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Portions of this collection have been digitized as part of "Content, Context, and Capacity: A Collaborative Large-Scale Digitization Project on the Long Civil Rights Movement in North Carolina." The project was made possible by funding from the federal Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
Size | 70.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 32,600 items) |
Abstract | Guion Griffis Johnson of Chapel Hill, N.C., was a professor, author, scholar, journalist, women's advocate, and general civic leader. Johnson held a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of North Carolina. She published three books: A Social History of the Sea Islands (1930), Antebellum North Carolina (1937), and Volunteers in Community Service (1967). Her husband was Guy Johnson, professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the 1920s and 1930s, Johnson and her husband worked together at the Institute for Research in Social Science at University of North Carolina. Correspondence, writings, subject files, and other materials relating to Johnson's professional and family life. Topics of primary interest include civil rights, race relations, volunteerism, women's equality, education, school desegregation, poverty, international cooperation, and general public welfare, including population policy, youth, and aging. The bulk of the materials relate to Johnson's work with numerous women's, church, fraternal, and public service organizations at both the local and national levels. Among Johnson's many organizational affiliations were the American Association of University Women, Chi Omega Fraternity for Women, the Human Betterment League of North Carolina, the North Carolina Council of Women's Organizations, the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs, the North Carolina Council for World Affairs, the Methodist Church, and United Church Women (Church Women United). There is also a large collection of Johnson's writings, including material from her books and copies of speeches from her many speaking engagements. Also included are a small number of items relating to her student and teaching careers at the University of North Carolina and elsewhere; family correspondence; and a few family documents, including photographs and genealogical materials relating to the Johnson and the Griffis families, chiefly relating to North Carolina and Texas. |
Creator | Johnson, Guion Griffis, 1900- . |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Michael Darren Ullman and Thomas Kevin B. Cherry, June 1995
Encoded by: Eben Lehman, May 2006
Updated by: Laura Hart, January 2021; Nancy Kaiser, March 2022
This collection was processed with support, in part, from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access.
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Guion Griffis Johnson was the second of John William and Elizabeth Stephens Griffis' five children. Born in Wolfe City, Tex., her parents moved to Greenville, Tex., when she was eleven. After graduating from Greenville High School, Johnson attended Burleson College for two years, then received her A.B. from Mary Hardin-Baylor College, where she later served as head of the Department of Journalism. Johnson also earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri (1923) and a Ph.D. in history and sociology from the University of North Carolina (1927). On 3 September 1923, she married Guy Benton Johnson. They had two sons: Guy Benton, Jr. (Benny), born 19 August 1928, and Edward, born 1 March 1933.
Beginning in 1924, the Johnsons worked at the Institute for Research in Social Science at the University of North Carolina, where Guy also served as professor in the Department of Sociology. For the most part, Johnson spent most of her academic career researching historical and current problems of the poor and disadvantaged. After completing her dissertation, Johnson studied the African American population on St. Helena Island, S.C., as a staff member for the National Research Council Study of the Negroes of St. Helena Island. In 1930, she published her first book, A Social History of the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia, which was based on this research. Her later research on North Carolina history resulted in Antebellum North Carolina: A Social History in 1937. During 1939-1940, Johnson participated in the Carnegie-Myrdal Study of the Negro in America.
During World War II, Johnson took an active role in the civic life of Chapel Hill. As a volunteer, she was head of the Community Service Committee of the Chapel Hill Rationing Board, information executive for the Chapel Hill Office of Civilian Defense, and collector of war records for Orange County, N.C.
For three years, Johnson lived in Atlanta, Ga., where she was heavily involved in church work. Upon returning to Chapel Hill in 1947, she began an intense period of work with women's organizations. During this time, she founded the North Carolina Council of Women's Organization, while also serving on the boards of the American Association of University Women, the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs, the North Carolina Council on World Affairs, and Church Women United, and working with other organizations at both the local and national level. Her chief motivation in this work at the organizational level was to promote greater effectiveness through better organization, while at the individual level she sought to increase the leadership skills of women and the social consciousness of all citizens.
The Johnsons were frequent visitors to Africa, touring and working in Liberia, Nigeria, Zaire, Morocco, and South Africa, where Johnson lectured at Rhodes University in 1960. Johnson's trips to Africa permitted her to continue her academic research and promote her educational goals.
Johnson published her third book, Volunteers in Community Service, funded by the North Carolina Fund, in 1967. She also collaborated with Guy on a history of the Institute for Research on the Social Sciences (1980).
Johnson was progressive politically, acting as a strong proponent of school desegregation, social welfare programs, and women's equality. She was also an advocate of greater concern for and involvement in world affairs and supported the effort to build a strong United Nations.
In her later years, Johnson continued to serve on advisory boards and gave many lectures in North Carolina. She was also honored with many lifetime achievement awards, including the University of North Carolina's Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Chi Omega Distinguished Service Award for Women. Johnson died at her home in Chapel Hill on 12 June 1989.
Found among Johnson's papers was a poem, author unknown, sent to her in 1951 by Louise Ballard:
An outline of Johnson's activities appears below. See the Series 11 description for a listing of her writings.
1917-1919 | Burleson College |
1921 | A.B., Mary Hardin-Baylor College |
1923 | B.J., University of Missouri |
1921-1924 | Head, Journalism Department, Mary Hardin-Baylor College |
1924-1927 | Research Assistant, Institute for Research in Social Sciences, University of North Carolina |
1927 | Ph.D., University of North Carolina |
1927-1934 | Research Associate, IRSS |
1928-1929 | Staff member, National Research Council Study of the Negroes of Saint Helena Island, S.C. |
1934-1939 | Research in North Carolina history |
1939-1940 | Research staff, Carnegie-Myrdal study of the Negro in America |
1937, 1948-1949 | Field research among Lumbee Indians, Robeson County, N.C. |
1943-1944 | Lecturer, Naval V-12 program, University of North Carolina |
1945-1947 | Executive Secretary, Georgia Conference on Social Welfare |
1947-1959 | Community organization consultant |
1960 | Lecturer, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa |
1967-1968 | Research director, North Carolina Council of Women's Organizations |
1975-1977 | Research and writing of history of IRSS in collaboration with Guy B. Johnson |
Among the professional, civic, and other organizations to which she belonged were:
Correspondence, writings, subject files, and other materials relating to Guion Griffis Johnson's professional and family life. Topics of primary interest include civil rights, race relations, volunteerism, women's equality, education, school desegregation, poverty, international cooperation, and general public welfare, including population policy, youth, and aging. The bulk of the materials relate to Guion Griffis Johnson's work with numerous women's, church, fraternal, and public service organizations at both the local and national levels. Among Guion Griffis Johnson's many organizational affiliations were the American Association of University Women, Chi Omega Fraternity for Women, the Human Betterment League of North Carolina, the North Carolina Council of Women's Organizations, the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs, the North Carolina Council for World Affairs, the Methodist Church, and United Church Women (Church Women United). There is also a large collection of Guion Griffis Johnson's writings, including material from her books and copies of speeches from her many speaking engagements. Also included are a small number of items relating to her student and teaching careers at the University of North Carolina and elsewhere; family correspondence; and a few family documents, including photographs and genealogical materials relating to the Johnson and the Griffis families, chiefly relating to North Carolina and Texas.
Back to TopFamily correspondence that pre-dates Johnson's birth can be found in Subseries 1.2.; correspondence with Benny Johnson during his years at Harvard, 1948-1950, is filed in Subseries 1.3.
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters from family members, including a long series of letters from Johnson's mother to Johnson with family news; invitations asking Johnson to attend events, some with copies of her replies; letters from women leaders of various organizations containing information about more than one group or that relate chiefly to personal affairs; and letters from Guy Benton Johnson, daughter-in-law Mimi, and son Guy Benton Johnson, Jr. (Benny), with family and Chapel Hill news.
Invitations to speak and information about conferences and groups in which Guion Johnson had only a passing interest make up the bulk of these materials. The volume increases significantly in 1948 and explodes in the 1950s when Johnson assumed state-wide positions in both AAUW and NCFWC. During this time, Johnson appears to have spoken primarily on citizenship, world affairs, the United Nations, leadership training, and the strengthening of club programs.
General correspondence begins in 1918 with a series of letters written by Marvin B. Pierce, Johnson's high school friend, who was in Naval school at Harvard. These letters detail news of mutual friends, happenings in wartime Cambridge, and Pierce's battle with influenza. Also dated 1918 is a letter from Guy Johnson, explaining why he could not take Guion to a dance, which begins a series of love letters that follow through the next few years, culminating in the couple's marriage in 1923. A good number of these letters are detail happenings at the train station and mail office where Guy worked one summer.
In 1922, Johnson began her training at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. Some correspondence between 1923 and 1926 details her creation of the School of Journalism at Mary Hardin-Baylor College, the Texas High School Press Association, and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. Between 1923 and 1933, there are a series of letters from Pritchett "Pat" Harrison, a former teacher of Johnson's, telling of her continuing life struggles. There are also a few letters during the early 1920s relating to Johnson's research on the National Women's Party; of special note are letters from Gaeta Wold Boyer (28 October 1924) and Ruby A. Black (10 December 1924), editor of The Matrix.
In 1926-1927, there are a few letters from Guy regarding his field research, doctoral work, and the Institute for Research in Social Science. In 1936, there are also reports of Guy's field research in Nashville, Birmingham, and Montgomery. In 1939, he reported from New York on his work with Gunnar Myrdal, and, in 1943-1944, there are some letters from Guy regarding his first days with the Southern Regional Council.
Letters of interest from about Chapel Hill include the following: Julia Cherry Spruill on Thomas Wolfe's visit (27 January 1937); Howard K. Beale on University of North Carolina History Department gossip at his expense (14 July 1942); Benny Johnson on the "filming" of Thomas Wolfe's life in Chapel Hill (23 Oct 1944); Benny on Allard Lowenstein's University of North Carolina political career (12 April 1949; 3 May 1949).
In 1946, Benny spent the summer travelling through South Carolina and visiting black and white churches with a Methodist youth caravan. He reported his activities to his parents in a series of letters. In other church-related matters, Johnson took over the teaching of one of the largest Sunday School classes in the South when she began teaching the Alonzo Richardson Sunday School Class at St. Mark's Methodist Church in Atlanta in 1946. When she left Atlanta to return to Chapel Hill, "Mama Kate" Hall and Beulah E. Phillips, two of the women in this class continued to write to her. Their letters continue through the mid-1950s and primarily recount their church activities.
Beginning in 1947, there are letter from Benny at Harvard, where he was pursuing a doctorate in sociology. These letters contain information about his classes, research, and social life. Letters relating to Benny, 1948-1950, are chiefly to him from his parents and relate to their work, speaking schedules, and brother Edward's scouting news. There are also letters from Benny's future wife Mimi and college friend Allard Lowenstein. Letters frequently mention the 1950 Frank Porter Graham United States Senate race. Of particular interest are letters from Lowenstein about Chapel Hill news and the Senate race (5 October 1949; 19 October 1949; 6 February 1950).
Alicia Blue (later Wise) began writing to Johnson in 1949 when Johnson started teaching and performing research in Pembroke, N.C., among the Lumbee Indians. Alicia Blue was a teenager and wrote about local happenings in her family and in the Lumbee community. These letters are sporadic, but continue throughout the 1950s.
In 1950, there is correspondence about Frank Porter Graham's United States Senate race and the organization of women who supported him. There are also letters concerning the 1954 Kerr Scott campaign for the United States Senate, for which Terry Sanford was campaign manager. In the following year, there are letters from Ruth Elgin Suddeth who was writing a historical drama for Georgia's Jekyll Island. In 1952, there is a letter accompanying Frances Doak's reminiscences of Hope Summerell Chamberlain.
In 1952-1954, Benny wrote letters recounting his problems with the draft board, his attempts to receive a military commission, and his experiences at boot camp.
