Raper, Arthur Franklin, 1899-1979

Arthur Franklin Raper was a distinguished sociologist whose early work focused on rural social issues and racial discrimination in the South. From the 1940s through the early 1960s, he worked for several government agencies on problems of rural development in Bangladesh as well as other countries in Southeast Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. After his work as senior advisor to the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development, he returned to the United States and worked as a visiting professor at Michigan State University until his retirement in 1967.

From the description of Arthur Franklin Raper papers, 1959-1975. (George Mason University). WorldCat record id: 755915322

Sociologist; interviewee d. 1979.

From the description of Reminiscences of Arthur Franklin Raper : oral history, 1971. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122376588

Research and Field Secretary of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation.

From the description of Correspondence with Johan Thorsten Sellin, 1933-1936. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 243778802

Arthur Franklin Raper (1899-1979) was a rural sociologist, civil rights activist, and social science analyst both in the United States and in other countries. Born in Davidson County, N.C., Raper's early career focused on analysis of rural problems and racial discrimination in the South. In 1940, he began his 22-year career as a social scientist and research analyst for several federal government agencies. After World War II, he became involved with problems of rural development on a global scale, studying conditions in Japan, Taiwan, other Asian countries, and in North Africa and the Middle East. In 1962, he went to Comilla, Pakistan, as senior advisor to the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development. He returned to the United States in 1964 and was a visiting professor at Michigan State University until his retirement in 1967.

From the description of Arthur Franklin Raper papers, 1913-1979. WorldCat record id: 26320207

Arthur Franklin Raper (1899-1979) attended both the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and Vanderbilt University. The early years of Raper's career were devoted to an analysis of rural problems and racial discrimination in Depression-era South. He was an activist who delivered speeches and gathered data as he worked to alleviate rural poverty and for the social and legal equality of African Americans. In 1940, Raper began his 22-year career as a social scientist and research analyst for several federal government agencies. His concern for southern agricultural reform continued, but after World War II, he became involved with problems of rural development on a global scale. He studied conditions in Japan, Taiwan, and several other countries in Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. During these years, Raper continued the activism that had characterized his earlier career. In 1962, he became senior advisor to the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development. He returned to America two years later, and was a visiting professor at Michigan State University until he retired in 1967. Between the time of his retirement and his death in 1979, Raper maintained an active interest in the worldwide struggle against social and political injustice.

Personal:

• 1899: Born on 8 November in Davidson County, N.C., the third son of William Franklin and Julia Selina Crouse Raper.
• 1929: Married Martha E. Jarrell of Atlanta, Ga., on 12 June.
• 1930: Birth of first son, Charles F., on 5 May.
• 1932: Birth of second son, Harrison C. (Roper), on 10 May.
• 1934: Birth of third son, A. Jarrell, on 24 March.
• 1937: Birth of daughter, J. Margaret (Hummon), on 21 November.
• 1979: Died in Oakton, Va., on 10 August.

Education:

• 1924: Received A.B., University of North Carolina.
• 1925: Received M.A. in sociology and political science, Vanderbilt University.
• 1931: Received Ph.D. in sociology and rural economics, University of North Carolina.

Positions Held:

• 1925 - 1926 : Research Assistant for the Institute for Research in Social Science, University of North Carolina.
• 1926 - 1939 : Research Secretary for the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, Atlanta, Ga.
• 1930 - 1931 : Member of the Southern Commission on the Study of Lynching.
• 1932 - 1939 : Part-time professor of sociology at Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Ga.
• 1938 - 1940 : Executive Secretary of the Council on a Christian Social Order.
• 1939 - 1940 : Research Associate for the Carnegie-Myrdal Study of the American Negro.
• 1940 - 1942 : Social Science Analyst for the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
• 1942 - 1952 : Social Science Analyst and Principal Social Scientist for the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
• 1943 - 1952 : Taught graduate courses at the United States Department of Agriculture, at American University, and at the University of Maryland.
• 1946 - 1952 : Trustee of the Delta Cooperative Farms, Inc., Bolivar County, Miss.
• 1947 - 1950 : Made three trips to Japan as a consultant on agrarian reforms for the Allied Occupation Command.
• 1951: Made a trip to Southeast Asia as a consultant on increasing aid to villagers for the Mutual Security Administration (MSA).
• 1951: Made a trip to the Middle East as a consultant on increasing agricultural production for the American Friends of the Middle East.
• 1952: Consultant to the Far East Division of MSA.
• 1952 - 1954 : Project Evaluation Advisor for the Foreign Operations Administration's Mutual Security Mission to China (Taiwan).
• 1954 - 1955 : Consultant to the Community Development Division of the International Cooperation Administration (ICA).
• 1955 - 1958 : Regional Community Development Advisor to the Middle East and North Africa for ICA.
• 1958: Member of the Training Development Staff for ICA.
• 1958 - 1961 : Assistant Chief for the Orientation and Counseling Branch of the Career Development Division of ICA.
• 1959 - 1962 : Taught courses on community development at Catholic University.
• 1961 - 1962 : Acting Chief for the Orientation and Counseling Branch, ICA.
• 1964: Senior Advisor to the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development, Comilla, East Pakistan.
• 1964: Worked with the Pakistan Project in the College of Education at Michigan State University.
• 1965 - 1967 : Visiting professor with the Asian Studies Center and an affiliate in the Department of Sociology, Michigan State University.
• 1967: Retired in July to his home in Oakton, Va.

Books:

• 1933: The Tragedy of Lynching (reprinted in 1969).
• 1936: Preface to Peasantry (reprinted in 1968).
• 1941: Sharecroppers All, with Ira DeA. Reid (reprinted in 1971).
• 1943: Tenants of the Almighty (reprinted in 1971).
• 1949: Rural Life in the United States, with Carl C. Taylor, et al.
• 1950: The Japanese Village in Transition, with Herbert Passin, et al.
• 1951: Guide to Agriculture, U.S.A., with Martha J. Raper (revised and reprinted in 1955).
• 1953: Rural Taiwan: Problem and Promise, with the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction.
• 1954: Urban and Industrial Taiwan: Crowded and Resourceful, with Han-sheng Chuan and Shao-shing Chen.
• 1970: Rural Development in Action: The Comprehensive Experiment at Comilla, East Pakistan, with Harry L. Case, et al.

From the guide to the Arthur Franklin Raper Papers, 1913-1979, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)