Kenneth
Douty Collection
1939-1956
25 linear feet
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.
In 1955 Kenneth Douty wrote a report for the Fund for the Republic as
part of its larger project examining the activities of American Communists. The
focus
of Douty’s study was the Southern Conference for Human Welfare (SCHW).
His study was part of an examination of Communist infiltration of ideological
pressure groups (the NAACP, ACLU, etc.). The study was headed by John Roche,
an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.
Douty was assisted in his study by Frank McCallister, Director of Roosevelt University’s
Labor Education Division. At the time of this project, Douty was the Executive
Director of the Illinois Division of the American Civil Liberties Union. This
small collection consists of the papers Douty generated and used during his
project. The bulk of
the collection is the correspondence between Douty
and McCallister, and the people they solicited materials
or interviews from while doing research. Of special
interest is James Dombrowski’s response to
Douty’s questionnaire regarding Communist infiltration
of the SCHW. His answers illustrate the membership
and turmoil of the organization in its later years.
Dombrowski was an administrator of the SCHW until
he left in 1947 to become the Executive Director
of the Southern Conference Educational Fund (SCEF).
Of note is the 1939 correspondence of sociologist
Howard Odum that documents the development of the
Southern Regional Council. There are also reports,
minutes, and publications Douty and McCallister collected
as background research.
Related collection:
Southern Conference for Human Welfare Collection |