Folder 1 |
1918 |
Folder 2 |
1919 |
Folder 3-4
Folder 3Folder 4 |
1918-1920 |
Folder 5 |
1921 |
Folder 6 |
1922-1923 |
Folder 7-8
Folder 7Folder 8 |
1924 |
Folder 9 |
1925 |
Folder 10-11
Folder 10Folder 11 |
1926 |
Folder 12 |
1927 |
Folder 13 |
1928-1929 |
Folder 14 |
1920s undated |
Folder 15 |
1930-1933 |
Folder 16 |
1934-1936 |
Folder 17 |
1937-1939 |
Folder 18 |
1940 |
Folder 19 |
1941 |
Folder 20 |
1942-1943 |
Folder 21-22
Folder 21Folder 22 |
1944 |
Folder 23 |
1945 |
Folder 24-25
Folder 24Folder 25 |
1946 |
Folder 26-30
Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30 |
1947 |
Folder 31-35
Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33Folder 34Folder 35 |
1948 |
Folder 36-40
Folder 36Folder 37Folder 38Folder 39Folder 40 |
1949 |
Folder 41-45
Folder 41Folder 42Folder 43Folder 44Folder 45 |
1950 |
Folder 46-50
Folder 46Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49Folder 50 |
1951 |
Folder 51-60
Folder 51Folder 52Folder 53Folder 54Folder 55Folder 56Folder 57Folder 58Folder 59Folder 60 |
1952 |
Folder 61-67
Folder 61Folder 62Folder 63Folder 64Folder 65Folder 66Folder 67 |
1953 |
Folder 68-72
Folder 68Folder 69Folder 70Folder 71Folder 72 |
1954 |
Folder 73-76
Folder 73Folder 74Folder 75Folder 76 |
1955 |
Folder 77-78
Folder 77Folder 78 |
1956 |
Folder 79-84
Folder 79Folder 80Folder 81Folder 82Folder 83Folder 84 |
1957 |
Folder 85-87
Folder 85Folder 86Folder 87 |
1958 |
Folder 88-94
Folder 88Folder 89Folder 90Folder 91Folder 92Folder 93Folder 94 |
1959 |
Folder 95 |
1950s undated |
Folder 96 |
1960 |
Folder 97-98
Folder 97Folder 98 |
1961 |
Folder 99-101
Folder 99Folder 100Folder 101 |
1962 |
Folder 102-105
Folder 102Folder 103Folder 104Folder 105 |
1963 |
Folder 106-109
Folder 106Folder 107Folder 108Folder 109 |
1964 |
Folder 110-113
Folder 110Folder 111Folder 112Folder 113 |
1965 |
Folder 114-116
Folder 114Folder 115Folder 116 |
1966 |
Folder 117-119
Folder 117Folder 118Folder 119 |
1967 |
Folder 120-123
Folder 120Folder 121Folder 122Folder 123 |
1968 |
Folder 124-127
Folder 124Folder 125Folder 126Folder 127 |
1969 |
Folder 128 |
1960s undated |
Folder 129-131
Folder 129Folder 130Folder 131 |
1970 |
Folder 132-135
Folder 132Folder 133Folder 134Folder 135 |
1971 |
Folder 136 |
1972 |
Folder 137-139
Folder 137Folder 138Folder 139 |
1973 |
Folder 140-143
Folder 140Folder 141Folder 142Folder 143 |
1974 |
Folder 144-148
Folder 144Folder 145Folder 146Folder 147Folder 148 |
1975 |
Folder 149-159
Folder 149Folder 150Folder 151Folder 152Folder 153Folder 154Folder 155Folder 156Folder 157Folder 158Folder 159 |
1976 |
Folder 151-152
Folder 151Folder 152 |
1977 |
Folder 153-154
Folder 153Folder 154 |
1978 |
Folder 155-157
Folder 155Folder 156Folder 157 |
1979 |
Folder 158 |
1970s undated |
Folder 159-161
Folder 159Folder 160Folder 161 |
1980 |
Folder 162-164
Folder 162Folder 163Folder 164 |
1981 |
Folder 165-166
Folder 165Folder 166 |
1982 |
Folder 167-168
Folder 167Folder 168 |
1983 |
Folder 169-170
Folder 169Folder 170 |
1984 |
Folder 171-172
Folder 171Folder 172 |
1985 |
Folder 173 |
1986-1987 |
Folder 174 |
1980s undated |
Folder 175-181
Folder 175Folder 176Folder 177Folder 178Folder 179Folder 180Folder 181 |
Undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters written to Wilson Shannon Griffis, Guion Griffis Johnson's grandfather, that were given to Johnson by her father, John Griffis, in 1954. These letters were written by Shannon Griffis's brother, cousins, and aunt from Stockton, Cal., Dowagiac, Mich., and locations in Iowa. They recount family news, deaths and illness, and discuss politics and weather. Subjects include farming opportunities in Kansas (17 January 1879), health springs (9 May 1881?), Chinese laborers as domestics (13 May 1881), trusts and monopolies (27 January 1888), and prohibition in Michigan (2 April 1888).
Folder 182 |
1879 |
Folder 183 |
1881 |
Folder 184 |
1882 |
Folder 185 |
1887 |
Folder 186 |
1888 |
Folder 187 |
1893 |
Folder 188 |
1895 |
Folder 189 |
Undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
Newsletters,constitutions, bylaws, convention programs (state, regional and, national), proceedings of conferences, publications (handbooks, membership rules, lists of accredited institutions) and minutes (Chapel Hill branch, state division executive committee, national Social Studies Committee, and North Carolina Literary and Historical Association Awards Committee relating to the AAUW's Juvenile Literature Award). Many materials concern Johnson's work on local and national Social Studies Committees (note that the national body changed its name to the Committee on Social and Economic Issues in 1957).
Materials begin with Johnson's becoming the chair of the Social Studies Committee of the Atlanta Branch of the AAUW in 1946. Under her guidance, the branch led a study of juvenile delinquency as well as holding informational meetings on mental illness. A few items dealing with each issue are present. Back in North Carolina in 1949, Johnson became chair of the local branch Membership Committee and led the branch Social Studies Committee in studying problems associated with aging. There are a few items in the collection relating to these activities.
There is much correspondence about Johnson's role as vice-president of the North Carolina state division and as state membership chair, focusing especially on the creation of the Salisbury and Cullowhee branches. Some items, 1950-1951, relate to the AAUW's support for the creation of a world government, a movement against which the Daughters of the American Revolution protested strongly.
Documents show that, in 1951, Johnson led an effort as chair of the state division's Program Coordinating Committee to avoid overlapping programs and minimize conflicts in scheduling among the state's women's groups. As a result, the North Carolina Council of Women's Organizations (NCCWO) was founded. There are a few letters and some minutes related to the birth of this group. (For more information on the NCCWO, see Series 6).
Materials also document an AAUW adult education program on international relations and world understanding that was established in 1952. In the same year, the Leadership Training Workshop was instituted, under the joint auspices of the NCCWO, aimed at introducing women leaders to better program planning, membership drives, and other organizational issues. Also documented in 1952 are awards that the AAUW created for local North Carolina historians and North Carolina juvenile literature writers. Johnson served as chair of the Juvenile Literature Award Committee; the award was presented during "culture week," sponsored by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association.
Other issues dealt with on the state division level include kindergartens in the public schools (1954), a woman chancellor at the North Carolina Woman's College (1956), the appointment of a woman to the State Board of Education (1955), United Nations Day Observance (1954), and the AAUW's joining the State Legislative Council and North Carolina Traffic Safety Council. There are also materials showing that Johnson was offered and declined the state AAUW presidency in 1955.
In 1955, Johnson joined the national Social Studies Committee. After this time, most of the AAUW material is related to issues dealt with by this committee: regional reactions to the Supreme Court, mental health, individual liberties, changing social relationships (integration), and problems of automation. Included are circular letters, informational packets, and minutes and agendas of meetings at which these topics were discussed.
On the national level, the Social Studies Committee changed its name to the Committee on Social and Economic Issues in 1957. In 1959, Johnson left the Committee. After that, although she maintained her membership in the AAUW, she was never as active in the organization as she had previously been.
Principal AAUW correspondents include North Carolina state division presidents Lucie Humber, Leontine Plonk, and Leslie Syron; state executivecommittee members Juanita Henry, Roma Cheek, Mary Shotwell, and Lucille Clasz; national chair of the Social Studies Committee Janet MacDonald; and national social studies associate Edith Sherrard. Christopher Crittenden was Johnson's major correspondent regarding the juvenile literature award.
Folder 190 |
Constitutions and bylaws |
Folder 191 |
1946 |
Folder 192 |
1947-1948 |
Folder 193 |
1949 |
Folder 194-195
Folder 194Folder 195 |
1950 |
Folder 196-199
Folder 196Folder 197Folder 198Folder 199 |
1951 |
Folder 200-203
Folder 200Folder 201Folder 202Folder 203 |
1952 |
Folder 204-207
Folder 204Folder 205Folder 206Folder 207 |
1953 |
Folder 208-211
Folder 208Folder 209Folder 210Folder 211 |
1954 |
Folder 212-216
Folder 212Folder 213Folder 214Folder 215Folder 216 |
1955 |
Folder 217-221
Folder 217Folder 218Folder 219Folder 220Folder 221 |
1956 |
Folder 222-227
Folder 222Folder 223Folder 224Folder 225Folder 226Folder 227 |
1957 |
Folder 228-234
Folder 228Folder 229Folder 230Folder 231Folder 232Folder 233Folder 234 |
1958 |
Folder 235 |
Mental Health Project, 1958 |
Folder 236 |
Project on Aging, 1958 |
Folder 237-239
Folder 237Folder 238Folder 239 |
1959 |
Folder 240 |
1960-1961 |
Folder 241 |
1962 |
Folder 242 |
1963 |
Folder 243 |
1964-1967 |
Folder 244 |
1968-1969 |
Folder 245 |
1970-1980 |
Folder 246 |
Undated |
Johnson was initiated into Chi Omega Fraternity for Women while pursuing her Bachelor's degree in Journalism at the University of Missouri (Rho Alpha Chapter) in 1923. From that time until her death, she was actively associated with this organization, especially the Epsilon Beta Chapter at the University of North Carolina. She served the Chapel Hill chapter as advisor for personnel; as president of the Epsilon Beta Foundation, which owned the chapter house and related property; and as member of the board of both the North Carolina Women's Scholarship Fund of Chi Omega and the Chi Omega Distinguished Service Award for Women. In the 1950s, she also acted as trouble-shooter for the national office of Chi Omega, travelling all over the eastern seaboard and south holding "firesides" to discuss individual sorority problems ranging from disgruntled housemothers to poor house management to unacceptable rushing practices. The chapter house in Chapel Hill was named for Johnson in 1973.
Correspondence, publications, and other materials related to Chi Omega on both the national and chapter levels. Correspondence begins in 1925 with a letter regarding "the situation" in Chapel Hill from Mary Love Collins, longtime national president of Chi Omega. Correspondence resumes in 1943 with a letter to outlining the characteristics of appearance and behavior that hostesses should look for in female students. There are also letters to and from the national officers about Johnson's chapter visits and a great many letters pertaining to recommendations for prospective pledges. Some materials touch on fundraising for purchasing chapter houses, 1951-1952 and 1968-1973, and maintenance of the Chapel Hill house.
Materials from the 1950s document Chi Omega officers' concern about the National Student Association (NSA), a liberal student organization whose founder came from Chapel Hill, and its goal of forcing all student organizations to discard discriminatory clauses. There are allusions to "the constitutional freedom to associate" throughout this portion of correspondence. There are also letters about the initiation of the Chi Omega Service Award (February 1951), the Chi Omega Prize in Sociology at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (April 1952), and various national conventions.
Other materials include chapter house information, house rules, alumnae information, questionnaires for pledges, rushing information, newspaper clippings, chapter newsletters, and Chi Omega publications. There are also materials on Johnson's visits to other chapters, including lists of committee chairs and bylaws from various chapters visited, notes, expense account reports, and copies of reports to the national office for visits made 1952-1956.
