The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

Department of Justice. Class 144 (civil rights) sound recordings

Repository: National Archives and Records Administration. Archives II

Collection Description (Extant): This series of audio recordings consists of enclosures to case files covering civil rights litigation before the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the series "Class 144 (Civil Rights) Enclosures, 1939-1970" (ARC Identifier 607825). The recordings primarily relate to the Department of Justice's role in the court - ordered desegregation of the University of Mississippi and the enrollment of James Meredith, its first African - American student. Most recordings contain statements given by federal officials, national guardsmen, and local police officials who witnessed the events on the campus and in the town of Oxford, Mississippi in October, 1962. Recordings from other civil rights case files cover topics such as complaints of mistreatments in jails and allegations of brutality by local police officers against blacks. The textual material contained in the series includes written statements and, in some cases, subjects and names of the interviewers and interviewees.

Date(s): 1939-1970

Digital Status: Partial

Existing IDs: ARC Identifier 1078586
Local Identifier 60-CRa

Extent: 77 compact disks; 1 audio tape/reel; 44 audio tape/reels, 2 wire recordings, and 77 dictation belts;77 audio tape/reels

Finding Aid URL: http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalIdSearch?id=1078586

Language: English

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

Subjects:

College integration--Mississippi
Meredith, James, 1933-
Police brutality
United States. Dept. of Justice
University of Mississippi

Genres:

Sound recordings