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Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching Papers
1930-1942
10.5 linear feet (8 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 Woodruff Library Archives & Special Collections Department for in-house consultation and may be available via Interlibrary Loan.
An interracial women's organization based in Atlanta, the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching (ASWPL) was an outgrowth of the Women's Committee of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation (CIC). Under the leadership of Mrs. Jessie Daniel Ames (who also served as Director of the Women's Committee of the CIC 1929-1937), the ASWPL became an independent entity in 1930. The ASWPL organized women in Southern states to fight against lynching through petition drives, letter-writing campaigns, conferences, and educational meetings called "anti-lynching institutes". The ASWPL sometimes organized its supporters to investigate the events surrounding a lynching. In some instances, they were able to mobilize local opposition that was effective in preventing lynchings. The ASWPL published several pamphlets and publicized its campaign through southern newspapers. Although proposed federal anti-lynching legislation was never passed, the number and frequency of lynchings declined significantly by the early 1940s.
The ASWPL Papers include correspondence, news articles, proposed legislation, statistical and eyewitness reports, minutes, resolutions, memoranda, and petitions documenting the activities of the ASWPL and other efforts to bring an end to the atrocity of lynching.
Related collection:
Commission on Interracial Cooperation