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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.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 2.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 500 items) |
| Abstract | The collection documents African American community organizers and civil rights activists Rosanell Eaton and Armenta Eaton. Included are papers, photographs, notes, programs, posters and other print ephemera, newspaper clippings, t-shirts, and pin-back buttons relating to the Eatons' work with the North Carolina NAACP, the Democratic Party at the county and state levels, Concerned Women for Justice, America's Journey for Justice, Rev. William J. Barber II and Moral Mondays, and other local, state, and national politicians and political and social justice organizing campaigns. Other materials include a Franklin County Democratic Party poll observer training manual; original handwritten notes and speeches given by Rosanell Eaton; legal papers relating to the voting rights lawsuit North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, et al vs. McCrory; a copy of a letter written to Rosanell Eaton by President Barack Obama and a copy of a photograph of the Eatons with President Obama at the White House; a family scrapbook album documenting a housewarming, travel, family, and activism; other photographs depicting holiday and family gatherings; and funeral programs for homegoing services for family and friends. |
| Creator | Eaton, Rosanell, 1921-2018.
Eaton, Armenta, 1949- |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
This finding aid compiles archival collecting, description, and preservation work performed by Meaghan Alston, Patrick Cullom, Biff Hollingsworth, and Nancy Kaiser, August 2022
Encoded by: Nancy Kaiser, August 2022
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.
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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.
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Biographical Information
Rosanell Johnson Eaton was born in 1921 in Franklin County, N.C., to Edmond and Mamie Johnson. In 1942, despite the state's restrictive Jim Crow-era voting laws, Eaton, who is African American, was able to register to vote by reciting the preamble of the Constitution. After this experience, Eaton began helping others to register to vote. She personally registered more than 4,000 people in North Carolina.
Armenta Eaton, the daughter of Rosanell Eaton, was born in 1949 in Franklin County, N.C. After graduating from Shaw University, Armenta began working at the Commission for Racial Justice, a civil rights organization led by Rev. Leon White, a close friend of the Eaton family. During her 20 year tenure with the Commission for Racial Justice, Eaton organized in support of Joan Little, a Black prisoner who was accused and acquitted of murder in the death of a white male jailer in Washington, N.C., in 1975. Eaton also organized in support of the Warren County African American community following the dumping of toxic PCBs on county roads in 1982, and later worked with the Black civil rights activist Rev. Benjamin Chavis.
In 2013, Rosanell and Armenta Eaton became two of the lead plaintiffs in North Carolina NAACP vs. McCrory, a lawsuit against the restrictions of voting rights that were embedded in the overhaul of the state's election laws since 2010. The lawsuit was ultimately decided in the United States Supreme Court, in the plaintiffs' favor. Rosanell and Armenta Eaton were co-founders of the organization Concerned Women for Justice, which organizes around welfare, health care, education, and prison reform.
In August 2015, in an open letter to the New York Times, President Barack Obama urged lawmakers to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In the letter, Obama honored long-time North Carolina voting rights advocate Rosanell Eaton, saying, "I am where I am today only because men and women like Rosanell Eaton refused to accept anything less than a full measure of equality...Their efforts made our country a better place. It is now up to us to continue those efforts."
Rosanell Eaton died in 2018.
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Scope and Content
The collection documents African American community organizers and civil rights activists Rosanell Eaton and Armenta Eaton. Included are papers, photographs, notes, programs, posters and other print ephemera, newspaper clippings, t-shirts, and pin-back buttons relating to the Eatons' work with the North Carolina NAACP, the Democratic Party at the county and state levels, Concerned Women for Justice, America's Journey for Justice, Rev. William J. Barber II and Moral Mondays, and other local, state, and national political and social justice organizing campaigns. Other materials include a Franklin County Democratic Party poll observer training manual; original handwritten notes and speeches given by Rosanell Eaton; legal papers relating to the voting rights lawsuit North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, et al vs. McCrory; a copy of a letter written to Rosanell Eaton by President Barack Obama and a copy of a photograph of the Eatons with President Obama at the White House; a family scrapbook album documenting a housewarming, travel, family, and activism; other photographs depicting holiday and family gatherings; and funeral programs for homegoing services for family and friends.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Papers and Other Materials, 1970s-2022.
