Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, reports, minutes, speeches, and other records relating to the Southern Regional Council. Marion Wright's collection of Southern Regional Council papers dates from 1951. On December 13 of that year Wright became president of the organization, which had been founded in 1944. Wright had previously been a member of the SRC's Board of Directors.

The majority of the correspondence during the first years of his presidency was with other SRC officers, particularly George Mitchell, Executive Director; Harold Fleming, Director of Information; Katherine Stoney, Secretary and Treasurer; Paul Williams and Guy Johnson, the previous president and vice president; and various members who were also friends, such as Judge Waties Waring and Hyman Rubin.

In 1952 the SRC faced financial difficulties. Included in this series is documentation on the eventually successful SRC appeal to various foundations for aid. Grants, large and small, came from the Fund for the Republic, the Ford Foundation, the AFL, the William C. Whitney Fund, and several others. These grants, were vital to the SRC's continued existence during the 1950s.

Also included in this series are minutes of Executive Committee meetings; copies of speeches by Wright and others; reports on the activities of SRC officers; correspondence concerning various controversies that arose during these years; and reports and studies on current issues.

In early 1958, when James M. Dabbs became president of the SRC, Marion Wright became vice-president. The correspondence after this date is mainly between Wright and the new officers: Dabbs, Albert Dent, Rufus Clement, Frederick Routh, Paul Anthony, Marge Manderson, John Constable, Ruth House Alexander, and others. Wright also continued his correspondence with Paul Williams and Harold Fleming.

In 1965 Wright vacated his post as vice-president, and became a member of the Council's Executive Committee. He continued to correspond with the organization's officers, including, John Wheeler, Raymond Wheeler, Josephine Wilkens, Joseph Haas, and a few others. The quantity of correspondence after 1965 decreased, however, with Wright's decreasing involvement with the SRC.

After the 1970 SRC elections, Wright resigned from his position on the Executive Committee. As a result, very little of the post-1970 material concerns the SRC. The last two folders in the series include newspaper clippings, 1951-1971, and a report (labeled "Clark Report") of the SRC Self Evaluation Consultant, probably dating from 1963.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, reports, financial records, and minutes on Marion Wright's association with the Penn School. Wright became a member of the Penn School's Board of Trustees in 1947, immediately before the school's change in status from Penn Normal, Agricultural, and Industrial School to Penn Community Services, Inc. in 1948. In 1950, when Courtney Siceloff became Director of Penn Community Services in Beaufort County, the Board of Trustees was seeking to reorient its predominantly northern membership. Wright, who was originally from Beaufort, became the Board's chairman in 1957.

The majority of Wright's correspondence was with Mr.and Mrs. Siceloff and other Board members, notably Vice-Chairman Harold Evans, James M. Dabbs, Dr. Ira DeA. Reid, Tartt Bell, the Reverend Cornelius Wood, George H. Aull, Mrs. Eugene Spearman, Grace House, and Paul W. Brown Junior The series also includes correspondence with Penn's Advisory Board, which increased in membership during the first years of Wright's chairmanship. These correspondents include Francis R. Cope, George A. Buchanan, Grace T. Hamilton, Benjamin Mays, and Mrs. Y. W. Bailey. Wright also corresponded with organizations interested in Penn, such as the American Friends Service Committee; foundations, such as the Fund for the Republic; and other individuals, such as playwright Paul Green.

This series also provides a financial record of the organization-monthly and annual budget statements, annual budget proposals, personnel records, and records on Penn's land and other purchases. Also included in the series are minutes of Board meetings, quarterly reports, and committee and other reports. A few newsletters issued by Penn Community Services concerning its activities can be found among the papers, but they do not comprise a regular or continuous record.

