Brownie Lee Jones Correspondence

Collection consists of photocopies of correspondence between Brownie Lee Jones and Mary C. Barker, advisor to the Southern School for Workers.



Includes discussion of financial stability of the Southern School for Workers (SSW); ability of school to attract donations; placement of labor educators in North and South Carolina; "reaction" engulfing the South; work of school in promoting interracial cooperation, such as Civil Rights Committee in Richmond; schools support for anti-segregation legislation and growing animosity of political right to the school; CIO labor education school in Maryland; recruiting of blacks in Virginia; reluctance of white workers to work with black workers; SSW school on government in Washington, D.C.; contributions from various unions; and loss of foundation support.



Other matters discussed include helping workers become qualified to vote; aiding union committees to work on political and legislative action; political orientation of Brownie Lee Jones; position of blacks in southern labor movement; stronger support of SSW from black workers than white; declining support by national unions for SSW activities; Highlander School removed from "approved" list by CIO; cutting staff; possibility of closing SSW and allowing unions to take up entire burden of labor education; support for Labor Extension Bill; various educational activities of Jones and her assistant, Polly Jones; assistance to United Labor Committee in Durham; poll tax campaign in Virginia; refusal of SSW to discriminate against unions branded as communist, resulting in CIO unions refusing to contribute to school; closing of school in 1950; and plans of Jones to work as volunteer for NAACP.