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Cleveland L. Sellers, Jr. Papers

Avery Research Center Manuscript Number 1017

Biographical Note: The son of Cleveland and Pauline Taggart Sellers, Cleveland Sellers, Jr. was born in 1944 in Denmark, S.C., where his father was a businessman and his mother worked as a teacher at the South Carolina Area Trade School. Sellers attended local schools and started a student chapter of the NAACP. He attended Howard University and worked with the Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in various civil rights causes around the south and was elected Program Secretary in 1965. In 1967, while organizing students at South Carolina State University, Sellers was shot in a melee that later became known as the Orangeburg Massacre. Three students died, and many were wounded; Sellers alone was indicted and convicted for inciting a riot and served time in jail, as he had for resisting the draft, a case that was later dismissed. In 1969, Sellers taught a black ideology course at Cornell University; and later received a Masters Degree from Harvard University. Living in North Carolina, he worked for the city of Greensboro in the Human Resources Department and later as a Housing Administrator; he became involved in many North Carolina related Civil Rights and black consciousness projects, including Malcolm X. Liberation University. He worked in Jesse Jackson’s 1984 and 1988 Presidential Campaigns and received his Ed. D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in education administration in 1987. He was pardoned for his conviction in the Orangeburg Massacre in 1993, and went on to become Director of African American Studies at the University of South Carolina

Scope and Content: Approximately 9 linear ft. (1934-2003, bulk, 1960-1980)

Description: The majority of the collection details Cleveland L. Sellers, Jr.’s role in a variety of student, civil rights, leftist, and Pan African movements in the 1960s and 70’s; with other materials documenting his personal, academic and professional life. Many of the materials are in photocopy form, the originals, severely water and mold damaged, having been removed.

A small series of personal papers include childhood magazine covers, papers re his draft resistance case (1967-1971); an unsuccessful bid for city council (1983) in Greensboro, NC; biographical clippings; a few scattered items from his mother Pauline Taggert Sellers’ youth and early marriage, including V Mail; data re other family members, and information re Denmark, and Bamberg County, SC churches and schools, including Voorhees College and the Denmark Chapter of the S.C. Area Trade Schools; with Seller’s contracts for his book The River of No Return. Personal correspondence (1960s-1990s) re Sellers’ political views and activities include letters (1968) from jail, with some mentions of Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) and events, legal problems and pardon relating to the Orangeburg Massacre. Materials on the latter topic include photocopies of court papers, Sellers’ appeal to the SC Supreme Court (c. 1970), clippings and responses re the event; and a radio and a film script based on the event, with related materials. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) papers (1960-1997, bulk 1960s) include reports, memos, etc. re its history, structure, administration, projects, publications, broadsides, etc. with references to Students for a Democratic Society, Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown (Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin), Eldridge Cleaver and others; with photocopies of surveillance files on Sellers and the organization obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Mississippi State Sovereignty Committee. All African Revolutionary People’s Party materials (1972- 1989, bulk 1970s) detail its administration, membership levels, its ideology, influenced by the political thought of Kwame Nkrumah, and publications, including those from its program, African Liberation Day. Also in the collection are materials documenting various African countries and movements including copies of major documents of the Sixth Pan African Congress (1974), articles re the political philosophy of Ahmed Sekou Toure and a variety of materials from various domestic groups, committees, and organizations involved in Black Power and Pan Africa movements and Civil Rights, including the Black Panthers, Blacks United for Action (Columbia, SC), Congress of African People, National Black United Front and others. School-related organizations include the Student Organization for Black Unity (SOBU), with reports, memos, etc. (1960s-1970s) re its organization, goals and administration; various black student groups from a number of American colleges and universities, such as Cornell, Harvard and Duke, with a small amount of information re student unrest at Allen University (1967) and Voorhees College (1969), with more significant data (1969-1971) re the founding, organization, and administration, etc. of Malcolm X Liberation University, first located in Durham, NC; and photocopies of the legal papers documenting Dr. Sonja Haynes Stone’s anti-discrimination suit against UNC-Chapel Hill. North Carolina related materials include clippings, etc. re various commemorations of the student Woolworth’s Sit-In at Greensboro, NC, (1960) and similar materials re the Ku Klux Klan and Nazi Party attack on the Communist Worker’s Party in Greensboro in 1979.

