Lawrence D. Reddick World War II project, 1943-1953 (bulk 1943-1945)

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Lawrence D. Reddick World War II project, 1943-1953 (bulk 1943-1945)

1943-1953

http://archives.nypl.org/scm/24667

The Lawrence D. Reddick World War II Project Collection, 1943-1953 (bulk 1943-1945) consists of correspondence with black servicemen and women, summaries of interviews Reddick conducted, as well as research files maintained by him. The series Letters and Interviews, 1943-1945 consists of more than a hundred letters that black servicemen and officers, and a few black servicewomen, wrote principally to their families and friends relating the individuals' experiences. The servicemen were stationed in all of the theaters of operation, and some were stateside at various training camps throughout the United States. Of note is a letter Dwight Eisenhower wrote in 1947 in response to a letter from Reddick, stating his opposition to discrimination of American soldiers based upon color or race. Also included in the collection are summaries of interviews Reddick conducted between 1944 and 1946 in Harlem with former servicemen and officers. The interviewees were forthright in their discussions about their experiences with both black and white soldiers and officers, and the people in the countries where they served. There are also summaries of interviews with several black servicewomen and one white serviceman, as well as civilians. Individuals interviewed include William E. Artis (artist), Warren Cuney (writer), Ewart Guinier (who later headed the first African-American Studies Department at Harvard University), William H. Hastie (civil rights attorney), Roi Ottley (author and journalist) Leigh Whipper (actor). The series Writings and Research Files, 1943-1949 contains manuscripts and material Reddick created or gathered for articles and a book he had intended to write; nearly all focus on the black experience during World War II. Several of his manuscripts, both published and unpublished, form part of this series, including an incomplete manuscript about black soldiers from the Civil War through World War I. Additional research material consists of a file about discriminatory practices, folders about black officers, World War II heroes, the Army's policy toward black soldiers during the war, and President Truman's committee on equality of treatment. Of special interest is a scrapbook about the Manhattan Beach Coast Guard Training Station in Brooklyn containing photographs and news clippings about black officers. Reddick maintained a large set of files regarding employment of blacks from 1940-1945 divided into such categories as agriculture and various war-related industries as well as War Manpower Commission reports. Additional files pertain to conscientious objectors and notes from Army aptitude tests taken by black soldiers.

4 linear feet (3 record cartons, 4 archival boxes, 1 1/2 archival boxes)

eng, Latn

New York Public Library System, NYPL

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7946944

New York Public Library System, NYPL

Related Entities

There are 11 Entities related to this resource.

Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6k17x25 (person)

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) was leader of the Allied forces in Europe in World War II, commander of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and the thirty-fourth president of the United States, from January 20, 1953, to January 20, 1961. Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas, the third son of David Jacob Eisenhower, a railroad worker, and Ida Elizabeth Stover. In 1891, the family moved to Abilene, Kansas, where David accepted a job at a local creamery run by ...

Hastie, William Henry, Jr., 1904-1976

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hv3cjz (person)

William Henry Hastie Jr. (November 17, 1904 – April 14, 1976) was an American lawyer, judge, educator, public official, and civil rights advocate. He was the first African American to serve as Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, as a federal judge, and as a federal appellate judge. He served as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and previously served as District Judge of the District Court of the Virgin Islands. Hastie was born ...

Cuney, Warren.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63r8nqn (person)

United States. Army

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6km312r (corporateBody)

The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces and performs land-based military operations. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution, Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 and United States Code, Title 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001. As the largest and senior branch of the U.S. military, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which wa...

Guinier, Ewart

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vm5xhk (person)

Labor leader, former presidential candidate for the Borough of Manhattan, and the first chairman of Harvard University's Department of African American Studies. Born in Panama of West Indian parents in 1910, Ewart Guinier migrated to the United States in 1925 and studied at Harvard University, the City University of New York, Columbia University and New York University. He became the International Secretary of the United Public Workers of America in 1940, and was the Liberal Party candidate for ...

Granger, Lester B. (Lester Blackwell), 1896-1976

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pk0hm5 (person)

Member of Dartmouth Class of 1918. From the description of [Collection of his published writings]. 1939-1953. (Dartmouth College Library). WorldCat record id: 240653249 Lester Blackwell Granger was an African American civic leader and social worker. Born in 1896, he grew up in Newark, NJ, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1918. After serving in the United States Army during the First World War, he worked briefly for the Newark chapter of the National Urban League. From...

Ottley, Roi, 1906-1960

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s47hf1 (person)

Whipper, Leigh R. (Leigh Rollin), 1877-1975

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zw28vr (person)

Character actor in the movies and theater, a founder of the Negro Actors Guild of America. From the description of Leigh Rollin Whipper papers, 1861-1963. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122346178 African American actor and playwright. From the description of Papers, 1864-1965. (Moorland-Spingarn Resource Center). WorldCat record id: 70941227 Leigh Whipper, one of America's best known character actors, was born in Charleston, South Carolina o...

Artis, William E., 1914-1977

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t809th (person)

Reddick, Lawrence Dunbar, 1910-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65142x5 (person)

Lawrence D. Reddick served as curator of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature, 1939-1948. An African-American historian, Reddick was interested in the role of the black soldier in U.S. wars and published on this topic. Concerned that the role of black soldiers during World War II would not be portrayed accurately by the government, the mainstream or black press, Reddick initiated a campaign to document the experiences of blacks in the military using their first hand accounts. He placed a...

Manhattan Beach Coast Guard Training Station (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n66nhn (corporateBody)