The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

Rev. Dr. Frank Lewis McRae collection

Repository: Memphis Public Library & Information Center

Collection Description (CRHP): A compact disc exists in this collection of interviews of McRae, Memphis civil rights activist Maxine Smith and Benjamin Hooks, recorded in 2008 for the Bob Edwards Show.

Collection Description (Extant): Material in the McRae Collection was given to the library over several years and includes correspondence, newspaper and magazine articles, scrapbooks, photographs, programs, and other print material. In addition, there are 14 documentary videos and one compact [disc]. Six relate to the 1968 Sanitation Strike and Dr. King's assassination. Five of those are retrospectives on the King era produced by national television organizations and include interviews with Memphians who were significantly involved with the events of that time. The video produced locally, 'At the River I Stand,' is based on Joan Turner Beifuss' book of the same name. The remaining documentaries describe the work of local churches, MIFA [the Metropolitan Inter-faith Association], and the Church Health Center.

Covering the decades from the 1950s through the [first] decade of the twenty-first century, the McRae Collection is a significant addition to the holdings of the Memphis and Shelby County Room. Any researcher who examines the civil rights period in Memphis will find these papers an important source of first-hand information.

Access Copy Note: The videos are in VHS format, and the interviews for the Bob Edwards Show are on compact disc.

Digital Status: Partial

Extent: 7 boxes

Language: English

Related Archival Items: See the Memphis Multi-Media Archival Project: The 1968 Sanitation Workers' Strike, which is housed at the University of Memphis.

Interviewees: Frank Lewis McRae, Maxine Smith, Benjamin Hooks

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

Subjects:

African Americans--Civil rights--Tennessee
Civil rights movements--Tennessee
Civil rights workers
Civil rights--Religious aspects--Christianity
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968--Assassination
Memphis (Tenn.)
Sanitation Workers Strike, Memphis, Tenn., 1968

Genres:

Interviews
Manuscripts
Photographs
Sound recordings
Videorecordings