Principal correspondents include longtime national officers, Mary Love Collins and Elizabeth Dyer; alumnae Annie Laurie Hutchins, Marjorie Yokley, and Erdene Rountree; University of North Carolina's Dean of Women Katherine Kennedy Carmichael; and Ann Sterling, chapter advisor at Southern Methodist University.
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence, minutes, and financial materials relating to the foundation that owned and operated the Guion Griffis Johnson Chapter House of the Epsilon Beta Chapter of Chi Omega Fraternity for Women. Correspondence relates to the purchase of the chapter house in 1952, fundraising letters to and responses from alumnae, general maintenance of the house, applications and selections of housemothers, outfitting of rooms with carpets and furniture, and maintenance of insurance policies. Beginning in 1965, there is a good deal of information concerning the various Franklin Street real estate deals entered into by the Foundation, its attempt at building a new chapter house, and its subsequent remodeling and addition to the existing structures.
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence, minutes, pledge cards, and address lists pertaining to a scholarship fund for women established by the Epsilon Beta Chapter of Chi Omega as a gift to the University of North Carolina in celebration of the chapter's 50th anniversary. For 15 years, beginning in 1958, alumnae of Epsilon Beta chapter worked to provide a scholarship for women "equal to the Morehead Scholarship" offered by University of North Carolina. Fulfilling its goal, the chapter presented the University with $40,000 in 1973. The fundraising organization remained intact following this gift in order to raise additional funds for smaller scholarships, among them the Marjorie Yates Yokley Scholarship.
Originally meant to support a woman in graduate work, the award was first offered to an undergraduate woman studying pharmacy. Before this first recipient had been graduated, Federal Title IX nondiscriminatory policies caused University of North Carolina to drop the stipulation that the award be limited to women.
Most of the correspondence is with Marjorie Yates Yokley and Erdene Rountree, presidents of the Fund's board of directors and both of whom personally undertook massive mailing campaigns. One alumna was contacted in Saigon in 1968. Alumnae addresses, acknowledgements, and reports to Johnson on the campaign's progress comprise most of this correspondence. In 1967, there are letters pertaining to Marjorie Yates Yokley unexpected death. After 1973, announcements and minutes of semi-annual board meetings predominate.
Letters of interest include Johnson's letters of 21 January 1962 explaining why the 50th anniversary gift was to be a woman's scholarship fund and 7 May 1963 documenting the history of the Fund, and correspondence, 1976-1977, with the William Geer, director of University of North Carolina's Scholarships and Financial Aid, regarding Title IX.
Folder 412 |
Bylaws |
Folder 413 |
1958 |
Folder 414 |
1959-1960 |
Folder 415 |
1951 |
Folder 416-417
Folder 416Folder 417 |
1962 |
Folder 418-420
Folder 418Folder 419Folder 420 |
1963 |
Folder 421-422
Folder 421Folder 422 |
1964 |
Folder 423 |
1965 |
Folder 424 |
1966 |
Folder 425 |
1967 |
Folder 426-428
Folder 426Folder 427Folder 428 |
1968 |
Folder 429 |
1969 |
Folder 430 |
1970-1971 |
Folder 431 |
1972 |
Folder 432 |
1973 |
Folder 433 |
1974-1976 |
Folder 434 |
1977-1979 |
Folder 435 |
1980 |
Folder 436 |
1981-1986 |
Folder 437-438
Folder 437Folder 438 |
Pledge cards |
Folder 439 |
Pledge slips |
Folder 440 |
Address list |
Arrangement: chronological.
In 1950, the Epsilon Beta chapter of Chi Omega fraternity for women presented its first Distinguished Award for Women. The award recognized the lifetime achievements of a woman who had "furthered the status of women, or by her own achievements so exemplified high qualities of womanhood."
Johnson, who received the award in 1955, served as the chapter's representative on University of North Carolina's Selection Committee beginning in 1953. Among the other Committee members were Dean of Women Katharine Kennedy Carmichael; Norma Berryhill, wife of the dean of the University of North Carolina Medical School; Gladys Hall Coates, award recipient and co-founder of the Institute of Government; Chancellor Robert B. House; and Vice Chancellor and later Special Assistant to the Chancellor, Douglass Hunt.
Of interest is documentation of the 1970 award offered to Dorothy Glenn, member of the University of North Carolina board of trustees and medical advisor to the Vietnamese government on obstetrics and gynecology. Because awardees had to be present to receive the award, Glenn had not been able to accept one in the past. Assured by her husband that Glenn would not be available in 1970, the committee offered the award to Ellen Black Winston. In the meantime, the chapter offered to award to Glenn in Vietnam. Both Winston and Glenn showed up for the award, the latter flying in from Vietnam at her own expense. Winston received the Distinguished Award for Women, and Glenn received the chapter's Distinguished Alumna Award on the following day.
Materials include minutes and notices of Selection Committee meetings, with a few letters between Committee members, the chapter, and the recipients. Especially interesting are biographical sketches of the women nominated for the award.
Folder 441 |
1953-1954 |
Folder 442 |
1957-1958 |
Folder 443 |
1961-1963 |
Folder 444 |
1964-1967 |
Folder 445 |
1969-1970 |
Folder 446 |
1971-1972 |
Folder 447 |
1973-1975 |
Folder 448 |
1976 |
Folder 449 |
1977-1979 |
Folder 450 |
1980-1983 |
Folder 451 |
1984-1985 |
Folder 452 |
1986 |
Folder 453 |
Undated |
Folder 454 |
Clippings |
Lists of Orange County volunteers, press releases, a community service guidebook, clippings, and some letters relating to Johnson's work with the Office of Price Administration. (See also clippings in Series 16.)
Johnson served as chair of the Community Service Committee on the Orange County War Price and Rationing Board. She established an information desk for the Office of Price Administration in the Orange County War Rationing Office, ran an educational training program on wartime consumption, and planned and carried out a conference on the War Price and Rationing Board in Chapel Hill in 1943. The principal writer of the few letters in this subseries was Ruth Vick Everett, information officer with the Office of Price Administration in Raleigh.
Folder 455 |
Correspondence, 1942-1944 |
Folder 456 |
Volunteer lists and information booklets |
Folder 457 |
Press releases |
Folder 458 |
Miscellaneous |
Folder 459 |
Clippings |
Correspondence, agendas, minutes, and conference materials related primarily to Johnson's service on the National Women's Advisory Committee on Civil Defense. In 1943, North Carolina Governor J. Melville Broughton asked Johnson to serve as Civilian Defense Collector of War Records for Chapel Hill and Orange County. In 1951, the North Carolina Council of Civil Defense began working with women's groups in the state to promote civil defense. For the next several years, Johnson worked on civil defense matters on the state level.
After a conference on civil defense in Charlotte in May 1956, Johnson became a member-at-large of the National Women's Advisory Committee on Civil Defense, attending national meetings from 1957 to 1959. These meeting materials include proceedings of the conferences; brochures and pamphlets with titles such as "Emergency Mass Feeding," "Effects of Nuclear Weapons," and "Prepare the Home"; rosters of participants; and transcriptions of some speeches.
Also included are a few North Carolina newsletters, 1954-1961, as well as a few highly scattered issues of the national "Newsletter By, For, and About Women in Civil Defense" and a comic book devoted to civil defense and nuclear warfare. Correspondence chiefly deals with attendance at meetings and travel reimbursement.
Folder 460 |
Correspondence |
Folder 461-465
Folder 461Folder 462Folder 463Folder 464Folder 465 |
National Women's Advisory Committee, 1956-1959 |
Folder 466 |
Women's Council on Civil Defense, Region 3, 1957 |
Folder 467 |
Home Preparedness Workshop Guide for Group Leaders |
Folder 468 |
Home Preparedness Award Program |
Folder 469 |
North Carolina materials |
Folder 470 |
Civil Defense Training Institute for North Carolina Women's Organizations |
Folder 471 |
Newsletters |
Folder 472 |
Miscellaneous printed materials |
Johnson served on the Task Force on State Advisory Council on Comprehensive Health Planning in 1968-1969. Included are minutes, reports, and statistical information on numbers of doctors and hospital facilities in 75 of the most rural counties in North Carolina, and a two-volume study on public health needs conducted by the North Carolina Regional Medical Program
Folder 473-476
Folder 473Folder 474Folder 475Folder 476 |
Comprehensive Health Planning Task Force of Diagnosis and Treatment |
Johnson chaired the Committee on Voluntary Organizations and Expanded Services of the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women. Among the committee's tasks was a survey and analysis of the various women-led volunteer organizations around the state. Correspondents include other committee members, including Ruth Current, Leontine Plonk, and Avis Dudley. Additionally, there is some correspondence between Johnson and Louise M. Latham, dean of women at North Carolina College.
Minutes, agendas, and reports have been interfiled with the correspondence. More correspondence, minutes, lists and reports can also be found in the last three folders entitled "North Carolina."
Included among the reports is a reprinted copy of "The Changing Status of Southern Woman," which Johnson wrote for The South in Continuity and Change. Other reports stress women's achievements, with the particular focus on work within volunteer organizations.
Folder 477-479
Folder 477Folder 478Folder 479 |
Correspondence |
Folder 480-481
Folder 480Folder 481 |
Drafts of report |
Folder 482 |
Final report |
Folder 483 |
Miscellaneous |
Folder 484-490
Folder 484Folder 485Folder 486Folder 487Folder 488Folder 489Folder 490 |
Volunteer survey |
Folder 491 |
Volunteer study |
Folder 492-494
Folder 492Folder 493Folder 494 |
North Carolina |
Johnson chaired the Human Values of Educational Goals Committee of the Task Force for the Governor's Study Commission on the Public School System of North Carolina, 1967-1968. Letters are generally from Neil A. Rosser, executive director of the commission, and from Herbert R. Paschal and Garland A. Hendricks, who served as chairs of the task force. A final report of Johnson's committee is included.
Folder 495-496
Folder 495Folder 496 |
Governor's Study Commission of the Public School System on North Carolina |
President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed 1965 International Cooperation Year to highlight the need for further cooperation between nations and to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations. Johnson served on the Women's Committee on International Cooperation. Correspondence is primarily with Gladys A. Tillett, chair of the committee. Also included is a 1966 letter from Vice-President Hubert Humphrey thanking Johnson for her work and informing her of the plans for promoting international cooperation.
Folder 497 |
International Cooperation Year |
Materials from a conference on aging held in June 1951. Included are reports on aging, employment, and welfare; brochures about the conference; and a small book of the proceedings.
Folder 498 |
North Carolina Conference on Aging |
Johnson served on the advisory board of the North Carolina Film Board, which was active 1963-1965, during which it completed 16 files of an educational/public affairs nature. Included are publicity materials, press releases about the films, and some correspondence with Director James Beveridge.
Folder 499-500
Folder 499Folder 500 |
North Carolina Film Board |
In early 1968, Johnson began working with the Youth Councils of North Carolina (YCNC) on a proposal to create a Youth Commission of North Carolina, which would coordinate, strengthen, and develop youth councils across the state. Among the early correspondents are Juanita (Mrs. J. Frank) Bryant, president of the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs; H. T. Conner, of the Department of Administration and director of the Youth Commission Project Committee; and Ruth Gill, secretary of the Youth Commission Project Committee.
On 5 May 1969, the state legislature passed the Youth Council Bill. The Youth Advisory Board (YAB) was appointed on 7 May 1970, with Juanita Bryant as executive secretary. Chief correspondents during this period are Juanita Bryant, Conner, Gill, and YCNC Director Murray Folgar. From 1973 to 1975, there is much correspondence with Jim Caplanides, YAB executive secretary of the YAB.
Other materials include minutes, reports, newsletters, and promotional pieces produced by various youth councils around the state. (See also Subseries 4.10.)
