Weatherford, Willis D. (Willis Duke), 1875-1970

Willis D. Weatherford of Black Mountain, N.C., was president of the Blue Ridge Assembly, Black Mountain, N.C., 1906-1944; president of the Y.M.C.A. Graduate School, Nashville, Tenn., 1919-1946; trustee of Berea College, Berea, Ky., 1916-ca. 1962; faculty member of Fisk University, 1936-1946; director of the Southern Appalachian Studies Project, 1956-1968; and lifelong student of race relations in the South.

From the description of Willis D. Weatherford papers, 1911-1969. WorldCat record id: 25422545

• 1 December 1875: Born in Weatherford, Tex., son of Samuel L. and Margaret Turner Weatherford
• 1895: B.S., Weatherford [Junior] College, Weatherford, Tex.
• 1899: B.A., Vanderbilt University
• 1900: M.A., Vanderbilt University
• 1907: Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
• 1902 - 1919 : International student secretary of YMCA
• 1903 - 1907 : Married Lula Belle Trawick
• 1906 - 1944 : President, Blue Ridge Assembly (later known as Blue Ridge College, Inc.)
• 1907: Set up the Southern Summer School for Social Science and Christian Workers of Blue Ridge
• 1907: Author: Fundamental Religious Principles in Browning's Poetry; College Problems
• 1910: Author: Negro Life in the South
• 1911: Author: Introducing Men to Christ
• 1912: Author: Present Forces in Negro Progress
• 1912: Served on Standing Committee on Negro Problems of the Southern Sociological Congress
• 1914 - 1957 : Married Julia McCrory
• 1915: Served on Board of Governors of the Southern Sociological Congress
• 1916: Author: Christian Life, a Normal Experience; Personal Elements in Religious Life
• 1916 - circa 1962 : Trustee, Berea College, Berea, Ky.
• 1917: Editor: Report on Law and Order Conference
• 1917: Organized a law and order conference dealing with the lynching problem in the South, held at Blue Ridge, N.C.
• 1919: Attended organizational meeting of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, Atlanta, Ga.
• circa 1919: Took part in forming the Interracial Commission in Tennessee from the Tennessee Law and Order League
• 1919 - 1936 : President, Southern College of the YMCA (later known as the YMCA Graduate School), Nashville, Tenn.
• 1920: Editor: Interracial Cooperation
• 1924: Author: The Negro from Africa to America
• 1925: Chair, Tennessee Commission on Interracial Cooperation; member, Board of Directors, Atlanta University
• 1927 - 1970 : Member of the Board of Directors of ACIPCO
• 1932: Editor: Survey of the Negro Boy in Nashville
• 1934: Editor: Survey of Negro Boy Life in Nashville, Tenn.
• 1934: Author: Race Relations (co-authored with Charles S. Johnson, President, Fisk University)
• 1935: Author: Life Sketch of James Brownson Dunwoody DeBow
• 1936: YMCA Graduate School closes
• 1936 - 1946 : Head, Department of Religion and Humanities, Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn.
• 1945: Blue Ridge Association sold to the Southern Region Headquarters of the YMCA
• 1946: Accepted position at Berea College dealing with instructional development and student recruitment
• 1948: Author: Analytical Index of DeBows Review
• 1954 - 1957 : Organized and directed the development of the outdoor pageant, Wilderness Road
• 1955: Editor: Religion in the Appalachian Mountains; Educational Opportunities in the Appalachian Mountains
• 1955: Author: Pioneers of Destiny
• 1956 - 1968 : Organizer and director of the Southern Appalachian Studies Project
• 1957: Author: American Churches and the Negro
• 1962: Author: Life and Religion in Southern Appalachia (co-authored with Earl D. C. Brewer); Studies in Christian Experience
• 1962: Editor: The Southern Appalachian Region: A Survey (co-edited with Thomas R. Ford)
• 1965 - 1967 : Served on the Governor's Council on Aging
• 21 February 1970: Died

From the guide to the Willis D. Weatherford Papers, 1911-1969, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)