The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

William Jesse Kennedy papers

Repository: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Wilson Library

Collection Description (Extant): The William Jesse Kennedy Papers contain correspondence, speeches, photographs, organizational records, and other items that document the business, civic, social, humanitarian, and professional activities of William Jesse Kennedy, Jr. Included are records relating to North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and the White Rock Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. There are also materials relating to Kennedy's activities with the Boy Scouts of America, the Boys' Clubs of America, the Durham Committee of 100 (a group focused on promoting social equality), 4-H clubs, Durham's Lincoln Hospital, the NAACP, and the North Carolina Board of Higher Education, among other groups. Also included are deeds and correspondence belonging to Kennedy's mentor, John Moses Avery, and a series of audiotaped interviews with Kennedy's relatives, friends, and associates conducted by Carter Cue in 1994. Materials show Kennedy's contributions to social and economic progress in North Carolina and demonstrate his interest in civil rights, integration, recreation, and industrial development, particularly in the Research Triangle Park.

Speeches and writings of William Jesse Kennedy, Jr. and others. Included are copies of Kennedy's radio addresses and speeches before audiences at churches, high schools, businesses, and organizational meetings; unpublished writings; and published articles, some on spiritual matters. There are also two book-length manuscripts: one documenting the history of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, and another discussing aspects of the American slave trade.

Interviews with relatives, friends, and associates of William Jesse Kennedy, Jr. The audiotapes were recorded by Carter Cue around Durham, N.C., in 1994.

Date(s): 1902-1982

Existing IDs: 04925

Finding Aid URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/k/Kennedy,William_Jesse.html

Language: English

Interviewees: Margaret K. Goodwin, Charlotte K. Sloan, R. Kelly Bryant, Nathaniel White, Sr., Lenzie G. Barnes, William J. Kennedy III, Besssie McLaurin, Joseph Lawrence, Johnnie B. McLester, Joseph Mitchell, Alex M. Rivera, Margaret H. Turner, Carl Hodges

Rights (CRHP): Contact the repository which holds the collection for information on rights

Subjects:

African American businesspeople
African American civic leaders
Civil rights movements--North Carolina
Kennedy, William Jesse, 1889-1985
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Genres:

Interviews
Photographs
Sound recordings