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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.
Size | 12.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 6000 items) |
Abstract | The Lee family is an African American family with roots in Caswell County, N.C. The collection documents multiple generations of the Lee family, including J. Kenneth Lee (1923- ), and Dr. Winona L. (Lee) Fletcher (1926- ), and their siblings. J. Kenneth Lee is a lawyer in Greensboro, N.C., and was one of the first two African American students to attend the School of Law at the University of North Carolina in 1951. Dr. Winona L. Fletcher is a theater educator and professional and a family historian. The collection includes biographical information about family members, especially research and supplementary materials for the publication of two Lee family books: No Way: Memoirs of J. Kenneth Lee and Offshoots: The H. F. Lee Family Book. Winona L. Fletcher's career in theater, J. Kenneth Lee's career in law, and Olivia Fletcher Baylor's childhood and adolescence are also documented. Materials include correspondence, photographs, oral histories and other recordings of family stories, funeral programs, news clippings, family member profiles, and printed materials. |
Creator | Lee (Family : Caswell County, N.C.) |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Encoded by: Amanda Loeb, July 2015
Revisions by: Jodi Berkowitz, October 2016; Amy Morgan and Jodi Berkowitz, March 2019; Nancy Kaiser and Patrick Cullom, September 2019; Dawne Howard Lucas, February 2022; Rebecca Stubbs and Laura Smith, November 2023
Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
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.
The Lee family is an African American family with roots in Caswell County, N.C. Members of the Lee family include J. Kenneth Lee (1923- ) and Dr. Winona Evelyn Lee Fletcher (1926- ), as well as their siblings, Alvis Lee (1916-2004), Ann Lee (1918- ), Bessie Lee Ingram Draw (1914-1991), Henry Franklin Lee (1903-1983), James Alphonso Lee (1900-1967), Lillian Lee (1911-1999), Pauline (Polly) Lee Tyler (1921-2013), and Viola Lee (1905-1995); and Fletcher's daughter Betty Anne (Fletcher) Baylor (1952-) and granddaughter Olivia Fletcher Baylor (1997-). J. Kenneth Lee is a lawyer in Greensboro, N.C., and was one of the first two African American students to attend the School of Law at the University of North Carolina in 1951. Dr. Winona L. Fletcher conducted pioneering research for the Federal Theater Project in the 1930s and made a career as a theater professional and educator. Dr. Fletcher taught theatre and drama at Kentucky State College (later University) from 1951 to 1978, and at Indiana University from 1978 to 1994. From 1971 to 1973, while on leave from Kentucky State, she assisted Indiana University in the development of an Afro-American Studies Department. During her tenure at Indiana University, Fletcher served as Producing Director for the Afro-American Arts Institute's 1986 revival of "Prelude to Swing" as "Prelude to Swing +50". Dr. Fletcher has been very involved with a number of theatre organizations, most notably through her work with the Kennedy Center, her research and work with the American College Theatre Festival Lorraine Hansberry contest for new playwrights, and her research into the Negro units of the Federal Theatre Project of the 1930s. Some of the other theatre organizations with which she has been prominently associated include the American Theatre Association, the University and College Theatre Association, the National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, the Black Theatre Network, and the National Conference of African American Theatre. Dr. Fletcher has also been a civic and social leader in her community, sorority, and church.
Back to TopThe collection contains papers and photographs documenting the Lee family of Caswell County, N.C. Multiple generations of the Lee family are represented in the collection, chiefly Dr. Winona L. (Lee) Fletcher and J. Kenneth Lee, as well as their siblings, and Fletcher's granddaughter Olivia Baylor. The collection consists of funeral programs for various family members and materials used to create them; two photograph albums containing family photographs; loose family photographs; a small number of letters; and audio recordings of family stories and the funeral of Nancy Lee.
Additions to the collection include biographical materials, especially research and supplementary materials for the publication of two Lee family books: No Way: Memoirs of J. Kenneth Lee, by J. Kenneth Lee and Winona L. Fletcher; and Offshoots: The H. F. Lee Family Book, by Lillian L. Humphrey and Winona L. Fletcher. Material types include correspondence, photographs, interviews on tape, digital files, news clippings, and family member profiles. There are also documents related to Winona L. Fletcher’s career in theater and J. Kenneth Lee’s career in law.
Back to TopAcquisitions Information: Accession 102035
The addition consists of family history materials that document family weddings, reunions, anniversary celebrations, and travel; older adults, end of life planning, and funerals; Winona Evelyn Lee Fletcher's education and professional career in theater; the process of researching family history for and publishing of Offshoots: The H.F. Lee Family Book by Lillian L. Humphrey and Winona L. Fletcher; background research and the publishing history of No Way: Memoirs of J. Kenneth Lee, Esq., which tells the story of one of the first African American students to graduate from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Materials include correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, printed materials, home movies, oral histories and other interviews.