Also included are various drafts of Sellers’ dissertation on the Civil Rights movement from 1954-1968. Printed materials include miscellaneous clippings from a variety of sources and newsletters from various organizations, often radical and short-lived. Scattered publications include The Black Panther, The Student Voice, SNCC Newsletter, SOBU Newsletter, The African World, The African Warrior, Black-On (Columbia, SC), The People’s Crusader (Atlanta, GA), Pan African Roots, New African, and many others; with political broadsides. Photographs of Cleveland Sellers and others including Stokely Carmichael and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Inventory

I	Biographical Materials	Box/Folder #
1	Color covers of boy's magazines on Roy Rogers, Tarzan, the Lone Ranger, etc. Withpromotional photos of Roy Rogers and others; sports card and clipping; and photo copies of title pages of books and magazines removed from collection.	1-1
2	Boyhood papers including materials (1959-61) re Boy Scout Jamboree in New Mexico; and materials on teen activities.	1-2
3	Civil Rights materials (ca. 1960s) include NAACP Youth Council forms, and photo-copy of Uncle Tom Protestors Organization Constitution at Voorhees School & Junior College	1-3
4	Clippings, photocopies (1967-1971) and Jet Magazine (June 26, 1969), re Sellers' draft evasion legal case	1-4
5	Anti-war, draft evasion and conscientious objector pamphlets, clippings & broadsides mostly on African Americans and the war in Viet Nam	1-5
6	Campaign materials (1983) re Sellers' unsuccessful bid running for Greensboro, NC City Council, District # 1 ; with photocopies of newspaper coverage	1-6
7	Resume and printed materials re Sellers, including Spring 1973 issue of New South Magazine, brochures and other publications, with a book review by Sellers. With miscellaneous membership cards, Harvard student ID, etc.	1-7
8	Clippings and photocopies of news stories (1970s - 1990s) re Cleveland Sellers	1-8
9	Programs and related matter (1970s - 1990s) re talks and programs by Sellers; with certificates of appreciation	1-9
10	Papers and correspondence (1938-1986) of Sellers' mother, Pauline Taggart Sellers, WWII era maternity related materials as wife of Sgt. Cleveland Sellers, and a V Mail letter from him; letter (1962) to her from her son; correspondence re Sellers' legal cases from attorneys and others; and her letter (1970) re the history of Denmark. With a letter (1966) from her mother, and another (1986) from her grand daughter	1-10
11	Programs, clippings and forms (1934-1980s) re Sellers' parents; with 1954 Denmark area trade school program signed by Benjamin Mays; and 1956-58 SC Area Trade School, Denmark branch, directories; 1939 schedule of Sumter, SC summer school teachers; 1939 Aiken Polo match card; Royal Blue Club Programs, Voorhees (1934); and the White Rose Club (1942) program.	1-11
12	Clippings, publications and misc. re Sellers' children, Nosizwe and Cleveland L, III	1-12
13	Correspondence and contracts (1969-1973) re Sellers' book The River of No Return	1-13
14	Misc financial records (1960s-1980s) including receipts, car purchases, rent, etc.	1-14
15	Clippings, programs, and histories of Denmark and Bamberg County; including data on area churches and Denmark Technical College	1-15
II	Correspondence
1	Personal correspondence (1960;64-69) of Sellers and his mother re family and school matters; with later letters (1968) of Seller during his incarceration in jail for draft resistance, with thoughts on race relations in America; two letters from "Bro John" re racial politics in SC, with discussion of United Citizen's Party, planned for SC. With related broadside; and a mention of William Saunders	2-1
2	Personal Correspondence (1970s). Letters from attorney Howard Moore mostly re Sellers' legal problems from Orangeburg Massacre. A few letters from Sellers re his personal life, and mentions of Stokely Carmichael. With letters from his mother, peers, friends and those actively involved in supporting him and his political causes	2-2
3	Personal Correspondence (1980s-1990s) includes letters from various supporters and those grateful to Sellers; with letters re the Orangeburg Massacre experience and his 1993 pardon. Letters from Julian Bond and writer Tom Dent; with materials (1983) re Sellers' Freedom of Information request to the FBI re its files on him	2-3