Papers and other materials include notes, programs, posters and other print ephemera, newspaper clippings, t-shirts, and pin-back buttons relating to the Eatons' work with the North Carolina NAACP, the Democratic Party at the county and state levels, Concerned Women for Justice, America's Journey for Justice, Rev. William J. Barber II and Moral Mondays, and other local, state, and national political and social justice organizing campaigns. Also included are a Franklin County Democratic Party poll observer training manual; original handwritten notes and speeches given by Rosanell Eaton; legal papers relating to the voting rights lawsuit North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, et al vs. McCrory; a copy of a letter written to Rosanell Eaton by President Barack Obama and a copy of a photograph of the Eatons with President Obama at the White House; and a family scrapbook album documenting a housewarming, travel, family, and activism.
| Folder 1 |
America's Journey for Justice, 2014-2017Includes talking points for Legislative Advocacy Day in 2015 in support of "the End Racial Profiling Act (S. 1056 / H.R. 1933)" and in 2016 in support of "a reauthorization of The Elementary and Secondary Education Act which provides full educational opportunities for all American children"; information about the Moral Week of Action in 2014 and the march for justice in North Carolina in 2015; and program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at St. Paul Presbyterian Church (2017). |
| Folder 2 |
Concerned Women for Justice, Inc., 2005 and undatedPamphlets and a program for the Little Miss and Master Justice Contest at Riverside Magnet School in Louisburg, N.C. |
| Folder 3 |
Armenta Eaton, 2012, 2015, and undated"Franklin County woman selected to be Obama delegate" (2012); print out of email with a photograph of Armenta Eaton (2015); "A Special Birthday Prayer for Gwendolyn T. Starr" by Armenta Eaton. |
| Folder 4 |
Rosanell Eaton, 1995-2015Includes photocopy of birth certificate; invitation for recognition reception for National Voting Rights Museum and Institute "Invisible Giant" award (1995); "Rosanell Eaton in Focus," in "Echoes of Franklin County by Elizabeth Archer" in The Carolinian (1995); congratulatory letter from Governor Michael Easley for receiving the North Carolina Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service (2003); biographical profile (January 2012); magistrate's order and release order relating to arrest for trespassing and failure to disperse command at the NC General Assembly on 24 June 2013; printout of photograph related to arrest that was published online in Winston-Salem Journal; The James and Almetta Rose Revis Outreach Service Excellence Award of St. Ambrose Episcopal Church (2015); invitation to the Women's History Month Reception at the White House (2016); remembrances by Michael A. Glick in The News and Observer and by the Rev. William J. Barber II on Medium and resolutions from the NAACP North Carolina State Conference and Democratic Party of North Carolina. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5799/1 |
Rosanell Eaton: Birthday posterIncludes photographs of Rosanell Eaton with Tyler Swanson, and of Rosanell and Armenta Eaton and others on the "America's Journey for Justice" walk. There are also typescript messages from Rev. Curtis Everette Gatewood, Ruth Zalph, Ashley Marshall, and Tyler Swanson. |
| Folder 5 |
Rosanell Eaton: Speeches, 2013 and undatedIncludes Moral Monday, Burlington, N.C., 28 October 2013; Moral Monday in Raleigh, N.C., 15 July 2013; America's Journey for Justice march; petition to the Franklin County Board of Commissioners on an election map; and program for "Celebrating Our Matriarchs" (2013). |
| Folder 6 |
Homegoing services, 2004-2018Celebration of life programs for Lynwood Davis Buffaloe (1941-2013), Mary J. Clifton (1930-2014), Nettie Johnson Dunn (1933-2012), Rev. Jesse Leon Eaton (1953-2004), Mildred K. Eaton (1922-2017), Ruby Edwards Elmore (1932-2018), Ralph Donald Edwards (1925-2014), Bernice Jones Ghist (1929-2018), Darnell Johnson (1951-2017), Samuel Jones (1927-2014), Peggy G. Leonard (1945-2018), Jenny V. Perry (1923-2014), Lella Aileen Rogers (1930-2018), Carolyn Blackwell Sneed (1960-2017), Mary Lou Morgan Spivey (1942-2017), Pota Vurnakes Vallas (1908-2017), Brenda Lee Williams (1957-2018), Deacon Braxton N. Young (1938-2014). |
| Folder 7 |
Meharry Medical College Commencement program, 2018Graduation of Ashley Nicole Pierce, great niece of Rosanell Eaton. |
| Folder 8 |
