Rebecca Margaret Reid papers, 1903-1968

ArchivalResource

Reid, Rebecca Margaret, 1879-1965. Rebecca Margaret Reid papers, 1903-1968

Rebecca Margaret Reid papers, 1903-1968

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/163566459

Letters, biographical sketches; photographs; newspaper clippings; publications; inspirational poetry, prayers, and stories; material pertaining to 1925 Women's Student Pilgrimage to Europe; notes re South Carolina Poetry Project; information compiled about socialized medicine; and Rural Service Award. In 1933, Reid became Director of the federal government's State Adult Education program in 1933. The following year, she began her involvement with one of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs, the National Youth Administration. In 1941, Reid purchased a log cabin and pecan farm in Sumter, S.C. She spent the next twenty-four years as a tireless advocate for the disadvantaged. Reid's concerns are evident in the topics of her newspaper clippings (1931-1963): peace movements, international affairs, civil rights, health care, education, and women's issues. In a letter dated 17 Oct. 1956, Reid laments the conditions of health care for the elderly: "I only wish there were better provisions made for our aged and tired than an insane asylum. For they are not insane." She became interested in socialized medicine and collected information on the state of health care in the United States and in Great Britain. Her correspondence also alludes to frequent run-ins with the Ku Klux Klan and the White Citizens Council. Both groups were disturbed by Reid's work on behalf of African-Americans. At times, she became disillusioned with the politics of the South, writing on 19 Oct. 1957, that she was "working on plans to alleviate tensions in this prejudice ridden, hate seething adolescent civilization of ours here in the South." In 1968, she received the Rural Service Award from the Office of Economic Opportunity for her efforts to alleviate the problems of rural Americans. Hers was the only award granted posthumously, and one of the few signed by outgoing director Sargent Shriver.

1.25 linear ft. (1 carton)

University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries