(Note: This post was authored by Taylor McNeilly, Processing & Reference Archivist.) I happened across another one of the folders of material included in the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection from Dr. Walker’s time with SCLC while processing this past week. This folder, labeled “Atlanta conf.,” included material from 1963-1964 concerning Atlanta, GA. For this week’s #WyattWalkerWednesday, I’d like to talk about some of the material I found there.

During this period, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was incredibly active in the Atlanta area, protesting segregation and economic inequality. Similar to the criticism Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the SCLC faced after their demonstrations in Birmingham, AL, SNCC faced backlash from many different directions, including an open letter addressed to the mayor of Atlanta on KKK letterhead criticizing, among other things, how he handled the “race riots” of January 1964. SNCC, having been founded by then-director of SCLC Ella Baker among other SCLC employees, was also partially funded by grants from SCLC, so naturally SCLC was not only aware of SNCC’s activities in Atlanta but defensive of its practices – many of which mirrored nonviolent protest techniques SCLC used. Another open letter addressed to the mayor of Atlanta, this time written by Dr. Walker, defends the actions of SNCC and the need for direct, nonviolent action.

A letter criticizing the mayor of Atlanta and declaring support for nonviolent direct action written by Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker.

This letter is particularly striking to me for several reasons. First is Dr. Walker’s declaration that “the presence of justice and morality is transcendent above all else!” This quote, refuting the claim that “the peace and tranquility of the community is transcendent above all else,” seems very pertinent to the discussion surrounding many of the protests and demonstrations that have occurred over the past few years, especially those by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Occupy Wall Street groups.

The SCLC, under the direction of Drs. King and Walker, focused on nonviolent direct action, so it is no surprise that Dr. Walker speaks out in support of SNCC’s activities. However, I was particularly moved by the third paragraph pictured above, quoted below.

Thirdly, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference supports the direct action program of SNCC. To be sure we abhor violence from whomever it comes, but if you were a Negro who has made the 100 year’s painful journey from the auction block and still day by day you withstand the humiliation which keeps your emotions at tip-toe stance never quite knowing what to expect next, perhaps you can understand it. What I am attempting to say is that SCLC underscores the legitimacy of nonviolent direction action. It is a valid part of our American heritage and we cannot allow you to dismiss those of us who are committed to the direct action…

These sentences strike several chords for me. First and foremost is SCLC’s support and defense of SNCC, as well as their continued support of nonviolent direct action. This comes as no surprise to anyone who has studied either of these organizations, but the public declaration of solidarity and support is moving nonetheless. More striking is the seemingly effortless balance Dr. Walker strikes between an emotional evocation of the continued struggles for African Americans and the professionally distanced tone of a man discussing the theory and history of protest in America. Finally, Dr. Walker’s appeal to American heritage helps cement this incredibly strong and passionate defense of nonviolent direct action.

This folder of material held much more than Dr. Walker’s impassioned defense of SNCC and nonviolent direct action, but unfortunately I can’t talk about every single item I find during processing. But as always, check back here next week for another peek into the collection! You can always follow along on our other social media as well, including Boatwright Library’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

(Note: This post was authored by Taylor McNeilly, Processing & Reference Archivist.) One of the most interesting things about processing a collection is some of the small, unimportant pieces of history you discover. For today’s #WyattWalkerWednesday post, I’d like to talk about a few items I’ve found recently while processing the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt T. Walker Collection.

The first item I came across was in and of itself not that important. The SCLC had collaborated with a handful of other civil rights organizations in the south to develop a training program for the next generation of civil rights leaders, and this item is a press release or mailer publicizing the program and asking people to participate. Considering how active SCLC was in this period, this single mailer that sheds no light on the actual program is mostly insignificant, especially since the program has other records in the collection. However, at the end of the mailer is something quite interesting: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s signature.

Signature of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as it appears on a document found within the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt T. Walker Collection.

MLK’s signature is of course well documented in many places, and it does appear elsewhere in the collection here. However, this was one of the first times I came across it unexpectedly and authentically, rather than as a stamp or photocopy. It is common practice for executives and celebrities to sign many documents with a copy of a signature, rather than signing each one by hand. In this instance, the signature appears to have been written by hand. While this isn’t momentous or historically significant, seeing MLK’s signature in person was an unexpected surprise.

You might be able to guess something about the second item I greatly enjoyed stumbling across, considering the title of this blog entry. That’s right: it touches on what very well might be the first-ever Wyatt Tee Walker Day.

A handwritten advertisement for what may be the first ever Wyatt Tee Walker Day.

While several cities have officially proclaimed Wyatt Tee Walker Days throughout Dr. Walker’s life, this handwritten advertisement seems to be less a official, municipal declaration than a celebration held by the community. Interestingly, this celebration occurs after Dr. Walker has moved on to his work at SCLC, and the item was found in SCLC records – indicating this was a celebration that Dr. Walker was notified of through SCLC, rather than through his previous post at Gilfield Baptist Church.

Since this is the only item pertaining to the 1960 Wyatt Tee Walker Day, we have no real record of what events might have occurred or how they would have celebrated “Petersburg’s fearless & outspoken dean of civil rights.” We also have no way to gauge just how popular the event was, or even to know who sponsored it or where it was held. This information may be in other archival collections or otherwise available to researchers, but for now it’s nice to know just that Dr. Walker was being recognized and celebrated as far back as 1960 by the communities he was working so passionately to help.

That’s all for this week! As always, please check back for future posts and any updates on the collection.

(Note: This post was authored by Taylor McNeilly, Processing & Reference Archivist.) Welcome back to another #WyattWalkerWednesday post! As I mentioned in our previous entry, we’ve spent much of the summer shifting things around to help make space and provide a better location for processing the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt T. Walker Collection. Now that processing is once again in full swing, I’ve begun going through the materials we pulled out of off-site storage when setting up the quarantine (for more information on that, check out the Setting Up a Quarantine article from May). One of the main focuses of processing right now has been some of the earliest material, which happens to be more records of Dr. Walker’s time at SCLC.

Administrative records from Dr. Walker’s time at SCLC awaiting processing.

While Dr. Walker’s tenure at SCLC is well defined and many of his accomplishments are widely recognized, including his work on Project C and the March on Washington, the records I am processing now help shed light on the minute and sometimes mundane details: records such as reimbursement for gas used to drive from one event to another might shed little light on the Civil Rights Movements and its inner workings. However, a reimbursement request for a diamond ring Mrs. Walker lost during a protest seems to show more about the struggle than mere transportation costs.

These records reflect much of the work SCLC was doing beyond the attention-grabbing, headline-making events that are recorded in the popular American narrative. They help provide a distinct view of SCLC and Dr. Walker as its first full-time executive director. And taken in the context of SCLC’s records before and after Dr. Walker’s time there, they help provide a more complete history of this deeply important organization. As such, they are an important focus in our work to process the collection and open it to researchers, as we expect these records to be of high research value and under high demand.

As always, keep an eye on this blog and other official University of Richmond and Boatwright Library communications channels for news on when the collection will be open for processing. And in the meantime, stop back here next week for another interesting, behind-the-scenes look at preparing this collection for use.