Scope and Content Note
The papers of Arthur Barnett Spingarn (1878-1971), a lawyer and civil rights leader, span the years 1850-1970, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1920-1955. Only a limited amount of correspondence and other material relates to Spingarn's personal or family life, and only glimpses of his law practice appear in the personal correspondence and various legal files. The documentation relates principally to his service with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as vice president, chairman of the National Legal Committee, and president.
From the beginning of his law career at the turn of the century, Spingarn was interested in advancing the cause of civil rights and improving the condition of Black people, and he joined or advised a number of relevant organizations. The Personal Correspondence file contains material for such groups as the Circle for Negro Relief, the New York State Commission Against Discrimination, the American Social Hygiene Association, and the New York Tuberculosis and Health Association. The documentation relating to these and other groups and to individuals sharing his interests, however, lacks the range and depth of the material about the NAACP. Widely scattered throughout the papers are references to Spingarn's activities as a bibliophile interested in works by native Africans. These references are contained in the Personal Correspondence series (see Normil Georges Sylvain) and in an occasional letter in the General Correspondence.
Material regarding aspects of the American occupation of Haiti during the 1920s also appears in the Personal Correspondence. Spingarn's disillusionment with American foreign policy during this period, particularly in conjunction with Haiti, takes shape in files related to J. Jolibois, Georges Sylvain, and Perceval Thoby and in a file marked "letters to the editor" protesting the violation of the civil rights of newspaper editor Louis E. Pouget.
The General Correspondence constitutes more than forty percent of the papers and represents the bulk of the series of NAACP files. Many subjects germane to the nature and interests of the association, principally legal in nature, are documented from the 1920s to the 1950s. Material addressing the relationship of officers of the association to each other reflects Spingarn's dominant presence. There are also references that reveal his relationship with the directors of the organization, including James Weldon Johnson, Walter Francis White, and Roy Wilkins. Information about other officers appears in both letters and memoranda addressed to Spingarn or sent to him as enclosures. These officers include W. E. B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, and William Pickens.
Included in the NAACP series are general correspondence, subject, legal, and estate files related to various aspects of the growth of the association, such as its difficult financial beginnings, rapid increases in membership during times of crisis, and program and administrative problems. These files reflect the East Saint Louis Riot of 1917; the New York Vigilance Committee for the years 1912-1913, which became the New York City (Manhattan) branch of the NAACP; the Shillady beating incident of 1919; the Internal Revenue Service's decision to disallow tax deductions for donors in 1925 and then to reinstate the deductions in the late 1930s (which includes references to these decisions as the origin of the Legal Defense and Educational Fund). Letters dated 1931, 1934, 1940, and 1942 relate, in part, to Mary White Ovington.
The many controversies surrounding W. E. B. Du Bois, especially his 1933 plan for reorganization to keep the Crisis magazine under his control, the segregation issue which led to his 1934 departure, his rehiring by the association in 1944, and his final dismissal in 1948, are noted in correspondence and memoranda in the NAACP series and reveal the antagonism between him and Walter White. Selected cases from the 1920s to the 1940s regarding discrimination in education, voting and civil rights, including both Nixon cases, Nixon v. Condon and Nixon v. Herndon, the Scottsboro case, and Smith v. Allwright appear in the subject file. The correspondence and memoranda in the subject file were sent as enclosures but lack the covering letters to Spingarn.
Areas of interest in the papers after 1940 include World War II, racial discrimination, and related topics. The NAACP's position on the issue of segregated training camps for black officers was clear, but remarks and articles giving a positive impression of segregated training facilities by William Pickens, the association's field secretary on leave for service with the United States government, forced this controversial issue to resurface. As outlined in a subject file labeled "William Pickens" and in the General Correspondence, the board of directors severed ties with Pickens over his statements.
Also documented are the many controversies surrounding Walter White, the secretary of the association. Issues related to White include salary disputes, staff criticism, private behavior, and his relationship with his eventual successor, Roy Wilkins. Other subseries describe the Crisis magazine, board minutes and reports, and financial material. The board reports contain secretary's reports not available in the NAACP records.
Correspondents in the family and personal correspondence include Van Wyck Brooks, Ernest Gruening, Lewis Mumford, Georges Sylvain, Perceval Thoby, and Carl Van Vechten. The general correspondence, which is chronologically arranged, includes James A. Cobb, W. E. B. Du Bois, Isadore Martin, Walter White, and Roy Wilkins almost every year. Correspondence of others active in the civil rights movement, such as Alfred Baker Lewis, Herbert Seligman, Charles Studin, and Neval Thomas, appear throughout the collection.
An addition to the Spingarn Papers, processed in 1996, includes two annotated editions of Spingarn's book, Laws Relating to Sex Morality in New York City, dated 1915 and 1926, and a certificate issued by the Supreme Court in 1926. The addition has not been microfilmed.