North Carolina Democratic Party, 2012-2020Includes 12th Annual Stars Banquet program at the 52nd Democratic Women of North Carolina Convention (2012); Democracy NC pamphlets (2013, 2017); North Carolina Senior Democrats 41st Annual Convention program (2019); Natural Resources Defense Center flyer on safe drinking water; ACLU bumper sticker; Obama-Biden bumper sticker; copy of the U.S. Constitution; campaign materials for G. K. Butterfield, Linda Coleman, Roy Cooper, Anita Earls, John May, Mack Paul, Bobbie Richardson, Carolyn Thompson, the Franklin County Democratic Party, and the North Carolina Democratic Party. Other Franklin County Democratic Party materials include a poll observer training manual, invitation to an inauguration watch party for President Barack Obama (2013), and pamphlet for the Franklin County Democratic Women's 16th Annual Golf Tournament (2018). |
| Folder 9 |
North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, 2005, 2019Includes programs for the 21st Annual Humanitarian of the Year Banquet Awards for the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and 76th Annual North Carolina NAACP State Convention program. |
| Folder 10 |
Oxford-Henderson Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Third Biennial Social Action Luncheon presenting the Andrea Harris Social Action Award program, 2020 |
| Folder 11 |
Voting rights: Media coverage, 2010-2019Includes "New election rules welcome voters now"; promotional flyer for a local screening of the documentary Rigged The Voter Suppression Playbook (2019); op ed in the New York Times (12 August 2015) by President Barack Obama in which he mentions Rosanell Eaton; transcript of interview of Rosanell Eaton on Chris Neal radio talk show (14 August 2015); "The Latest Assault on Your Voting Rights," Essence (September 2014). |
| Folder 12 |
Voting rights: North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, et al vs. McCrory, 2014-2016Includes complaint, Declaration of Rosanell Eaton, deposition of Armenta Eaton, judgment and injunction, order, client retention agreement with Kirkland & Ellis; a handwritten note and news releases from the NAACP North Carolina State Conference regarding the lawsuit; printed email correspondence with the Advancement Project; NAACP voter registration guide; "Summary of NC's New Voting Law" by Democracy North Carolina; statement by Rosanell Eaton on Judge Thomas Schroeder's ruling in the voter id case (April 2016); flyer for "Commemorate | Celebrate | Activate Commemorate the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, celebrating the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Activate the VOTE in 2016" (August 2016); and NC NAACP State Conference flyers for the summer 2016 campaign to end the wrongful convictions of Kalvin Michael Smith and Dontae Sharpe. |
| Oversize Volume SV-5799/1 |
Scrapbook, 1980s-2010sIncludes invitation, guest list, dedication ceremony and prayer, media coverage, and greeting cards and congratulatory messages for "Home Dedication of Armenta Eaton, August 26, 1990." Also includes a copy of a letter from President Barack Obama regarding Rosanell Eaton's voting rights activism (14 March 2016), a photograph of Rosanell Eaton and Armenta Eaton with President Barack Obama, and media coverage. Topics include Armenta Eaton spending a night in jail in protest of the hazardous waste landfill in Afton (1982); Armenta Eaton receiving "Outstanding Activism in Civil Rights" award from the Southern Christian Leadership/Women (1983); voting rights activism of Rosanell and Armenta Eaton; and the Relay for Life Franklin County (2015). Other photographs document travel to Eagle Butte, S.D., and to Ghana and Kenya as part of Governor James B. Hunt's Ambassador Exchange Program (1996); HKonJ (Historic Thousands on Jones Street); Moral Monday protests; Rosanell Eaton receiving the Order of the Long Leaf Pine and Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year award (2008); and other Eaton family members. |
| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5799/2 |
Protest posters
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| Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5799/3 |
Newspaper clippings
|
| Box 2 |
T shirts and sweatshirt
|
Museum Item MU-5777/1-25
MU-5777/1MU-5777/2MU-5777/3MU-5777/4MU-5777/5MU-5777/6MU-5777/7MU-5777/8MU-5777/9MU-5777/10MU-5777/11MU-5777/12MU-5777/13MU-5777/14MU-5777/15MU-5777/16MU-5777/17MU-5777/18MU-5777/19MU-5777/20MU-5777/21MU-5777/22MU-5777/23MU-5777/24MU-5777/25 |
Pin-back buttons
|
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Series 2. Photographs, 1982-2019.