Folder 501 |
Governing documents |
Folder 502 |
Goals, objectives, and plans |
Folder 503 |
Membership applications |
Folder 504 |
Youth organizations of North Carolina |
Folder 505 |
Youth Advisory Board applications |
Folder 506 |
Promotional pieces |
Folder 507 |
Membership lists |
Folder 508 |
Finances |
Folder 509 |
Clippings |
Folder 510-516
Folder 510Folder 511Folder 512Folder 513Folder 514Folder 515Folder 516 |
Correspondence, 1968-1975 and undated |
Folder 517-518
Folder 517Folder 518 |
Minutes and agendas |
Folder 519-520
Folder 519Folder 520 |
Reports |
Folder 521 |
Newsletters |
Folder 522 |
Executive board applications |
Folder 523 |
Committees |
Folder 524 |
Conferences |
Folder 525 |
Proposals |
Folder 526 |
Miscellaneous |
The Youth Advisory Council was founded in 1975 under the aegis of the Youth Advisory Board (YAB). Johnson served on the Board for its first two years. Most of the correspondence is with Jim Caplanides, executive secretary of the YAB, 1975-1976. Much of the correspondence and other materials revolve around organizational matters and the annual Youth Involvement Day. (See also Subseries 4.9.)
Folder 527 |
Governing documents |
Folder 528 |
State Youth Council |
Folder 529 |
Clippings |
Folder 530 |
Membership lists |
Folder 531 |
Finances |
Folder 532 |
Promotional materials |
Folder 533 |
Organizational manual |
Folder 534 |
Report |
Folder 535 |
Greensboro Youth Council, 1967-1968 |
Folder 536 |
Correspondence |
Folder 537 |
Minutes and agendas |
Materials relating to Johnson's work with organizations promoting world peace, including the North Carolina Division of the American Association for the United Nations and the North Carolina Council of World Affairs. Note that more information concerning World Affairs Conferences can be found in Series 6, particularly for the mid- to late-1950s.
The American Association for the United Nations (AAUN) was established to "study the fundamental basis of permanent peace and the machinery necessary for the development of this peace." The AAUN was also involved in "carrying on educational activities to the end that the United States may cooperate to the fullest extent practicable in the official international organization functioning in the various fields of international cooperation." Beatrice (Bee/Mrs. Roy Nels) Anderson of Raleigh was the primary force behind the North Carolina division of the AAUN. Most of the correspondence is between Anderson and Johnson, who, although an executive board member, was not intensely involved with the Association.
Folder 538 |
Governing documents |
Folder 539 |
1953-1959 |
Folder 540 |
1960-1969 |
Folder 541 |
Printed materials |
Folder 542 |
Miscellaneous |
The North Carolina Council of World Affairs (NCCWA) was a central focus for Johnson. She served on the executive and planning committees for over 20 years, focusing chiefly on the annual World Affairs Conference that the organization initiated and helped sponsor.
In a 1948 letter, R. B. House, NCCWA's first president, wrote that the organization was a "spontaneous movement" that originated when the Community Club of Chapel Hill met in 1947 with 40 other organizations on the second anniversary of the end of World War II. Initially, the group was called the North Carolina World Peace Forum. Through the 1950s, under the guidance of the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs, it was known as the North Carolina Conference on World Affairs. In 1959, the Conference changed its name to the North Carolina Council on World Affairs and was enlarged to include men's groups and local international relations clubs. The main purpose of the organization remained the promoting interest in world affairs, encouraging efforts towards world peace, and training leaders in world affairs.
Documents from the early years, 1947-1953, are filed under the North Carolina Peace Forum. Included are many letters from R. B. House about organizational questions and the first World Affairs Conference, held on 7 April 1948. Included is a dialogue between House and Charles Phillips, director of the Carolina Institute of International Relations, regarding the possible overlap of focus between the two organizations.
From 1961 to 1968, correspondents include Ruth Current, first vice-president, 1962-63, and president, 1963-64; Susan Garner Smith and Sallie (Mrs. Benjamin) Everett, members of the Planning Committee; and William H. Heriford of the University Extension Division. These letters generally concern event planning, questions of constitutionality, and nominations of positions. There are also a few letters from Robert Seymour during his term as president of the NCCWA, 1966-69.
Other materials included organizational documents, conference materials, and speeches and publicity materials. Note that documents relating to the World Affairs Conferences of the 1950s, when Johnson was president of the North Carolina Council of Women's Organizations, are filed in Series 6.
Folder 543-544
Folder 543Folder 544 |
North Carolina World Peace Forum, 1947-1953 |
Folder 545-548
Folder 545Folder 546Folder 547Folder 548 |
Correspondence, 1954-1973 and undated |
Folder 549 |
Minutes |
Folder 550 |
Reports |
Folder 551 |
Constitution, bylaws, membership lists |
Folder 552 |
Conference materials |
Folder 553 |
Evaluations |
Folder 554 |
Clippings |
Folder 555 |
Printed materials |
Folder 556 |
Miscellaneous |
Folder 557 |
American Freedom Association |
Folder 558 |
American Friends Service Committee |
Folder 559 |
National Education Association Conference on International Affairs |
Folder 560-561
Folder 560Folder 561 |
High School World Peace Study and Speaking Program |
Folder 562 |
United Nations Association of the USA |
Folder 563 |
United Nations |
Folder 564 |
United States Department of State |
Folder 565 |
World Federalists |
Folder 566 |
World Government Institute |
Folder 567 |
Miscellaneous |
Arrangement: chronological.
Originally founded as the North Carolina Woman's Council, the NCCWO was primary established to help coordinate women's organizations within the state of North Carolina and provide leadership and training for women involved in these groups.
Most of the letters date from 1952-1958, when Johnson was president of the North Carolina Council of Women's Organizations (NCCWO) and from 1962-1968, when she was heavily involved in committee work. Included in the early years is some correspondence related to the formation of the organization. After 1970, there is little correspondence due to Johnson's greatly reduced involvement with the organization.
While most of the letters were written by or addressed to Johnson, a many emanated from other NCCWO members or from outside organizations affiliated with the NCCWO, including universities and governmental organizations. Important correspondents include Russell M. Grumman, director of the University of North Carolina Extension Division, and Ellen Black Winston, North Carolina Board of Welfare Commissioner.
The University of North Carolina Extension Division provided NCCWO with office space and financial and organizational assistance during the early years. The deep concern with the problems of the poor also caused strong ties to form between the NCCWO and the North Carolina Board of Welfare, with Winston serving as a member-at-large of the NCCWO for many years.
Many letters discuss NCCWO activities, including workshops, conferences, fundraising, preservation activities, and other events. Filed with the 1972 correspondence is a seven-page essay on the history of the NCCWO that was presented at a 20th anniversary celebration (see also Johnson's paper "A Decade of Growth" in Subseries 6.2.).
Note that a few letters pertaining to specific meetings, committees, or events can be found in other subseries by that are organized by topic.
Folder 568 |
1951 |
Folder 569 |
1952 |
Folder 570 |
1953 |
Folder 571-572
Folder 571Folder 572 |
1954 |
Folder 573-575
Folder 573Folder 574Folder 575 |
1955 |
Folder 576-578
Folder 576Folder 577Folder 578 |
1956 |
Folder 579-583
Folder 579Folder 580Folder 581Folder 582Folder 583 |
1957 |
Folder 584-591
Folder 584Folder 585Folder 586Folder 587Folder 588Folder 589Folder 590Folder 591 |
1958 |
Folder 592-593
Folder 592Folder 593 |
1959 |
Folder 594 |
1960 |
Folder 595 |
1961 |
Folder 596-610
Folder 596Folder 597Folder 598Folder 599Folder 600Folder 601Folder 602Folder 603Folder 604Folder 605Folder 606Folder 607Folder 608Folder 609Folder 610 |
1962 |
Folder 611-613
Folder 611Folder 612Folder 613 |
1963 |
Folder 614-615
Folder 614Folder 615 |
1964 |
Folder 616 |
1965 |
Folder 617-629
Folder 617Folder 618Folder 619Folder 620Folder 621Folder 622Folder 623Folder 624Folder 625Folder 626Folder 627Folder 628Folder 629 |
1966 |
Folder 630-631
Folder 630Folder 631 |
1967 |
Folder 632-633
Folder 632Folder 633 |
1968 |
Folder 634 |
1969 |
Folder 635 |
1970-1974 |
Folder 636 |
1975-1979 |
Folder 637 |
1980-1987 |
Folder 638 |
Undated |
Included are minutes of executive committee meetings, 1952-1979, of annual meetings, 1955-1979, and the board of directors, 1965-1985; constitution and bylaws; agendas; job analyses; financial information; and lists of members, officers, and sponsors. Also included are NCCWO newsletters, 1965-1982; clippings about NCCWO, 1952-1973; promotional materials; and other documents.
Of particular interest are an audio recording of an interview with Johnson from October 1967, which contains a discussion of Volunteers in Community Service and a paper written by Johnson in 1962 entitled "A Decade of Growth," which gives a brief history of the first ten years of the NCCWO.
Folder 639-645
Folder 639Folder 640Folder 641Folder 642Folder 643Folder 644Folder 645 |
Executive Committee minutes, 1952-1979 |
Folder 646 |
Annual meetings, 1955-1979 |
Folder 647 |
Board of directors, 1965-1985 |
Folder 648 |
Constitution and bylaws |
Folder 649 |
Miscellaneous agendas, 1958-1987 |
Folder 650 |
Financial information, 1954-1985 |
Folder 651 |
Sponsors |
Folder 652 |
Membership lists/officer slates, 1951-1985 |
Folder 653 |
Job analyses |
Folder 654 |
Newsletters, 1965-1982 |
Folder 655 |
Promotional materials |
Folder 656-657
Folder 656Folder 657 |
Clippings, 1952-1973; undated |
Folder 658 |
Recording, 1967 (T-4546/1)shelved separately; contact staff |
Audiotape T-4546/1 |
19671/4" Open Reel Audio |
Folder 659 |
"A Decade of Growth" |
Folder 660 |
Miscellaneous papers and presentations |
Folder 661 |
Miscellaneous |
Arrangement: by committee.
General material from five major NCCWO committees: policy, program services, directory, leadership roster, and continuing education. Directory committee information includes scattered copies of the NCCWO directory as well as directories from member organizations.
Folder 662 |
Policy committee |
Folder 663 |
Program services committee |
Folder 664-667
Folder 664Folder 665Folder 666Folder 667 |
Directory committee |
Folder 668 |
Directories |
Folder 669-670
Folder 669Folder 670 |
Directories of affiliate members |
Folder 671 |
Leadership roster committee |
Folder 672-674
Folder 672Folder 673Folder 674 |
Continuing education committee |
Arrangement: By topic.
Information from other groups whose topics were of interest to Johnson and the NCCWO and miscellaneous information on program building and planning assembled and used by Johnson. Also included are materials from two surveys conducted by the NCCWO, one on involvement and one on women in politics.
Folder 675 |
Program building |
Folder 676 |
Program planning |
Folder 677 |
Survey of involvement |
Folder 678 |
Women in politics survey |
Folder 679 |
Court reform materials |
Folder 680 |
North Carolina Federation of Negro Women's Clubs |
Folder 681 |
Board of Public Welfare |
Folder 682 |
Miscellaneous |
Arrangement: by event.
One of the primary goals of the NCCWO was to train women to be leaders in women's organizations and to fill general political and community-leadership positions. To this end, the NCCWO began an annual Leadership Training Workshop only six weeks after its founding. Among the materials from these workshops, 1951-1982, are letters, notes, agendas, publicity, meeting minutes, and lists of attendees. Also included are materials from the 1968 Fall Forum and a brochure from the 1986 Fall Forum. Also included are materials from Public Affairs Conferences, 1962-1971.
While the World Affairs Conference began before the founding of the NCCWO, the planning of the event appears to have been assumed by the Program Committee of the NCCWO with Johnson directly in charge of the program for many of the conferences.
