The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

Robert Carl Cohen papers

Repository: Wisconsin Historical Society. Library-Archives

Collection Description (Extant): Papers of author-filmmaker Robert Carl Cohen largely relating to "Black Crusader" (1972), his unauthorized biography of revolutionary Robert Franklin Williams, the first black American to advocate armed self-defense. Included are various drafts, together with correspondence, clippings, speeches, and recorded interviews and transcripts. Fragmentary clippings and reviews document Cohen's work as a filmmaker.

[...] The tapes in this collection all deal with Robert Franklin Williams, and for the most part, represent background research accumulated by Cohen prior to writing Black Crusader. Most important are the reels which constitute the 1968 interview with Williams, which became the basis of Cohen's book. Unlike the transcripts, the recorded version includes Cohen's questions. Other tapes relating to Williams, but not specifically to "Black Crusader" are a 1962 interview recorded at the Hotel Capri in Havana for WBAI-FM (New York) (later published as "Negroes with Guns"), a rerecording of a 1963 episode of Williams' propaganda show, "Radio Free Dixie," originally recorded during the "Birmingham Crisis" and consisting of a mixture of music, news, and commentary by Williams; and a combined recording of several interviews and speeches.

Date(s): 1963-1978

Existing IDs: RLIN: WIHVC1950-A; Mss 52; Tape 885A

Extent: 2.0 c.f. (5 archives boxes), 9 tape recordings

Finding Aid URL: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00052

Language: English

Interviewees: Robert Franklin Williams

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

Subjects:

African American radio broadcasters
Black militant organizations
Black nationalism
Black power

Genres:

Interviews
Manuscripts
Sound recordings