The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

Miller (Willie J.) papers

Repository: Mississippi State University. Libraries. Special Collections

Collection Description (Extant): The papers of Willie J. Miller (b. 1902), a native of Yazoo City, Mississippi and a resident of Jackson, Mississippi, who established the Mississippi Enterprise, a weekly newspaper targeting Mississippi African-Americans in 1938. The forerunner of the paper was the Mississippi Weekly begun by Julia Hibbler Miller, Miller' s first wife. The paper was sent to St. Louis for printing during the early days of its publication history. In the 1950s, editions of the Mississippi Enterprise were also published in Meridian, Vicksburg, Greenville and St. Louis. Apparently materials generated from the early production years of the newspaper are no longer extant. The papers include manuscripts of articles, press releases, obituaries, advertising copy, photographs, financial records, newspapers and other materials, primarily from the years 1974-1988. Photographs were those collected for printing in the paper and these document African American events, institutions, issues and personalities. The textual materials in the newspaper files also document national, state and local African American history, including materials on events, issues and personalities. The papers also contain some general documentation of non-African- American historical events and personalities.

Collection URL: http://library.msstate.edu/specialcollections/manuscripts/fulllist.asp#m

Date(s): 1974-1998

Extent: 24 cu.ft.

Language: English

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

Subjects:

African American journalists
African American newspapers
African American press
African Americans--Mississippi

Genres:

Manuscripts
Photographs