Folder 683-688
Folder 683Folder 684Folder 685Folder 686Folder 687Folder 688 |
Leadership Training Workshop, 1951-1982 and undated |
Folder 689-692
Folder 689Folder 690Folder 691Folder 692 |
Fall Forum, 1968 |
Folder 693 |
Fall Forum, 1986 |
Folder 694-699
Folder 694Folder 695Folder 696Folder 697Folder 698Folder 699 |
World Affairs Conference, 1950-1966 and undated |
Folder 700 |
Public Affairs Conference |
Arrangement: by topic.
Various materials related to research on volunteer programs conducted by Johnson and the NCCWO with a grant from the North Carolina Fund. Entitled "Volunteers in Work with the Poor," this research project, conducted primarily in 1966, analyzed effective methods of volunteer utilization in anti-poverty programs.
Included are correspondence with other organizations, minutes of meetings and conferences, financial information, media documents, and informational and bibliographic materials retained by Johnson. Other documents including research papers, studies, program descriptions, and other items about the problems of the poor and the use of volunteers in helping them.
Also included are transcripts of interviews with volunteers and a large collection of completed forms from the survey Johnson carried out in connection with this project.
Arrangement: chronological.
The North Carolina Federation of Women's Club (NCFWC) was dedicated to working closely with women's clubs throughout North Carolina in sponsoring and stimulating scholarship and community service. In a 1951 memorandum from Johnson, she reminded members that the NCFWC focus was to get all member clubs to organize essential core activities, including music and literature contests, international relations events, and citizenship awareness programs.
The bulk of the correspondence is from 1948-1952, when Johnson served as first vice-president and director of departments. There are few letters dated 1931-1940. With the founding of the NCCWO in 1952, Johnson role in the NCFWC was greatly diminished, although she continued to work on committees and was chair of the "Institute and Forums" department during the mid-1950s.
Letters discuss planning, speaking engagements, intra-club relationships, department assignments and responsibilities, and interactions with Junior Club affiliates. There are occasional references in the letters to the "communist threat" during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Important correspondents include Russell M. Grumman, director of the University Extension Division, and R. B. House, chancellor of University of North Carolina. Of interest is a letter written to Eleanor Roosevelt by Mrs. S. R. Levering after a speaking engagement at Chapel Hill. In it, Levering criticized Roosevelt's failure to give proper attention to those organizations supporting the United Nations. Some letters, 1952-1953, relate to lobbying efforts by the NCFWC in support of the formation of the United Nations.
A copy of the minutes of a meeting of 7 December 1951 (but enclosed with material dated 18 March 1952) contains a passage spoken by Johnson and recorded verbatim reflecting her desire to make the program planning process, and club policy in general, more democratic.
Folder 740 |
1931-1940 |
Folder 741 |
1947 |
Folder 742 |
1948 |
Folder 743-744
Folder 743Folder 744 |
1949 |
Folder 745-757
Folder 745Folder 746Folder 747Folder 748Folder 749Folder 750Folder 751Folder 752Folder 753Folder 754Folder 755Folder 756Folder 757 |
1950 |
Folder 758-770
Folder 758Folder 759Folder 760Folder 761Folder 762Folder 763Folder 764Folder 765Folder 766Folder 767Folder 768Folder 769Folder 770 |
1951 |
Folder 771-773
Folder 771Folder 772Folder 773 |
1952 |
Folder 774 |
1953 |
Folder 775 |
1954 |
Folder 776 |
1955 |
Folder 777 |
1956 |
Folder 778 |
1957 |
Folder 779 |
1958 |
Folder 780 |
1959 |
Folder 781 |
1960-1962 |
Folder 782 |
1963 |
Folder 783 |
1964-1965 |
Folder 784 |
1966 |
Folder 785 |
1967 |
Folder 786-787
Folder 786Folder 787 |
1968 |
Folder 788 |
1969 |
Folder 789 |
1970-1973 |
Folder 790 |
1974-1975 |
Folder 791 |
1976-1977 |
Folder 792 |
1978-1986 |
Folder 793 |
Undated |
Correspondence, reports, minutes, postcards, articles, programs, financial reports, and various publicity materials relating to the NCFWC's International Relations Department. The documents are affixed to sheets of papers and appear to have been bound in large binders.
Chief among the correspondents is Jewel (Mrs. Grady E.) Kirkman of the Greenville Women's Club. Other frequent correspondents include Sara (Mrs. John L.) Whitehurst, who served as chair of the International Clubs, and Vera (Mrs. Fredric W.) Beggs, chair of the International Relations Department of the Greater Federation of Women's Clubs. There are also some letters to and from North Carolina Senator Hoey concerning a planned Genocide Convention in 1951, a number of documents concerning the NCFWC's participation in the Care-for-Korea campaign in 1951, and documentation of responses to the World Affairs Conference.
Folder 794-798
Folder 794Folder 795Folder 796Folder 797Folder 798 |
International Relations Department, 1950-52 |
Folder 799 |
Responses to World Affairs Conference |
Office and organizational materials generated by meetings, committees, conventions, and conferences. Among them are applications for various awards and scholarships sponsored by the NCFWC are found, including the Kitty Odum award given to the outstanding club member. Also included are newsletters from the NCFWC and some its member organizations and yearbooks and clippings, chiefly from the mid-1950s.
Documents about to Johnson's church-related activities are organized into four subseries: 1) United Church Women (later known as Church Women United); 2) North Carolina Council of Churches; 3) the Methodist Church; and 4) related organizations. Since Johnson's work with these organizations overlaps considerably in both time frame and content, researchers should review all four areas to find documents of interest. Most of these materials are dated 1950-1965.
United Church Women (UCW) was a department of the North Carolina Council of Churches. Johnson's affiliation with the UCW centered around her work as chair of the Christian World Relations Committee, 1955 to around 1959, and as chair of the Resolutions Committee, 1961 to around 1962.
Much of the correspondence is between Johnson and the various general chairs of the UCW, including Helen (Mrs. T. S.) Newbold, Adelaide (Mrs. B. Frank) Hall, and Avis (Mrs. Harold J.) Dudley. Some early letters between Johnson and then-president Newbold concern organization's desire to have Johnson serve as chair of the Christian World Relations Committee. The bulk of the letters concern UCW events and administrative affairs, though some content of a personal nature is present. Other items include office and organizational materials, as well as documents from the annual World Community Day.
Of interest is a collection of resolutions passed by the UCW, many of which focus on the problems of segregation and racial unity.
Sometime in 1967, United Church Women changed its name to Church Women United. By that time, Johnson's had become considerably less active in the organization than she had been.
Folder 847-857
Folder 847Folder 848Folder 849Folder 850Folder 851Folder 852Folder 853Folder 854Folder 855Folder 856Folder 857 |
Correspondence, 1953-1966 and undated |
Folder 858 |
Minutes of meetings, 1955-1964 |
Folder 859 |
Constitution and bylaws |
Folder 860 |
Financial and programs |
Folder 861 |
Agendas and programs |
Folder 862 |
Member/department lists |
Folder 863 |
Reports |
Folder 864 |
Resolutions |
Folder 865 |
Christian Social Relations |
Folder 866 |
Christian World Relations |
Folder 867-869
Folder 867Folder 868Folder 869 |
World Community Day, 1954-1958 |
Folder 870 |
Newsletters |
Folder 871 |
Clippings |
Folder 872 |
Directories |
Folder 873 |
Yearbooks |
Folder 874 |
The Church Woman |
Folder 875 |
Miscellaneous publications |
Folder 876 |
Miscellaneous |
Folder 877-880
Folder 877Folder 878Folder 879Folder 880 |
Church Women United, 1967-1969 |
The North Carolina Council of Churches (NCCC) was the parent organization of the United Church Women. In addition to Johnson's work with the women's organization, she began serving on the Christian Education Commission of the NCCC in 1953; it appears that she remained with the Commission until 1958. She also served on the Special Search Committee to find a new executive director in 1964.
Much of the correspondence is with Morton R. Kurtz, who served as executive director of the NCCC during the 1950s and early 1960s, and with W. A. Kale, who served as president of the NCCC during this same period. Letters chiefly discuss upcoming events and planning concerns. There are some minutes of meetings enclosed with the correspondence, especially after 1960, including minutes of board meetings, Christian Education Commission meetings, and various committee meetings.
Some documents relate to race relations, including resolutions and a packet of statements from various religious groups concerning the Supreme Court desegregation decision. Also included are a few documentsfrom the Chapel Hill Council of Churches, headed at one point by Johnson. The connection between this local chapter and the larger North Carolina Council is unclear.
Folder 881-884
Folder 881Folder 882Folder 883Folder 884 |
Correspondence, 1951-1965 |
Folder 885 |
Minutes of meetings |
Folder 886 |
Financial information |
Folder 887 |
Schedules and agendas |
Folder 888 |
Board, council and committee lists |
Folder 889 |
Reports |
Folder 890 |
Resolutions and statements |
Folder 891 |
"Segregation in the Public Schools" |
Folder 892-896
Folder 892Folder 893Folder 894Folder 895Folder 896 |
Executive Director Search Committee |
Folder 897 |
Workshops |
Folder 898 |
Foreign students |
Folder 899 |
Brochures and newsletters |
Folder 900 |
Church Council Bulletin, 1952-1971 |
Folder 901 |
United Christian Youth Movement |
Folder 902 |
North Carolina Committee on the Use and Understanding of the Bible |
Folder 903 |
Chapel Hill Council of Churches |
Folder 904 |
Miscellaneous |
Materials relating to the Methodist Church and affiliated branches and organizations. Included with materials on the Commission of Urban Work is a lengthy manuscript written by Johnson on social change with specific focus on the race issues. Among the folders of the Interconference Commission of College and University Religious Work is an alphabetized file of North Carolina colleges with reports on Methodist students' work at participating institutions. These materials, coupled with those on the Methodist Student Movement and the Wesley Foundation, offer a view of the collegiate activities of the Methodist Church during the early- and mid-1960s. Included with the Missions Board materials are a few letters from China, Zaire, and other countries. More missions information is filed with the University United Methodist Church materials.
Also included are items relating to the Women's Society of Christian Service (WSCS), a service group within the Methodist Church with which Johnson became involved through her work as co-chair of the program committee at St. Mark's Methodist Church in Atlanta, and to the University United Methodist Church (formerly the University Methodist Church).
Folder 905-907
Folder 905Folder 906Folder 907 |
Commission of Urban Work |
Folder 908-911
Folder 908Folder 909Folder 910Folder 911 |
Missions Board, 1948-1971 and undated |
Folder 912 |
North Carolina Methodists Conference on Abortion |
Folder 913 |
North Carolina Conference |
Folder 914 |
North Carolina Urban Life Seminar, 1966-1967 |
Folder 915-920
Folder 915Folder 916Folder 917Folder 918Folder 919Folder 920 |
Wesley Foundation |
Folder 921-926
Folder 921Folder 922Folder 923Folder 924Folder 925Folder 926 |
Interconference Commission of College and University Religious Work |
Folder 927-930
Folder 927Folder 928Folder 929Folder 930 |
Women's Society of Christian Service, 1948-1968 and undated |
Folder 931 |
St. Mark's Methodist Church |
Folder 932-937
Folder 932Folder 933Folder 934Folder 935Folder 936Folder 937 |
University United Methodist Church |
Included are materials from a variety of organizations, many of which focused on concern for world problems or race relations. Some materials relate to school desegregation and the support of race equality within the church.
Also included are copies of 35 radio addresses by Harry Emerson Fosdick that center on Christian life.
Folder 938 |
National Council of the Churches of Christ |
Folder 939 |
Church Peace Union |
Folder 940 |
Woman Missionary Union |
Folder 941 |
American Friends Service Committee |
Folder 942 |
Koinonia |
Folder 943 |
United Nations |
Folder 944 |
Inter-Church Council for Social Service |
Folder 945 |
International Christian University in Japan |
Folder 946 |
Student for Educational Equality in Kentucky |
Folder 947 |
Clippings on race relations |
Folder 948 |
Race relations |
Folder 949 |
South Africa conferences |
Folder 950 |
Johnson biography |
Folder 951-953
Folder 951Folder 952Folder 953 |
Fosdick radio addresses, 1940-1981 |
Folder 954-955
Folder 954Folder 955 |
Church publications |
Folder 956 |
Church materials |
Folder 957-958
Folder 957Folder 958 |
Other materials |
This series contains materials from a multitude of local and national organizations with which Johnson had direct or indirect affiliation.