4	School and professional correspondence (1962-1980, nd) re education, grades, degrees, and seeking employment. School materials from Voorhees High School, Howard University, Harvard University, Shaw University, the University of NC at Greensboro, and others. With letters to Ivanhoe Donaldson re seeking position in in Washington, DC under Mayor Marion Berry.	2-4
5	School and professional correspondence (1981-1994, nd) re work in Greensboro, NC housing authority, education at UNC-Greensboro, applications for employment at various colleges, letters of recommendation for and by Sellers; with mentions of other professional programs and topics	2-5
6	Memos, minutes, etc. from Sellers' association with City of Greensboro (1981) and Greensboro's Citizens Association (1984), with other work related forms and publications	2-6
7	Programs, newsletters, correspondence, etc. (1972-1974) re Black Educators Council for Human Services, Greensboro, NC	2-7
8	Programs, brochures, handbills, agendas, photocopies of news stories, etc. (1970s-1990s) re various activities in the Greensboro, NC area and in NC	2-8
9	Miscellaneous lists of names with contact information, business cards, etc.	2-9
III	Orangeburg Massacre Papers
1	Court order in Orangeburg County Court of Common Pleas (c 1973)and Appeal from Orangeburg County to the SC Supreme Court re Sellers' conviction (c.1971); contemporary and later photocopies	3-1
2	Later photocopy of civil action no 73-84 of Cleveland Sellers v. Sheriff of Orangeburg in US District Court, district of SC, Columbia Division. Ca. 1973	3-2
3	Transcript of Record of Appeal in SC Supreme Court of State vs. Sellers; vol. 1. With index to entire proceedings (c. 1970)	3-3
4	Transcript of Record of Appeal in SC Supreme Court of State vs. Sellers, vol. 2	3-4
5	Transcript of Record of Appeal in SC Supreme Court of State vs. Sellers, vol. 3	3-5
6	Transcript of Record of Appeal in SC Supreme Court of State vs. Sellers, vol. 4	3-6
7	Poem, fact sheet, resolution from Atlanta University, telegrams and other responses to the Orangeburg Massacre in 1968	4-1
8	Photocopies and clippings (1960s) of news stories re events in Orangeburg	4-2
9	Photocopies of clippings and clippings (1970s) re all aspects of the Orangeburg Massacre, including trials, imprisonment of Sellers, news stories, etc.	4-3
10	Photocopies of clippings of news articles (1980s) recalling the Orangeburg Massacre	4-4
11	Photocopies of clippings and clippings (1990s) re Orangeburg Massacre, pardon granted Cleveland Sellers and other related topics	4-5
12	Radio script "The Orangeburg Massacre" by Frank Beacham, with related materials	4-6
13	Photocopies of clippings (1991) re "The Orangeburg Massacre" radio show broadcast on public radio	4-7
14	Screenplay (1996) "Southern Sparks" by Catherine Crouch, set in Walterboro, Bluffton, and Orangeburg, SC, relating to events of the Orangeburg Massacre	4-8
IV	Affiliations: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
1	Handwritten, typed and mimeo materials re the founding, administration, and shifting strategies of SNCC; including mimeograph journal "Rock Bottom"	5-1
2	Correspondence (1962-69; 1976-77; 1983). Early topics include public relations, actions to pursue, letter to Julian Bond, letter to Stokely Carmichael, etc. 1970s letters re SNCC's building and records; and 1983 letter re SNCC reunion	5-2
3	SNCC blank membership applications and stationary	5-3
4	SNCC radio station, telephone and mailing address contact lists, many done geographically, with some miscellaneous lists	5-4
5	Mimeo, photocopy and typed news releases, etc. (1960-68) re work done by SNCC; with assessments of specific racist areas, incidents, and events. With some memos and reports; statements of Marion Berry, H. Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael, Sellers, etc.	5-5
6	Affidavit, search warrant, statement, broadsides and report re police raid (1966) on SNCC headquarters in Philadelphia, seizing dynamite	5-6