Photographs depict Rosanell Eaton and Armenta Eaton attending local, state, and national political and social justice organizing events with other activists, politicians, and friends. Included are images of Rev. William J. Barber II at voting rights event; Martin Luther King III at a book signing in Washington, D.C. (2013); NAACP America's Journey for Justice for Voting Rights (2015); Rosanell Eaton's 97th birthday party (2018); a luncheon in memory of NAACP Humanitarian Award given to Rosanell Eaton in Greensboro (2019); and other events with family members, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, N.C. Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, and N.C. Secretary if State Elaine Marshall and others. Holiday events and other gatherings are also depicted.
Processing note: titles derived from original captions or notes found with materials.
| Image Folder PF-5777/1 |
Armenta Eaton at Freedom Ride on way to Selma, Ala., sponsored by Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 1982Black-and-white photographic print (photocopy on paper)1 image |
| Image Folder PF-5777/2 |
Armenta Eaton speaking at Concerned Women for Justice event, 1997Color photographic prints1 image |
| Image Folder PF-5777/3 |
Armenta Eaton at Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday celebration, 1998Color photographic prints2 images |
| Image Folder PF-5777/4 |
Rosanell Eaton and her children, circa 1995, 1990sColor digital (inkjet) print on office paper, color photographic print2 images |
| Image Folder PF-5777/5 |
Armenta Eaton and Rosanell Eaton at award presentation to Pastor Coolidge McCoy at New Liberty Baptist Church event, Louisburg, N.C., circa 1990sColor photographic prints3 images |
| Image Folder PF-5777/6 |
Rosanell Eaton with U.S. Representative Bob Etheridge at 2nd District Democratic Convention in Lillington, N.C., 17 May 2003Color photographic print1 image Rosanell Eaton received award as 2nd place Best Patriotic Dressed Woman and was given a donkey pin as her prize. |
| Image Folder PF-5777/7 |
Franklin County Democrats tent event, circa 2003Color photographic print1 image |
| Image Folder PF-5777/8 |
Rosanell Eaton receives Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year award, 2008Color photographic prints5 images |
| Image Folder PF-5777/9 |
Rosanell Eaton with Martin Luther King III and others at a book-signing event in Washington, D.C., 2013Color photographic print1 image |
| Image Folder PF-5777/10 |
Armenta Eaton and Rosanell Eaton with N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, circa 2009-2013Color photographic print1 image |
| Image Folder PF-5777/11 |
Rosanell Eaton at NAACP America's Journey for Justice event, 2015Color photographic print1 image |
| Image Folder PF-5777/12 |
Armenta Eaton and Rosanell Eaton with Susie Hawkins, circa 2015Color photographic print1 image |
| Image Folder PF-5777/13 |
Rosanell Eaton with U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Linda Emmett Willey, circa 2016Color digital (inkjet) print on office paper2 images |
| Image Folder PF-5777/14 |
Rosanell Eaton visiting with family on 97th birthday, 14 April 2018Color digital (inkjet) print on office paper2 images |
| Image Folder PF-5777/15 |
Rosanell Eaton visiting with family members, 2018Color digital (inkjet) print on office paper2 images |
| Image Folder PF-5777/16 |
Armenta Eaton and Rosanell Eaton with Anita Earls at campaign event, 26 August 2018Color digital (inkjet) print on office paper1 image Anita Earls was elected to the N.C. Supreme Court in November 2018. |
| Image Folder PF-5777/17 |
Luncheon given in memory of NAACP Humanitarian Award given to Rosanell Eaton, Greensboro, N.C., April 2019Color digital (inkjet) print on office paper1 image |
| Image Folder PF-5777/18 |
Social media posts (in memory of Rosanell Eaton), 2018, 2020Color photographic print1 image |
| Image Folder PF-5777/19 |
Eaton extended family members, 2018, 2019Color digital (inkjet) print on office paper4 images |
| Image Folder PF-5777/20 |
Rosanell Eaton, circa 2010sColor photographic print, Color digital (inkjet) print on office paper7 images |
| Image Folder PF-5777/21 |
Rosanell Eaton with friends, circa 2010sColor photographic print2 images |
| Image Folder PF-5777/22 |
Armenta Eaton, Rosanell Eaton, and Rev. William J. Barber at voting rights event, circa 2010sColor photographic print1 image |
| Image Folder PF-5777/23 |
Armenta Eaton and Rosanell Eaton, circa 2010sColor digital (inkjet) print on office paper3 images |
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Items Separated