Arrangement: chronological.
Minutes, correspondence, printed materials, and notes relating to the Georgia Conference on Social Welfare, for which Johnson as executive secretary. In 1945, Johnson joined the staff of the Georgia Conference and began planning the first of several state initiatives dealing with local social problems. The first centered on juvenile delinquency and a reorganization of the juvenile courts.
Beginning in 1947, Johnson also initiated annual meetings of all the executive secretaries of state welfare institutions. Most of the correspondence is with state conference secretaries and involves planning for this meeting. Other materials include a few clippings, minutes from executive committee meetings of the Georgia Conference, Johnson's speech on the "Human Side of Reconversion," a study of a family on public assistance, miscellaneous notes and printed brochures, and pamphlets and newsletters from various social welfare agencies.
Principal correspondents include Annette (Mrs. Emilio) Suarez of Cuthbert, Ga., a supporter of the Conference; David Bouterse, executive director of the Ohio Welfare Council; and Jane Chandler, assistant secretary of the National Conference of Social Work.
Folder 959-963
Folder 959Folder 960Folder 961Folder 962Folder 963 |
Correspondence, 1945-1948 and undated |
Folder 964-966
Folder 964Folder 965Folder 966 |
Executive Committee minutes, 1945-1947 |
Folder 967 |
Clippings |
Folder 968 |
Printed materials |
Folder 969 |
Miscellaneous |
Johnson's association with the Penn School and the related community began in 1928-2929 when Johnson and her husband studied the Sea Islands. In 1964, Johnson was asked to join Penn's Program Review Committee as a non-trustee member. This committee met "once or twice a year to review the work of Penn and make general recommendations about it."
Included are minutes of the Program Review Committee and the board of trustees meetings and supporting documents such as directors reports. Penn's community development program is the focus of much of the material. Only a few items relate specifically to Johnson's role at Penn, among them a letter from Johnson, dated 26 August 1970, in which she requested more information about the community development proposal and gave her views on the effectiveness of the organization over the years.
Chief correspondents include James McBride Dabbs, Courtney Siceloff, and John Gadsen.
Folder 970-977
Folder 970Folder 971Folder 972Folder 973Folder 974Folder 975Folder 976Folder 977 |
Correspondence, 1964-1977 |
Folder 978-981
Folder 978Folder 979Folder 980Folder 981 |
Community Development, 1966-1969 |
Folder 982 |
Multi-racial Corporation Review, 1969 |
Folder 983 |
Newsletters |
Folder 984 |
Miscellaneous and undated materials |
North Carolina's startling rejection rate (14%) of draftees in World War II because of mental illness or mental retardation led some researchers to conduct studies of the mental capabilities of North Carolinians. One such study, "Efficiency of Group Tests of Intelligence in Discovering the Mental Deficient," was commissioned by James G. Hanes of Winston-Salem in 1947. This study was carried out by A. M. Jordan of University of North Carolina in the Winston-Salem public schools. The results of this study, and a few others like it, led Hanes to create the Human Betterment League, which initially sought to limit the population among the "least fit" by promting eugenic sterilization and educating the public about the causes and prevention of mental illnesses and disabilities. Later the League stressed its role in "population policy" and "fertility control," supporting the use of abortions and contraception. Still later it sought to promote genetic counseling. In 1984, the League changed its name to the Human Genetics League of North Carolina.
The League produced two films: "Windsong" (1971), which promoted contraception and family planning and won a gold medal in the health and social welfare category of the International Film and TV Festival of New York, and "Wednesday's Child" (1975), which discussed hereditary defects.
Johnson joined the League in 1957 and served as its president in 1965-1967.
Included are minutes, agendas and announcements of board meetings, and fundraising materials. Correspondence details the working of the League and its projects, such as the speech at the League's 20th anniversary celebration Alan Guttmacher, president of Planned Parenthood Worldwide, 1967; production of "Windsong," 1969-71; planning a seminar on genetic counseling, 1974; and recognition of Marion (Mrs. J. Howard) Moser of Winston-Salem, longtime executive director of the League, 1977. Marion Moser was a close friend of Johnson's, and there are many letters from Moser to Johnson detailing the work of the League. Beginning in 1977, the principal correspondent is Kate Garner of Greensboro.
Folder 985-992
Folder 985Folder 986Folder 987Folder 988Folder 989Folder 990Folder 991Folder 992 |
Correspondence, 1957-1987 and undated |
Folder 993-994
Folder 993Folder 994 |
Minutes, 1958-1987 |
Folder 995 |
Financial materials |
Folder 996 |
Governing documents |
Folder 997 |
Membership lists |
Folder 998 |
Conferences |
Folder 999 |
Reports |
Folder 1000 |
Awards |
Folder 1001 |
Clippings |
Folder 1002 |
Promotional pieces |
Folder 1003 |
"Windsong" promotional materials |
Folder 1004 |
"Folksong" script |
Folder 1005 |
Newsletters |
Folder 1006 |
Miscellaneous printed materials |
In 1945, Johnson was asked to serve a three-year term on the National Publicity Council (NPC), at the time the "only agency serving both the social work and public health fields from a central office ... and the only agency whose sole interest [was] in stimulating and instructing social workers and health workers in their efforts to make social and health problems--and the agencies dealing with them--better understood by the public." Johnson was chair of NPC's board of directors in 1948.
Correspondence deals primarily with board meetings, the composition of the board, NPC's financial problems, and fundraising. Also included are issues of the NPC newsletter Channels, which carried social welfare and public health news from around the nation. The principal correspondent was Sallie Bright, executive director of the Council. Although there are some materials dated after 1950, most of Johnson's personal dealings with the Council ceased in 1950.
Folder 1007-1017
Folder 1007Folder 1008Folder 1009Folder 1010Folder 1011Folder 1012Folder 1013Folder 1014Folder 1015Folder 1016Folder 1017 |
Correspondence, 1945-1954 |
Folder 1018-1019
Folder 1018Folder 1019 |
Channels, 1948-1951 |
Folder 1020 |
General information |
Founded in 1945, the National Social Welfare Assembly worked to coordinate efforts of local, state, and regional welfare agencies. Included are copies of The Assembly Letter, the Assembly's newsletter that carried social welfare information from around the nation. Among the pamphlets of speeches is Arthur J. Altmeyer's 1951 "Some Issues Facing Social Welfare." Reports cover such topics as "The Relation of National Agencies to Local Community Groups," "The Use of Case Aids in Casework Agencies," and "Young Children Today." There are also summaries and appraisals of Assembly workshops. In 1955, the Assembly published"Report from Washington," an accounting of its first ten years.
Folder 1021 |
Constitution and bylaws |
Folder 1022 |
1948-1950 |
Folder 1023 |
1951-1953 |
Folder 1024 |
1954-1961 |
Folder 1025 |
1962-1965 |
Folder 1026 |
1966-1973 |
Folder 1027 |
"Report from Washington," 1969-1970 |
Johnson joined the board of directors of the North Carolina Society for the Prevention of Blindness in 1967. In 1969, she became chair of the Program Committee and increased her efforts in assembling volunteers to screen schoolchildren's eyes. In 1973, she was chair of the Nominating Committee and was responsible for the board selection process. The following year she headed the Award Committee, which presented a silver pitcher to the service organization that conducted the most valuable screening project. Johnson's service on the board ended in 1978.
Principal correspondents include presidents of the society Darrell Morse and H. C. Bradshaw and executive director Judy Nooney.
Folder 1028-1039
Folder 1028Folder 1029Folder 1030Folder 1031Folder 1032Folder 1033Folder 1034Folder 1035Folder 1036Folder 1037Folder 1038Folder 1039 |
Correspondence, 1967-1978 and undated |
Folder 1040 |
Pre-school vision screening reports |
Folder 1041 |
Pre-school vision screening reports |
Organized in 1953 in cooperation with the Southeastern Adult Education Association, the North Carolina Adult Education Committee (NCAEC) was also affiliated with the National Education Association. NCAEC was designed to improve communication between groups and individuals interested in adult education in the state and in the region. Beginning in 1954, NCAEC sponsored state-wide conferences involving individuals from many types of adult education organizations: public libraries, university extension programs, civic organizations, health clinics. Hoyt R. Galvin, director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg libraries, appears to have been NCAEC's chief proponent.
Johnson was an early, if fairly inactive member of the organization, which was loosely organized and directed by a small executive committee. The bulk of the materials are dated 1953-1956.
Folder 1042 |
1948-1955 |
Folder 1043 |
1956-1957 |
Folder 1044 |
1958-1966 |
Folder 1045 |
Governing documents |
Folder 1046-1047
Folder 1046Folder 1047 |
Printed materials |
In 1950, Johnson spoke to the Virginia Student YWCA meeting, and, eight years later, she led sessions dealing with intergroup relations and possible integration in the Kentucky-Tennessee and the Oklahoma Y-Teen Summer Conferences. In 1960, Johnson joined the Advisory Committee of the Regional Southern YWCA, which was primarily involved in long-range planning. Lack of travel funds resulted in her being replaced on the Advisory Committee in 1962.
Materials include conference agendas; evaluation sheets; letters to and from planners of the Y-Teen conferences; samples of fundraising letters; conference newsletters; lists of participants; and a few pamphlets and brochures, including one entitled "The Interracial Charter and Related Policy [of the YWCA]." Principal correspondents include Florence Harris of Atlanta and Charlotte D. Nicoll of Houston, members of the Southern Region field staff; Ruth Henderson of New York, national coordinator of leadership services; and Julia F. Allen of the Southern Regional office staff.
Folder 1048 |
1950; 1953 |
Folder 1049-1051
Folder 1049Folder 1050Folder 1051 |
1958 |
Folder 1052 |
1959 |
Folder 1053 |
1960 |
Folder 1054 |
1961 |
Folder 1055 |
1962 |
Folder 1056 |
Miscellaneous |
Following up on the 1948 White House Conference on the Family, members of the North Carolina delegation held a state conference on the family. At this meeting, it was decided that a state organization in the interest of better family living should be organized. Johnson wrote the constitution and bylaws for this organization. Planning materials for the first three annual state-wide conferences; correspondence relating to the constitution, bylaws, and choosing executive board members for 1950; and a few newsletters form the bulk of these materials. There are very few items following 1950. Principal correspondents include Gladys H. Groves, Marvin Vick, Jr., Catherine T. Dennis, and Corrine J. Grimsley.
Folder 1057-1061
Folder 1057Folder 1058Folder 1059Folder 1060Folder 1061 |
Correspondence, 1948-1952, 1954-1957, 1962-1963 |
Folder 1061 |
Printed materials |
Folder 1062 |
Miscellaneous and undated |
Johnson was invited to join the Historical Society of North Carolina in 1948. In 1958, she served on the Nominating Committee and, in 1962-63, as vice-president. By 1981, she had taken emeritus member status. In 1961, Johnson was asked to prepare the Society's memorial to Hope Sumerell Chamberlain, and, in 1986, she did the same for Julia Cherry Spruill.
Included are announcements of meetings, lists of persons nominated for membership, membership rolls, meeting agendas, minutes of meetings, and a few copies of other member memorials.
Folder 1063 |
1948-1958 |
Folder 1064 |
1961-1969 |
Folder 1065 |
1970-1979 |
Folder 1066 |
1980-1985 |
Folder 1067 |
1986-1987 |
Folder 1068 |
Constitution |
Johnson's served as a judge for the North Carolina Society of County and Local Historians' Robert Bruce Cooke Memorial Award in 1974. The award was presented to "writers interested in genealogy and the contributions of North Carolina families." The 1974 winner was Charles Richard Sander's The Cameron Plantation in Central North Carolina (1776-1973) and Its Founder Richard Bennehan . Correspondence is chiefly with Society Secretary Margaret McMaham.
