Bernice V. Robinson

 

 

Avery Manuscript Number

 

 

Inventory Number 1018

 

 

 

 

 

 

Box #/

 

 

Folder#

I

Biographical Papers

 

 

 

 

1

Typescripts (nd) of biographical sketches

1-1

 

 

 

2

Resumes and scattered employment applications (1967, 1970-79)

1-2

 

 

 

3

Identification and business cards (c.1950, 1972-75) from Robinson's hair salon;

1-3

 

Action /VISTA program; and South Carolina School Boards

 

 

 

 

4

Date and address book (1973) partially completed by Robinson

1-4

 

 

 

5

Typed, unedited transcript of oral interview of Robinson by Sue Thrasher and Eliot

1-5

 

Wiggington, November 9, 1980. Topics discussed include early family years, unions for

 

the skilled trades; educational system in Charleston County, segregation differences in

 

 

the South and North; Robinson's experiences working in garment factories and beauty

 

 

shops in Harlem, New York; South Carolina Human Relations Council; NAACP; Ruby

 

Hurley; Hubert Humphrey; Septima Clark; Rosa Parks; Esau Jenkins, the Progressive

 

 

Club and African American education and voter registration; Robinson's involvement

 

 

with the Highlander Folk School; Myles Horton; experience as being the first Citizenship

 

School teacher; the establishment of Citizenship Schools on Johns, Wadmalaw and

 

 

Edisto Islands; funding from Maxwell Hahn of the Field Foundation; the 1959 raid on

 

 

Highlander; Andrew Young, Jr.; Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Medgar

 

 

Evers; Martin Luther King, Jr.;  Rosa Parks;  Hosea Williams;  Bayard Rustin;   

 

 

James Bevel; Dorothy Cotton; Randolph Blackwell, and others; Robert Moses and 

 

 

the Council of Federated Organization; Robinson's employment with the South

 

 

Carolina Commission for Farm Workers/VISTA Volunteers program; her run for the

 

 

State House of Representatives; consultant work with IDEAS and the terminated Civil

 

 

Rights Movement Oral History Project; literacy training; and economic and social

 

 

advancements of African Americans resulting from the Civil Rights movement

 

 

 

 

6

Transcript, edited version of above interview for the book, Refuse to Stand Silently

1-6

 

By: An Oral History of Grass Roots Social Activism in America 1921-64

 

 

 

 

7

Miscellaneous newsletters (1973, 1985) from Garrett High School, Charleston and

1-7

 

South Carolina Committee for the Humanities, featuring articles on Robinson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8

Typescripts, church programs, and greeting cards (1963, 67, 1975) re Robinson's new

1-8

 

house blessings

 

 

 

 

II

Works:  Writings, Talks, Lectures and Speeches

 

 

 

 

1

Handwritten journal (1978) with draft of speech re cousin Septima Clark

1-9

 

 

 

2

Letters, statement of purpose, conference program (1986) re Central Coast Literacy

1-10

 

Conference sponsored by the City of Watsonville [CA] Public Library.  Includes

 

 

handwritten notes on index cards of Robinson's speech re literacy, citizenship and

 

 

Highlander Center

 

 

 

 

3

Letters, handwritten and typed; typed speech and flyers (1986) from Lee Davis re

1-11

 

University of  California, Santa Cruz Women's Center discussion, Empowerment of

 

 

the Estranged and Powerless, with Robinson as the keynote speaker.  Also includes

 

information re the Watsonville cannery strike, and the film documentary re Highlander,

 

 

You Got to Move,featuring Robinson. Also see Box 3 Folder 10 for essay written by

 

Lee Davis re Citizenship Schools on Johns Island

 

 

 

 

4

Correspondence, newsletters, conference program (1986) for Literacy Volunteers

1-12

 

of America, Inc.  Includes typescript of Robinson's speech re literacy for citizenship

 

 

and employment

 

 

 

 

5

Correspondence, biographical sketches, handwritten and typed drafts of speech (1988)

1-13

 

for Robinson's talk at the South Carolina State Museum re the importance of voting

 

 

 

 

6

Handwritten speech (nd) on index cards re the early days of the Civil Rights

1-14

 

Movement; and miscellaneous handwritten notes (nd)

 

 

 

 

III

Correspondence

 

 

 

 

1

Personal letters, invitations, greetings and post cards (1960-1988, nd) from various

 

 

family members and friends.  Includes letters (1963) from photographer Marion Palfi;

1-15

 

Septima Clark (1972); folk singers Guy and Candie Carawan

 

 

 

 

2

Personal correspondence and photo (1972-73) of Bishop Peter Mark Kariuki

1-16

 

Wachira, Roho Israel Church of Kenya re Christianity in America

 

 

 

 

3

Professional letters (1965-1967) to Robinson re information on cooperatives from the

1-17

 

United States Department of Agriculture; and her participation in a tour of the

 

 

Charleston Naval Station (1967)

 

 

 

 

4

Professional correspondence (1972-77) re Robinson seeking employment. Includes 

1-18

 

letter of recommendation from Richard W. Riley (1977)

 

 

 

 

5

Professional letters (1973-79) includes letter from Andrew Young thanking Robinson

1-19

 

for her message re his nomination as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (1977);

 

 

and letter of appointment to the Tax Exempt Board, Charleston County Council (1977)