Box 3 |
Donor created box listsProcessing note: Box numbers have changed from the donor's original lists, but materials in this addition otherwise are arranged as received, with the exception of audiovisual formats and photograph albums, which are now housed in the separate containers listed below. Note that photographs are both collected in image folders and scattered throughout the donor's original files. |
Family history materials |
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Box 4 |
Family history materials |
Winona Evelyn Lee Fletcher |
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Box 5 |
Winona Evelyn Lee Fletcher |
J. Kenneth Lee |
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Box 6 |
J. Kenneth Lee |
Box 7 |
J. Kenneth Lee |
Box 8 |
J. Kenneth Lee |
Offshoots: The H.F. Lee Family Book |
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Box 9 |
Joe Fletcher research, 2010 |
Mary Ellis funeral, 2000 |
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Oversize Volume SV-5592/1 |
Scrapbook of Winona L. Fletcher's retirement |
Videotape VT-5592/1 |
Dr. Fletcher's CojiesVHS |
Videotape VT-5592/2 |
Prelude to Swing & FiftyVHS |
Videotape VT-5592/3 |
The Mister Brown AwardVHS |
Audiocassette C-5592/3 |
Family BKAudiocassette |
Audiocassette C-5592/4 |
Family BKAudiocassette |
Audiocassette C-5592/5 |
BrubakerAudiocassette |
Audiocassette C-5592/6 |
Wy reading Henry's chapterAudiocassette |
Audiocassette C-5592/7 |
Wy reading Ann's chapterAudiocassette |
Audiocassette C-5592/8 |
Wy reading bookAudiocassette |
Audiocassette C-5592/9 |
Ken's interview with University of North CarolinaAudiocassette |
Audiocassette C-5592/10 |
Ken's interview with University of North CarolinaAudiocassette |
Audiocassette C-5592/11 |
Ken's interview with University of North CarolinaAudiocassette |
Film F-5592/1 |
Old Time Religion8mm |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 102192
The addition includes a National Black Theater Festival in Winston Salem poster, 1989, and electronic copies of No Way: Memoirs of J. Kenneth Lee, Esq. and the finding aid and other descriptive information related to Dr. Winona Fletcher's career and her archive collection at Kentucky State University. Also included is a copy photograph of a portrait of "Papa and Mama Lee," who married in 1898 in North Carolina.
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5592/2 |
National Black Theater Festival in Winston Salem poster, 1989. |
Box 9 |
Biographical information, 1986, 2006 |
Digital Folder DF-5592/2 |
No Way: Memoirs of J. Kenneth Lee, Esq.Processing Note: This content was donated as part of a CD-ROM. The CD-ROM software is no longer accessible, but content from the disc is available for access. |
Digital Folder DF-5592/3 |
Winona Lee Fletcher Papers, inventory guides part I and II, 2015 |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 102505
Extra Oversize Image Folder XOP-PF-5592/1 |
Photograph collage poster of Lee family |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5592/1 |
Documents of Winona and Joseph Fletcher |
Image Folder PF-5592/3 |
Family photographs, 1920s-1960s |
Box 2 |
Documents of Winona and Joseph Fletcher |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 102539
Box 2 |
Papers about "No Way: Memoirs of J. Kenneth Lee," including correspondence, drafts, and notes, 2005-2008 |
Image Box IB-5592/3 |
Photographs, 1990s5 images Image folder PF-5592/2 |
Image Folder PF-5592/4 |
Photographic print of Lee sibling portraits, 1970s |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 103008
Addition consists of photographs of family and friends from the 1940s to 1990s. Includes photographic prints and several photograph albums.
Image Box IB-5592/1 |
Lee family photographs, circa 1940s-1990s |
Image Box IB-5592/2 |
Lee Family photographs, circa 1940s-1990s |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 103663
Addition consists of photographic prints and several photograph albums of family and friends from the 1940s to 1990s. There are also a binder of promotional materials from Johnson C. Smith University and materials documenting the childhood and adolescence of Olivia Fletcher Baylor, including highlights of school work, art work and other creative activity, and conversations.
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5592/2 |
H.F. Lee family tree, 1999 |
Image Box IB-5592/3 |
Lee family photographs, circa 1940s-1990s |
Image Box IB-5592/4 |
Lee family photographs, circa 1940s-1990s |
Image Box IB-5592/5 |
Lee family photographs, circa 1940s-1990s |
Image Box IB-5592/6 |
Lee family photographs, circa 1940s-1990s |
Box 9 |
Olivia Fletcher Baylor, 2000s-2010s |
Box 10 |
Olivia Fletcher Baylor, 2000s-2010s |
Johnson C. Smith University promotional materials, circa 2006 |