Folder 1069 |
North Carolina Society of County and Local Historians |
Johnson appears to have been a member of this group. Included are letters announcing meetings of the Society and The North Carolina Historical Review subscription information.
Folder 1070 |
North Carolina Literary and Historical Society |
Johnson appears to have been a member of this group. Included are two letters, one in 1973 from the Mecklenburg Historical Association seeking matching funds from the state legislature to carry out local history society projects and the other in 1986 from the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources concerning the Historic Sites Needs Survey.
Folder 1071 |
Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies |
Johnson was a member of the Chapel Hill Community Council, which was involved in coordinating various group projects and promoting such activities as establishing a public library, investigating school finances, and organizing combined charity fundraising in the town. Included are newsletters, minutes, and meeting notices.
Folder 1072 |
Chapel Hill Community Council |
Founded in 1972, by Helena Kyle, president of the Chapel Hill AAUW, the Chapel Hill Council of Women's Organizations (CHCWO) sought to coordinate efforts among local women's groups. CHCWO held Fall Forums with topics like "New Economic Values--Women at Work at Home and at Work in Business" and T"his Business of Volunteerism". It also sponsored an Outstanding Woman Citizen Award (Johnson was the first recipient in 1974) and the Home Assister Service, an in-home assistance service for older adults, which eventually became an independent organization.
Johnson served on CHCWO's executive board primarily in an advisory capacity. Correspondence is almost exclusively with Kyle. Later materials deal primarily with the Assister Service.
Folder 1073 |
1972-1974 |
Folder 1074 |
1975-1978 |
Folder 1075 |
1979 |
Folder 1076 |
1980-1982 |
Folder 1077 |
1983-1985 |
Folder 1078 |
Constitutions |
Folder 1079 |
Directories |
Folder 1080 |
Home Assister Service |
Folder 1081 |
Miscellaneous |
The Chapel Hill League of Women Voters was founded in 1948. Johnson was selected the following year as the Chapel Hill representative in the founding of the state League. She also was chosen to chair the committee responsible for writing the first League Handbook on state government. She resigned from these positions when to work on Frank Porter Graham 1950 United States Senate campaign. League materials mainly concern her brief role as chair of the handbook committee.
Folder 1082 |
1948-1950 |
Folder 1083 |
1952-1962 |
Folder 1084 |
Undated |
Folder 1085 |
Handbook on North Carolina government |
Materials from various organizations with which Johnson had a direct, but minor, affiliation or that worked in areas of interest to her. Included are publicity materials of the National Woman's Party that date from the period following the achievement of women's suffrage. Other materials pertain to various women's organizations and governmental departments. Also included are a few documents relating to women at University of North Carolina.
Materials from Greek organizations are divided among social organizations and honor/professional societies. Note that materials relating to her long association with Chi Omega Fraternity for Women can be found in Series 3.
Johnson served on the University of North Carolina Advisory Committee on Sororities for many years. Correspondence includes letters from Dean of Women Katherine Carmichael, who was secretary of the Advisory Committee.
Materials from the University of North Carolina Panhellenic Council include correspondence, minutes, membership lists, rules and regulations, financial information, new chapter requests, and lists of academic ratings of the different fraternities and sororities. Some materials relate a food co-op run through a trade association comprised of Greek organizations with Johnson serving as a committee member. There are also items about Johnson's being honored by the Hellanas Society in 1968 for her contributions to Greek life.
Some materials discuss the consumption of alcohol at fraternities. There are also letters from the mid-1960s concerning discrimination in the fraternity/sorority system and materials that Johnson collected about problems of discrimination/segregation within the Greek system, including a legal review of a racial discrimination case in 1953 against Phi Sigma Kappa in which the faculty voted for expulsion of the fraternity because of their treatment of an African American pledge. There is also correspondence from Sigma Chi concerning desegregation and materials from a "bias clause" discrimination suit involving Sigma Chi's "whites only" policy. Edgewater Conference materials relate to the Conference's mission to prevent the spread of communism into the society, which may have been an effort to derail desegregation efforts in fraternities and sororities.
In 1955, Johnson was awarded honorary membership in Delta Kappa Gamma, a National Honor Society for Women Teachers. Correspondence from President Catherine Dennis details the invitation for induction. Other materials in the Delta Kappa Gamma files include numerous congratulatory letters to Johnson, invitations for speaking engagements, directories, newsletters, and convention information.
Johnson was also a member of Theta Sigma Phi, a professional organization for women journalists; Phi Beta Kappa; and the University of North Carolina Valkyries, a service organization with members from all areas of University life
Folder 1133 |
Delta Kappa Gamma, 1954-1959 |
Folder 1134 |
Delta Kappa Gamma, 1960-1969 |
Folder 1135 |
Delta Kappa Gamma, 1970-1979 |
Folder 1136 |
Delta Kappa Gamma, 1980-1986 |
Folder 1137 |
Theta Sigma Phi |
Folder 1138 |
Phi Beta Kappa |
Folder 1139 |
University of North Carolina Valkyries |
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence, writings, drafts, research notes, and other materials relating to Johnson's writings. Most items relate to Social History of the Sea Islands (1930); Antebellum North Carolina (1937), which began as her doctoral dissertation; and Volunteers in Community Service (1967), which was sponsored by the North Carolina Council of Women's Organizations (see also Series 6).
For newspaper articles by Johnson, see Series 16.
Folder 1140 |
Article on Eli Moore Townsend, 1923 (for The United Statements). |
Folder 1141 |
"Laundry Wages of Women," 1923 (for The National Laundry Journal). |
Folder 1142-1144
Folder 1142Folder 1143Folder 1144 |
"The Press as a Social Force," 1924-1925Research begun, but not completed for doctorate in sociology at University of North Carolina. |
Folder 1145 |
"Feminism and the Economic Independence of Woman," 1925Term paper that won the Chi Omega Sociology award; published in Social Forces). |
Folder 1146 |
"The Monroe Doctrine and the Panama Congress," 1926Term paper written for History 68 at University of North Carolina and later published in a volume of the James Sprunt Historical Studies edited by W. Whatley Person. |
Folder 1147 |
"Secession in North Carolina," 1927 (term paper written for History 56 at University of North Carolina). |
Folder 1148 |
"Social History of the American Family," 1928Bbook with correspondence and a contract, but with no indication that it was ever completed or published. |
Folder 1149 |
"The Social Conditions of the Tidewater Region of the South, 1783-1815," 1920s. |
Folder 1150-1160
Folder 1150Folder 1151Folder 1152Folder 1153Folder 1154Folder 1155Folder 1156Folder 1157Folder 1158Folder 1159Folder 1160 |
A Social History of the Sea Islands, 1930Book resulting from Institute for Research in Social Sciences study of St. Helena Island, S.C. |
Folder 1161-1198
Folder 1161Folder 1162Folder 1163Folder 1164Folder 1165Folder 1166Folder 1167Folder 1168Folder 1169Folder 1170Folder 1171Folder 1172Folder 1173Folder 1174Folder 1175Folder 1176Folder 1177Folder 1178Folder 1179Folder 1180Folder 1181Folder 1182Folder 1183Folder 1184Folder 1185Folder 1186Folder 1187Folder 1188Folder 1189Folder 1190Folder 1191Folder 1192Folder 1193Folder 1194Folder 1195Folder 1196Folder 1197Folder 1198 |
Antebellum North Carolina, A Social History, 1937 (book begun as doctoral dissertation in History at University of North Carolina; see subseries 11.2 for research notes). |
Folder 1199 |
"Impact of the War on the Negro," 1941Essay based on research funded by the Carnegie Corporation and headed by Gunnar Myrdal. |
Folder 1200 |
Review of Thomas Spalding of Sapelo, 1941 (for The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography). |
Folder 1201 |
Review of Cultural Life in Nashville on the Eve of the Civil War, 1941For the American Association of Political and Social Science. |
Folder 1202 |
Review of An Appraisal of the Negro in Colonial South Carolina, 1942For the Journal of Southern History. |
Folder 1203 |
Review of Intimate Virginia: A Century of Maury Travels, 1942. |
Folder 1204 |
Review of Guinea's Captive Kings: British Anti-Slavery Literature, 1942. |
Folder 1205 |
Review of Songs of Yesterday, 1942For the North Carolina Historical Review. |
Folder 1206 |
Review of The Negro in Our History, 1942 (for The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography). |
Folder 1207 |
"Community Planning--A Challenge and a Responsibility," 1945Essay written while director of the Georgia Conference on Social Welfare. |
Folder 1208 |
"The Ideology of White Supremacy," 1949Essay based on "Racial Ideologies" research published in Essays in Southern History, edited by Fletcher M. Green. |
Folder 1209 |
Review of The Colonial Records of South Carolina, the Journal of the Commons House of Legislature, November 10, 1736-June 7, 1739 , 1952 (for the Journal of Southern History). |
Folder 1210 |
Review of The Colonial Records of South Carolina, the Journal of the Commons House of Legislature, September 12, 1739-March 26, 1741 , 1952 (for the Journal of Southern History). |
Folder 1211 |
Review of The Colonial Records of South Carolina, the Journal of the Commons House of Legislature, May 18, 1741-July 10, 1742 , 1953For the Journal of Southern History |
Folder 1212 |
Review of The Colonial Records of South Carolina, the Journal of the Commons House of Legislature, September 14, 1742-June 27, 1744 , 1954For the Journal of Southern History |
Folder 1213 |
Review of The Colonial Records of South Carolina, The Journal of the Commons House of Legislature, February 20, 1744-May 25, 1745 , 1955For the Journal of Southern History |
Folder 1214 |
Review of The Colonial Records of South Carolina, the Journal of the Commons House of Legislature, September 10, 1745-June 17, 1746 , 1957For the Journal of Southern History |
Folder 1215 |
Review of The Colonial Records of South Carolina, the Journal of the Commons House of Legislature, September 10, 1746-June 13, 1747 , 1958For the Journal of Southern History |
Folder 1216-1217
Folder 1216Folder 1217 |
"Southern Paternalism Toward the Negro, 1870-1914," 1956Essay based on "Racial Ideologies" research; published in the Journal of Southern History. |
Folder 1218 |
"The Changing Status of the Negro," 1958Essay published in The Journal of the American Association of University Women. |
Folder 1219 |
"The Quiet Revolution: Integration in Institutions of Higher Learning," 1959 (essay published in The Journal of the American Association of University Women). |
Folder 1220 |
Series of articles on Hawaii, 1959Written while on a two-month visit; not published. |
Folder 1221 |
"International Christian University," 1959Article written from Japan for The Durham Morning Herald. |
Folder 1222 |
"Hope Summerell Chamberlain," 1961Memorial delivered to the North Carolina Historical Society. |
Folder 1223 |
Review of Seeds of Southern Change, the Life of Will Alexander, 1962For the Journal of Negro Education. |
Folder 1224 |
"Human Relations in a Changing Society," 1963For The AAUW Journal. |
Folder 1225 |
"Voluntary Organizations," 1964. |
Folder 1226 |
"Living with Tension," 1964For The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin. |
Folder 1227 |
"The Changing Status of the Southern Woman," 1964Chapter in Continuity and Change in the South, edited by Edgar Thompson and John C. McKinney of Duke University. |
Folder 1228 |
"The Swazi," 1965Term paper written for Social Work 232, "Community Organization," at University of North Carolina. |
Folder 1229-1272
Folder 1229Folder 1230Folder 1231Folder 1232Folder 1233Folder 1234Folder 1235Folder 1236Folder 1237Folder 1238Folder 1239Folder 1240Folder 1241Folder 1242Folder 1243Folder 1244Folder 1245Folder 1246Folder 1247Folder 1248Folder 1249Folder 1250Folder 1251Folder 1252Folder 1253Folder 1254Folder 1255Folder 1256Folder 1257Folder 1258Folder 1259Folder 1260Folder 1261Folder 1262Folder 1263Folder 1264Folder 1265Folder 1266Folder 1267Folder 1268Folder 1269Folder 1270Folder 1271Folder 1272 |
Volunteers in Community Service, 1967Research conducted by the North Carolina Council of Women's Organizations and funded by the North Carolina Fund. |
Folder 1273 |
Review of Medicine in North Carolina. 1973For the North Carolina Historical Review. |
Folder 1274 |
"Bicentennial Commentary," 1976Observations and comments for radio broadcast. |
Folder 1275 |
"A Brief History of the Griffis Family," 1980For dedication of a memorial to Wilson Shannon and Sarah Ann Clemons Griffis at Wolfe City, Tex. |
Folder 1276-1277
Folder 1276Folder 1277 |
"My Exploration of the Southern Experience," 1980Address at annual meeting of North Carolina Literary and Historical Society; published in the North Carolina Historical Review. |
Folder 1278-1281
Folder 1278Folder 1279Folder 1280Folder 1281 |
Research in Service to Society: The First Fifty Years of the Institute for Research in Social Science at the University of North Carolina , 1980Book written with Guy Benton Johnson. |
Folder 1282 |
Review of Praise the Bridge that Carries You Over, 1981For the North Carolina Historical Review. |
Folder 1283 |
"The Landless People of Antebellum North Carolina," 1982Speech delivered at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies; published in Carolina Comment. |
Folder 1284-1285
Folder 1284Folder 1285 |
"Antebellum Onslow County," 1982Lecture delivered in celebration of the Swansboro, N.C., Bicentennial. |
Folder 1286 |
Review of The Way We Lived in North Carolina, 1983For the North Carolina Historical Review. |
Folder 1287 |
Review of Hope and Dignity: Older Black Women of the South, 1983For the Temple University Press. |
Folder 1288 |
"Julia Cherry Spruill," 1986Memorial delivered to the North Carolina Historical Society. |
Folder 1289 |
"The Role of Women's Organizations in the Community Service Program," undated. |
Folder 1290 |
"A Summary of the History of American Labor," undated. |
Folder 1291 |
"The New Deal," undated. |
Folder 1292 |
"The Development of Government Regulation of Business," undated. |
Folder 1293 |
"A Brief Survey of Race Mixing in Colonial Spanish America," undated. |
Folder 1294 |
"On the Right Side of History: Women's Organizations in North Carolina," undated. |
Folder 1295 |
"Racial Differences," undated. |
Folder 1296-1297
Folder 1296Folder 1297 |
"Charles Sumner," undated (extensive notes and research materials). |
Folder 1298 |
"A Town Without a Beggar," undated. |
Folder 1299 |
"Birth Control Movement in the United States," undated. |
Folder 1300 |
Review of Marcus Alonzo Hanna, His Life and Work, undated. |
Folder 1301 |
Miscellaneous writings, undated. |
A sampling of notes, clippings, surveys, court briefs, newspaper articles, and other materials relating to antebellum North Carolina. Topics include slavery, customs, religion, crime, and manufacturing. Some biographies are also included.