Although the Penn series continues until 1977, the effective end of the series occurs with Marion Wright's resignation from the Board of Trustees at the end of 1963. Also, there is a gap in the papers between April 1956 and February 1957.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, statements, press releases, lists, and questionnaires documenting Wright's work against the death penalty in North Carolina, and the formation and activities of North Carolinians Against the Death Penalty (NCADP). NCADP was formed in January 1967, and Wright became its first president. The records in this series, however, date from 1964, when Wright began to gather information from similar organizations in other states. Also included here is Wright's correspondence with others, including Paul Green, the Reverend William Finlator, Charles Lambeth, and Mrs. Dean Thomas, relative to the establishment of NCADP. Also predating the founding of NCADP are records of Wright's lobbying for the abolition of the death penalty at the 1965 North Carolina General Assembly.

The majority of Wright's correspondence during and after 1967 is with other members of NCADP. In addition to the people mentioned above, Wright corresponded with Mrs. Matt Wall, secretary of the organization and a close friend of Wrights, George Armfield, Irving Carlyle, Reverend Jack Crum, Robert Kimzey, Reverend Robert Seymour and others. Wright also corresponded with legislators and officials on both the state and national levels, including Governor Robert Scott of North Carolina and Michigan Senator Philip Hart.

There is a great deal of documentation for 1967, when the organization was founded and the North Carolina General Assembly was considering a bill to abolish the death penalty. Included in Series 3 are releases concerning the death penalty and reasons for its abolition; lobbying statements; and lists of NCADP members and sympathizers, North Carolina legislators, and candidates for office. After the 1967 General Assembly defeated the bill to abolish the death penalty, NCADP took a survey of governors by using a questionnaire to determine each governor's position on the issue. The returned questionnaires as well as a report on the study can also be found among the 1967 papers.

After 1967, NCADP turned toward influencing the future members of the 1969 General Assembly. As a result, the papers for 1969 contain a large quantity of lists similar to those in 1967. Besides the continued correspondence between NCADP members, the post-1967 NCADP records include letters relating to publicity and fund-raising.

Included are speeches, articles, and book reviews written by Marion Wright between 1912 and 1981. Most of these items were written between 1960 and 1980, and chiefly concern civil liberties and the abolition of the death penalty. Also included in the speeches and writings are 15 speeches by Wright which were recorded on 20 small discs. Most of the speeches on the discs also appear in the papers, with the exception of the "Don't Bend Speech" (discs 6-7), the "Tuskegee Speech" (discs 15-17), and the "Warren Wilson Speech" (discs 18-20).

The speeches and writings in Series 4 have been arranged in chronological order by year, and alphabetically by title within each year. Following the dated items are undated items, arranged alphabetically by title; undated and untitled items; typed notes and outlines for speeches and writings; and the discs, arranged alphabetically by title. The folder list which follows includes the year and a title or place to identify the speech or writing.

These files, designated by Marion Wright as personal correspondence, consist primarily of incoming letters from family (including Alice Spearman before and after her marriage to Wright), friends, and others associated with Wright. There are also carbon copies of outgoing correspondence.

The correspondence in Series 5 deals with a variety of personal, professional, and routine matters. There is extensive correspondence from organizations such as the Southern Regional Council, Penn School, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Red Cross, and the American Friends Service Committee. Included also is correspondence relating to speeches and articles written by Wright, to the dissolution of his law practice in 1947, and to legal cases in which he continued to be interested.

The correspondence in Series 5 has been left in its original order. It was arranged by Wright in alphabetical order within distinct chronological periods, which appear in the following folder list.

Arrangement: Alphabetical by file title.

Chiefly correspondence, newspaper clippings, and other material, most of which has been arranged into subject categories by Wright. Included are materials relating to the Advisory Committee to the U.S. (folders 616-630) which includes correspondence with officials of the Southern Regional Council; the American Civil Liberties Union; and the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union. Also included are correspondence, reviews, and articles concerning publications of Marion Wright. Of special interest are materials relating to the publication of Human Rights Odyssey (1978), a collection of Wright's speeches and articles, edited by Arnold Shankman (folders 637-651, and 664-675).

Arrangement: Pictures of Marion Allan Wright, pictures of identified persons, pictures of unidentified persons.

Five photographs of Marion Allan Wright and his friends and associates taken during the 1960s and 1970s.