7	Publications, photocopies, etc. re SNCC's work (c 1966) in Lowndes Co., Alabama doing voter education and registration, and working for land ownership for Blacks; and photocopy of report re voter education work (c. 1960) in Terrell County, Georgia; with publication (1963) re racial unrest in Danville, VA and SNCC's work there.	5-7
8	Photocopy of complaint and report re SNCC's suit (1979) against US government for misconduct against SNCC and its officers, etc.	5-8
9	Typed report of SNCC's projected program to train staff to produce motion pictures to document and promote its activities	5-9
10	Offprint, contemporary photocopies and promotional material and mock ups noting SNCC's work (c 1960- 64) and seeking financial support for it	5-10
11	Broken run of mimeo reports (1965) by Jack Minnis called "Life with Lyndon in the Great Society," criticizing governmental policy under President Lyndon B. Johnson	5-11
12	SNCC publications; 1967 calendar, Our Folktales (1967) by Julius Lester; and Negroes in American History: a Freedom Primer	5-12
13	SNCC recommended readings include Key List Mailings (1966-67) of San Francisco office of SNCC; and mimeo abstracts of information on various topics	5-13
14	Misc SNCC related literature including Resolution on SNCC (1966) passed by Students for a Democratic Society; and Northern Students Movement Commentary	5-14
15	Articles, newspaper stories, news releases, etc. (mostly 1960s) documenting, praising, and condemning SNCC and its activities and members. Mostly photocopies	6-1
16	Originals of some of the materials in the above folders, many in fragile condition	6-2
17	Materials re SNCC and Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) including a few notes, etc. (1960s) of and to Carmichael; and correspondence, etc. (1998) re testimonial dinner	6-3
18	Clippings, articles, & photocopies re Stokely Carmichael (mostly 1960s)	6-4
19	Broadsides, statements, clippings & photocopies (1960s) re H. Rap Brown & SNCC	6-5
20	Articles, photocopies, etc. (1960s-1990s) re various people affiliated or once affiliated with SNCC, including Eldridge Cleaver, James Foreman, Ella Baker, Ralph Feather- stone, William "Che" Payne, Nathan Hare, Ivanhoe Donaldson, John Wilson, etc.	6-6
21	Letters, articles, etc. re SNCC reunion (1988) in Hartford, CT; with program (2003) of Holly Springs, MS Civil Rights Celebration, commemorating SNCC activities there	6-7
22	Photocopies of censored FBI files, memorandums, etc. (1960s) on SNCC and some of its leaders and members	6-8
23	Photocopies (1997) of reports, memos, etc. (1960s) re SNCC, its staff and members compiled by Mississippi State Sovereignty Committee	6-9
24	Clippings, news stories, photocopies (1960s) relating to issues of (and slogan) "Black Power," with much on SNCC and its leaders, such as Stokely Carmichael	6-10
	Affiliations: (Continued): All African People's Revolutionary Party
1	Lists of objectives, principals, various statements and reports re ideals of the Party, with data re Nkurmaism, political theory of Kwame Nkrumah	7-1
2	Reports, memos, lists, organizational flow chart, etc. (ca 1973-74) showing structure and organization of AAPRP	7-2
3	Statements, etc. re AAPRP's Political Education Program, describing levels of membership and categories, etc.	7-3
4	Memos, reports, etc. from National Communication Center of AAPRP	7-4
5	Lists of books, required readings, proposed seminars, political education guidelines, and related AAPRP materials	7-5
6	Agendas for meetings, and model agendas for AAPRP State & Regional meetings	7-6
7	Few scattered minutes (1973-75) of various committees and levels of AAPRP	7-7
8	Memos (1974-76, nd) on various topics from various committees and levels of AAPRP with information on ideology, structure, administration, members, etc.	7-8
9	Memos (1977-1979) on various topics from various committees and levels of AAPRP with data on state committees, lecture tour of Stokely Carmichael and related topics	7-9
10	Memos (1980) on various topics from various committees and levels of AAPRP with minutes of some meetings; ideological discussions, regional and state chapters, etc.	7-10
11	Photocopies of memos, etc. (1976-77) mostly re regional and state programs AAPRP	8-1
12	Newsletter (1975) from Augusta, GA work study group of AAPRP; education committee report (1976) from NY Local AAPRP	8-2