Folder 1302-1325
Folder 1302Folder 1303Folder 1304Folder 1305Folder 1306Folder 1307Folder 1308Folder 1309Folder 1310Folder 1311Folder 1312Folder 1313Folder 1314Folder 1315Folder 1316Folder 1317Folder 1318Folder 1319Folder 1320Folder 1321Folder 1322Folder 1323Folder 1324Folder 1325 |
Antebellum North Carolina research notes |
Writings collected by Johnson. Topics include race, community, Latin America, Lutheranism, and Catholic educational integration in 1953. Included is the poem, author unknown, that Louise Ballard sent to Johnson in 1951. The poem is included in this inventory's the biographical note.
Folder 1326-1327
Folder 1326Folder 1327 |
Writings by others |
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence, drafts, and research materials relating to Johnson's many speaking engagements. The materials filed here were identified by Johnson under the heading "Speeches." Other items dealing with her speaking engagements are scattered throughout the collection, especially in Series 16. A small number of speeches by others appear in subseries 12.4.
Arrangement: loosely chronological by delivery date.
Correspondence, notes, programs, and publicity materials related to Johnson's speaking engagements.
Folder 1328 |
1940-1949 |
Folder 1329 |
1950-1951 |
Folder 1330 |
1952-1954 |
Folder 1331 |
1955 |
Folder 1332 |
1956-May 1957 |
Folder 1333 |
June 1957-November 1957 |
Folder 1334 |
1958-April 1961 |
Folder 1335 |
May 1961-September 1961 |
Folder 1336 |
October 1961 |
Folder 1337 |
1962 |
Folder 1338 |
1963 |
Folder 1339 |
1964-1967 |
Folder 1340 |
1968-1969 |
Folder 1341 |
1970-1975 |
Folder 1342 |
1976-1978 |
Folder 1343 |
1979-1985 |
Arrangement: chronological.
Texts and/or drafts of speeches given by Johnson over a period of five decades, but especially in the late-1950s to the mid-1960s. Dates appear when known.
Outlines, bibliographies, correspondence, publicity materials, and other materials relating to a speech/lecture Johnson gave as part of the 200th anniversary celebration of the town of Swansboro, N.C. Also included is a videotape of the speech.
Folder 1425-1426
Folder 1425Folder 1426 |
Swansboro lectures |
Videotape VT-4546/1 |
200th anniversary speech |
Speeches by local and national figures that were collected by Johnson. General topics include education, international relations, women's groups, community, equal opportunity, law, and the South.
Folder 1427 |
Speeches by others |
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Materials collected by Johnson on various subject. Included are a large number of documents from Johnson's research on racial integration in schools, among them summaries of interviews with college students and faculty concerning their experiences with and opinions on school integration. Also included are materials on volunteerism and on social problems, especially poverty.
Materials from Johnson's years as a student at University of North Carolina as an instructor at University of North Carolina, 1943-44, and at Pembroke State College, 1948-1949 (summer sessions).
Johnson was a graduate student, 1924-1927, completing her Ph.D. in sociology with a minor in history. Included are lecture notes, examinations, papers, and bibliographies. There is also some correspondence between Johnson and the chairs of the history and government departments about fulfilling requirements for her history minor.
Johnson taught courses in Naval History, 1943-1944, under the V-12 program instituted during World War II. She also taught classes at Pembroke State College during the 1948 and 1949 summer sessions. Also included is information from a course in the Department of Public Health at University of North Carolina that Johnson may have taught.
Folder 1498 |
Naval History |
Folder 1499-1501
Folder 1499Folder 1500Folder 1501 |
Pembroke State College: North Carolina History |
Folder 1502-1506
Folder 1502Folder 1503Folder 1504Folder 1505Folder 1506 |
Pembroke State College: Rural Sociology |
Folder 1507 |
Pembroke State College: The Family: Miscellaneous |
Folder 1508 |
Public Health 210 |
Folder 1509 |
Miscellaneous |
Materials include a copy of a family history ledger from the late 1800s that records the birthdates of members of the Griffis family from the 18th century through the end of the 19th century. Also included are copies of pages from a diary that Johnson's mother, Elizabeth Griffis, wrote in the late 1950s, which contains a brief history of the family beginning in the late 1800s. Other family documents include birth records, financial information, medical records, diplomas, and obituaries.
Also included are copies of curriculum vitae and biographical sketches of Johnson, Guy Johnson, and others. Of special interest is "The Girl Graduate: Her Own Book," Johnson's 1923 scrapbook from Mary-Hardin Baylor College, which contains materials relating to Johnson's college career and to her courtship with Guy Johnson. There are also transcripts of interviews with Guion and Guy Johnson that were done by the Southern Oral History Program, University of North Carolina-CH.
Arrangement: chronological.
Among the clippings, 1922-1925 and a few in the 1930s, are articles on a wide variety of subjects that Johnson wrote for the Houston Chronicle, the Waco Times, the San Antonio Express, and other papers during her years as a news reporter in Texas. (See also Series 11. Writings and Series 12. Speeches.)
Beginning in the 1940s, there are a great number of clippings Johnson collected, particularly on relating to the nascent civil rights movement and specific racial problems. Other topics, 1941-1945, include the War Price and Rationing Board (see Subseries 4.1) on which Johnson served, Victory gardens, and announcements of Johnson's speaking engagements (see also Series 12). Most early-1940s clippings are from North Carolina newspapers; clippings, 1946-1947, are largely from newspapers in Atlanta where Johnson was then living. Many clippings from the late 1940s concern desegregation, racial problems, and juvenile delinquency.
In the 1950s, most clippings relate to school desegregation. Included is an article, dated 6 June 1954, by Guy Johnson on the full implementation of desegregation plans.
Few articles were clipped between 1959 and 1962 when Johnson was often in Africa. Beginning in the mid-1960s, clippings focus on the civil rights movement and on elements of the War on Poverty, including the Job Corps, housing improvements, Head Start, and the Experiment for Self-Reliance.
Towards the end of the 1960s and the beginning of 1970s, the focus of the clippings shifts to the growing women's movement. There are also articles on the family and on health care. The volume of clippings decreases beginning in the mid-1970s, with most items relating to events in Africa and to women's issues.
Folder 1537 |
1873 |
Folder 1538 |
1922 |
Folder 1539 |
1923 |
Folder 1540 |
1924 |
Folder 1541 |
1925 |
Folder 1542 |
1933 |
Folder 1543 |
1936 |
Folder 1544 |
1938 |
Folder 1545 |
1940 |
Folder 1546 |
1941 |
Folder 1547 |
1942 |
Folder 1548 |
1943 |
Folder 1549 |
1944 |
Folder 1550 |
1945 |
Folder 1551 |
1946 |
Folder 1552 |
1947 |
Folder 1553 |
1948 |
Folder 1554 |
1949; undated 1940s |
Folder 1555 |
1950 |
Folder 1556 |
1951 |
Folder 1557 |
1952 |
Folder 1558 |
1953 |
Folder 1559 |
1954 |
Folder 1560-1561
Folder 1560Folder 1561 |
1955 |
Folder 1562-1563
Folder 1562Folder 1563 |
1956 |
Folder 1564-1565
Folder 1564Folder 1565 |
1957 |
Folder 1566 |
1958 |
Folder 1567 |
1959 |
Folder 1568 |
1960 |
Folder 1569 |
1961 |
Folder 1570 |
1962 |
Folder 1571 |
1963 |
Folder 1572 |
1964 |
Folder 1573 |
1965 |
Folder 1574-1575
Folder 1574Folder 1575 |
1966 |
Folder 1576 |
1967 |
Folder 1577 |
1968 |
Folder 1578 |
1969 |
Folder 1579 |
1970 |
Folder 1580 |
1971 |
Folder 1581 |
1972 |
Folder 1582 |
1973 |
Folder 1583 |
1974 |
Folder 1584 |
1975 |
Folder 1585 |
1976 |
Folder 1586 |
1977 |
Folder 1587 |
1978 |
Folder 1588 |
1979 |
Folder 1589 |
1980 |
Folder 1590 |
1981 |
Folder 1591 |
1982 |
Folder 1592 |
1983 |
Folder 1593 |
1984 |
Folder 1594 |
1985 |
Folder 1595 |
1986 |
Folder 1596 |
Undated |
Arrangement: chronological.
Image Folder PF-4546/1-2
PF-4546/1PF-4546/2 |
Family photographs, 1900-1982 and undated |
Image Folder PF-4546/3-5
PF-4546/3PF-4546/4PF-4546/5 |
Club, organization, and activity photographs, 1943-1982 and undated |
Image Folder PF-4546/6-7
PF-4546/6PF-4546/7 |
Miscellaneous photographs, 1957-1982 and undated |
Oversize Image Folder OP-PF-4546/1 |
University of North Carolina |