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Commission
on Interracial Cooperation Papers
1919-1944
101 linear feet (55 reels - University
Microfilms International)Research use restricted
to microfilm only
NOTE: A paper copy
of the finding aid,
with container list,
is available at the
Atlanta University
Center Archives for
in-house consultation
and may be obtained
for a fee.
The Commission on Interracial Cooperation (CIC)
was formed in 1919 in response to increasing
racial discrimination in the South. After World
War I, race relations between African Americans
and whites grew tense as the former social boundaries
were upset by the new status of returning black
soldiers, resulting in further denial of the
basic legal and political rights of African Americans.
Six white Southern men met in Atlanta to discuss
ways in which the South might try to avoid misunderstanding
between the races. From this initial gathering,
the CIC eventually included men and women, black
and white, from throughout the South, whose early
intention was to create state and local committees
that would promote interracial cooperation at
the local level. In about 1924, when the local
committees were organized, the CIC shifted its
emphasis to research, publicity, and education
on the achievements of blacks and on the need
for cooperation between the races. Programs were
established to improve schools, health facilities,
and general living conditions for African Americans,
to provide legal aid, to eliminate lynching,
and to study segregation in the South. The work
of the CIC was supplemented by a copious publication
program that distributed pamphlets, reports,
periodicals, books, and press releases. The Commission
kept abreast of developments at the local level
through The Southern Frontier, its longest-running
regular publication. In 1944, in response to
many members wanting a broader scope for the
organization, the final meeting of the CIC convened
and merged with the newly-formed Southern Regional
Council.
The Commission on Interracial Cooperation Papers
contain administrative files, correspondence, reports,
minutes, financial records, publicity materials and
news releases, and materials from the state-level
committees. Of interest is the literature the CIC
published which includes many of their pamphlets
and a nearly complete run of The Southern Frontier.
Related collection:
Association of Southern Women for the Prevention
of Lynching Papers 1930-1942
John Hope Records
John and Lugenia Burns Hope Papers
Southern Regional Council Papers
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