 

 

 

6

Professional correspondence (1980-89, nd) mainly requests for Robinson to speak 

1-20

 

about adult literacy and requests for interviews from doctoral students re Highlander

 

 

and Citizenship Schools

 

 

 

 

IV

Affiliations: Schools

 

 

 

 

1

Course catalog and newsletter (1963) re New York School of Interior Design

2-1

 

 

 

2

Correspondence, course papers, and design postcards (1963-64) from Robinson's

2-2

 

Home Study Course from New York School of Interior Design

 

 

 

 

3

Handwritten notes and drafts (1963-64) re home study lessons for interior design

2-3

 

course

 

 

 

 

 

Affiliations: (Continued) The Highlander Folk School and Research Center

 

 

 

 

1

Original, photocopied, and carbons of correspondence (1957-1988) re Highlander

3-1

 

and Citizenship Schools.  Includes letter (1957) from Highlander founder, Myles

 

 

Horton, congratulating Robinson on being an excellent teacher at the Johns Island Adult

 

School; letter (1959) from Robinson to Horton commenting on the tenuous status of

 

 

the School; letter (1961) from staff member, Anne Lockwood offering Robinson a

 

 

position with Robinson's hesitant reply; letter (1970) from Horton to Leslie Dunbar,

 

 

executive director of the Field Foundation, requesting funding to collect oral histories

 

 

from civil rights movement participants, which Robinson and Septima Clark would

 

 

gather; letter (1972) from Horton congratulating Robinson re her campaign for the SC

 

 

State House of Representatives, with references to the historic value of the Highlander

 

 

tapes; letter and photocopied newspaper clippings (1980) re attacks against the

 

 

Center for its efforts to close the Bumpass Cove Sanitary Landfill, TN

 

 

 

 

2

Original and photocopy roster (1955) of Highlander's "The United Nations and You"

3-2

 

workshop

 

 

 

 

3

Original black and white photographs (c. 1960s) of Robinson teaching at a voter

3-3

 

education workshop; photocopy of itinerary (1961) re schedule of citizenship training

 

 

workshops

 

 

 

 

4

Scattered newsletters (1961-1988) of Highlander Reports; and brochures re the

3-4

 

Center and their fiftieth anniversary campaign

 

 

 

 

5

Photocopy (1964) of Highlander Folk School Audio Tape Collection finding aid from

3-5

 

Tennessee State Library and Archives; with essay (nd) re participants on recordings

 

 

 

 

6

Photocopied biographical sketch, itineraries, booklet, correspondence, and newspaper

3-6

 

clipping (1964-1972) re Esau Jenkins and the Sea Island Progressive Club Center.

 

 

Includes letter with proposal (1964) from Jenkins requesting a grant for a day care

 

 

program from the Department of Labor; letter from American Friends Service

 

 

Committee (1965) re Southern School Desegregation work with employment

 

 

opportunity for Robinson; and Jenkins' obituary (1972)

 

 

 

 

7

Photocopied report (1966-67) re expenses and income for the Center

3-7

 

 

 

8

Typescript (nd) re Robinson's experiences and influence on the creation of the

3-8

 

Citizenship Program in South Carolina; and typed transcription of her talk (1979) re

 

 

Citizenship Training Schools

 

 

 

 

9

Typescripts and published essays (1966, 1971) re Highlander Center and citizenship

3-9

 

education by Aimee Horton; with letter to Robinson (1987) re the possibility of jointly

 

 

writing an article on literacy education

 

 

 

 

10

Typescript (1986) by Lee Davis re Johns Island's Citizenship School. Robinson,

3-10

 

Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, Septima Clark, and Esau Jenkins are quoted in the

 

 

text

 

 

 

 

11

Typescripts of speech and poems, letters, and press release (1961-1974) of John

3-11

 

Beecher, great nephew of Harriet Beecher Stowe.  Writings include autographed

 

 

poem re Highlander Folk School and speeches (1963) re racial attitudes and the

 

 

bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL

 

 

 

 

12

Directory (1970) for identifying institutions and individuals possessing creative talent

3-12

 

and financial support for the Center

 

 

 

 

13

Letter and abstract (1976) from Jerome Franson, Georgia College, requesting an

3-13

 

interview from Robinson re her experience with the Highlander Folk School's

 

 

Sea Island Citizenship project

 

 

 

 

14

Photocopy of poem and newspaper articles (1959-1966) re Highlander, Robinson,

3-14

 

Septima Clark and participants.  Includes newspaper articles (1961) re Robinson and

 

 

Clark applying to the Peace Corps

 

 

 

 

15

Published journal (1979) featuring an article about Myles Horton

3-15

 

 

 

 

Affiliations: (Continued) Citizenship School-South Carolina

 

 

 

 

1

Original and photocopies materials (1957-1960) used in Citizenship Schools in South

3-16

 

Carolina: sample application for SC [voting] registration; booklet and test on the

 

 

on the U.S. Constitution and Government; and math workbook

 

 

 

 

2

Original and photocopied typescripts and booklets (1961-63, nd) used in Citizenship

3-17

 

School workshops throughout the south sponsored by the Southern Christian

 

 

Leadership Conference

 

 

 

 

3

Handwritten originals and typed carbon copies reports (nd) by Robinson re teachers

3-18