- Eisenhower & the Eisenhower administration

Documents regarding the Eisenhower administration's views on civil rights
More About This Collection
Date of Original
1955/1960
Subject
Segregation in education--Law and legislation--United States
Segregation in transportation--Law and legislation--United States
Discrimination in education--Law and legislation--United States
African Americans--Civil rights--United States
Discrimination in medical care--United States
Sit-ins--North Carolina--Greensboro
Direct action--Southern States
African Americans--Government policy
United States--Politics and government--1953-1961
Church and state--United States
African American civil rights workers--United States
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Civil rights movement--United States
Student movements--North Carolina--Greensboro
Protest marches--Washington (D.C.)
Communism--United States
Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina--Students
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Meetings
People
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969
Brownell, Herbert, Jr., 1904-1996
Washington, Val J., 1903-1995
Morrow, E. Frederic (Everett Frederic), 1909-
Adams, Sherman, 1899-1986
Graham, Billy, 1918-2018
Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972
Powell, Adam Clayton, 1908-1972
Rabb, Maxwell M., 1910-
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994
Wilkins, Roy, 1901-1981
Siciliano, Rocco C.
Abernathy, Ralph, 1926-1990
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969--Correspondence
Brownell, Herbert, Jr., 1904-1996--Correspondence
Washington, Val J., 1903-1995--Correspondence
Morrow, E. Frederic (Everett Frederic), 1909- --Correspondence
Adams, Sherman, 1899-1986--Correspondence
Graham, Billy, 1918-2018--Correspondence
Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972--Correspondence
Powell, Adam Clayton, 1908-1972--Correspondence
Rabb, Maxwell M., 1910- --Correspondence
Wilkins, Roy, 1901-1981--Correspondence
Siciliano, Rocco C.--Correspondence
Location
United States, 39.76, -98.5
Medium
texts (document genres)
letters (correspondence)
memorandums
reports
Type
Text
Description
This online collection includes Attorney General Herbert Brownell, Jr.'s cabinet paper summarizing the various steps taken by the Eisenhower administration to end racial segregation and discrimination in education, transportation, and hospitals; a press release praising the administration's contributions towards civil rights released by Val J. Washington, the Republican National Committee Director of Minorities; a memo from E. Frederic Morrow, Eisenhower's Administrative Officer for Special Projects and an African American, to Chief-of-Staff Sherman Adams regarding the repeated requests of African American leaders seeking to meet with President Eisenhower about race relations in the United States; a twenty-five page paper presenting contextual information about the origins of racial tension in the U.S.; correspondence between President Eisenhower and Rev. Billy Graham about methods by which ministers could promote progress and understanding of race relations; a letter from the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover to William H. Jackson, the Special Assistant to President Eisenhower about the monograph "The Communist Party and the Negro from 1953-1956"; a letter from Representative Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. urging President Eisenhower to make a statement in support of racial harmony in the South; a memo from Cabinet Secretary Maxwell Rabb to Sherman Adams regarding the proposed May 17, 1957 march at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.; a memo from E. Frederic Morrow to Sherman Adams addressing a meeting between African American leaders and President Eisenhower; a memo from Maxwell Rabb to Sherman Adams discussing the meeting of Dr. Martin Luther King and Reverend Ralph D. Abernathy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon on June 13, 1957; a memo from Maxwell Rabb to Sherman Adams discussing when and which African American leaders would meet with President Eisenhower; a memo detailing the recommendations reached after the meeting with African American leaders on June 23, 1958; a letter from NAACP Executive Director Roy Wilkins to President Eisenhower expressing gratitude for holding meeting with leaders; a memo from Rocco Siciliano, the Special Assistant to President Eisenhower declaring the meeting "an unqualified success;" and a memo prepared by E. Frederic Morrow entitled "Student Protest Movement in the South, March 7, 1960" which discusses the sit-in protest of four freshman from North Carolina A&T College on February 1, 1960 at a Woolworth store in Greensboro, N.C.
"The 1950s were a significant time period in the history of civil rights in this country. The Eisenhower Administration worked quietly on this front. The following documents include official government reports on civil rights, as well as President Eisenhower's personal views on this issue."--Eisenhower Library Web site.
The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata.
Contributing Institution
Dwight D. Eisenhower Library