]
]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Expand/collapse
Collection Overview
| Size | 1.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 900 items) |
| Abstract | James A. Felton was an author, teacher, counselor, and civic leader in Hertford County, N.C. In the 1960s, he was a founder of the People's Program on Poverty, an African American organization created to study and fight poverty on the grass-roots level in northeastern North Carolina. Felton was also instrumental in the restoration and establishment of the C. S. Brown Regional Cultural Arts Center and Museum, which opened in Winton, N.C., in 1986. In 1947, Felton married Annie Vaughan. The collection contains correspondence; programs for meetings and events held by educational, religious, and civic organizations; and newspaper clippings describing James A. Felton's civic contributions in Hertford County, N.C. Best documented are activities related to the C. S. Brown Regional Cultural Arts Center and Museum in Winton, N.C., and the People's Program on Poverty. Also included are a short biography of Annie Vaughan Felton and some materials that she collected after her husband's death. Photographs show James A. Felton throughout his adult life with his family, his colleagues, and his students at the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Training Center. The Addition of August 2014 consists of personal and professional papers of James A. Felton and Annie Vaughan Felton, chiefly relating to civic engagments, including the C. S. Brown Cultural Arts Center and Museum, People's Program on Poverty, the North Carolina Family Life Council, and the Montford Point Marine Association, a non profit veterans association. Documents include correspondence, sermons, event programs, photographs, reports, and newsletters. |
| Creator | Felton, James A. (James Andrew), 1919-1994.
Felton, Annie Vaughan. |
| Language | English |
Expand/collapse
Information For Users
Expand/collapse
Subject Headings
The 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.
Expand/collapse
Biographical Information
James Andrew Felton was born on 6 July 1919 in Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C. After spending almost three years in the United States Marine Corps as a member of the Montford Point Marines, he earned his B.S. from Elizabeth City State Teachers College (now Elizabeth City State University) and his M.A. from North Carolina College at Durham (now North Carolina Central University). He taught in the Greene and Hertford County school systems for 20 years, and, in 1965 he published Fruits of Enduring Faith, a story that dramatizes the human issues behind the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In the mid-1960s, Felton and Reverend John L. Scott of New Ahoskie Baptist Church formed the People's Program on Poverty, an African American organization created to study and fight poverty on the grass-roots level. Through his work in this program, Felton founded the first Family Training Center in the United States. During this time, he was also actively involved in organizations such as the President's Commission on Rural Poverty, the North Carolina Family Life Council, and a local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
In 1980, Felton established the C. S. Brown School Auditorium Restoration Association to restore Brown Hall, a building that had been part of the campus of Chowan Academy, an African American school founded in 1886 by Calvin Scott Brown. The C. S. Brown Regional Cultural Arts Center and Museum in Winton, N.C., opened in 1986.
James A. Felton married Annie Vaughan on 3 August 1947. They had six children: James Andrew, Jr., Keith, Maria, Sharon, Michele, and Camilla. James A. Felton died in Winton, N.C., on 6 October 1994.
For additional information about James A. Felton, see Who's Who Among Black Americans, 1st edition, 1975-1976.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Scope and Content
The collection consists of materials documenting teacher and community activist James A. Felton's life, focusing on his civic activities and achievements, especially those related to the C. S. Brown Regional Cultural Arts Center and Museum and the People's Program on Poverty. It includes correspondence; programs for meetings and events held by educational, religious, and civic organizations; and newspaper clippings describing Felton's civic contributions in Hertford County, N.C. Also included are a short biography of Annie Vaughan Felton and some materials that she collected after her husband's death. Photographs show James A. Felton throughout his adult life with his family, his colleagues, and his students at the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Training Center. The Addition of August 2014 consists of personal and professional papers of James A. Felton and Annie Vaughan Felton, chiefly relating to civic engagments, including the C. S. Brown Cultural Arts Center and Museum, People's Program on Poverty, the North Carolina Family Life Council, and the Montford Point Marines. Documents include correspondence, sermons, event programs, photographs, reports, and newsletters.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Series Quick Links
Expand/collapse
Series 1. Papers, 1938-2003.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Letters, certificates, programs, and newspaper clippings documenting James A. Felton's civic activities. The papers also include a short biography of Annie Vaughan Felton and some materials that she collected after her husband's death.
The videotapes include a tape of C. S. Brown Cultural Arts Center documentation; a tape of James A. Felton's funeral, 1994; and a tape of the highway dedication for James A. Felton, Winton, N.C., 22 May 1998.
Expand/collapse
Series 2. Pictures, late 1930s-1998.
Photographs of James A. Felton throughout his adult life. They show him with his family, his colleagues, and his students at the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Training Center. In addition, several photos show the highway dedication and street naming ceremonies honoring Felton after his death.
Expand/collapse
Additions
Expand/collapse
Addition of August 2014
Arrangement: alphabetical.
The Addition of August 2014 consists of personal and professional papers of James A. Felton and Annie Vaughan Felton, chiefly relating to civic engagments, including the C. S. Brown Cultural Arts Center and Museum, People's Program on Poverty, the North Carolina Family Life Council, and the Montford Point Marine Association. Documents include correspondence, sermons, event programs, photographs, reports, and newsletters.
Expand/collapse
Items Separated
Processed by: Elise Allison, March 2005
Encoded by: Elise Allison, March 2005
Finding aid updated in September 2015 by Jodi Berkowitz because of addition.
Back to Top