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Collection Number: 03479

Collection Title: Fellowship of Southern Churchmen Records, 1937-1986

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This collection has use restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


This collection was rehoused with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access, 1990-1992.

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Size 12.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 13,000 items)
Abstract The Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, organized in 1934, was an interdenominational, interracial group of southern church people (clergy and laity) interested in race relations, anti-Semitism, rural dependency, labor conditions, and other social problems. Early papers, 1937-1944, are largely copies of reports and publications and some material relating to Howard Kester, general secretary of the Fellowship, 1937-1944; Thomas B. Cowan, chair, 1937-1946, and Charles M. Jones, acting general secretary in 1944. The largest portion of the collection consists of the office files, 1945-1949, of Nelle Morton, general secretary at the organization's headquarters in Chapel Hill, N.C., including routine correspondence concerning membership, conferences, applications and acceptances of work camp staff, and project planning. Also included are the office files, 1950-1957, primarily of Howard Kester at Black Mountain, N.C., but also of Charles M. Jones, 1951-1952; David S. Burgess; and Francis A. Drake. Kester's files contain information about relations with other organizations and individuals with similar interests and the Fellowship's financial structure. Later materials are primarily membership lists.
Creator Fellowship of Southern Churchmen.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
This collection contains additional materials that are not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting these materials.
Restrictions to Use
RESTRICTED: The floppy disk in the addition of August 1986 (Acc. 86105) may not be copied and may not be used to produce ASCII files of the data or any form of file for statistical analysis or other manipulation.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen Records #3479, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
Partial microfilm copy available.
  • Reel 1: Volumes 1 and 2
Provenance
Received from Edwin Michael Hoffman of Black Mountain, N.C., in May 1960; Eugene Smathers of Crossville, Tenn., in August 1963; Anthony Dunbar of New Orleans, La., in June 1982 Acc. 82095); Dallas Blanchard of Pensacola, Fla., in August 1986 (Acc. 86105) and January 2004 (Acc. 99696).
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Linda Sellars, February 2004

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, March 2010

This collection was rehoused with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access, 1990-1992.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Historical Information

The Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, originally known as the Younger Churchmen of the South, called its first meeting at Monteagle, Tenn., 27-29 May 1934, and met again later that year. At its third meeting, held 11 November 1935, it adopted the new name. The Fellowship was an interdenominational, interracial group of southern church people (clergy and laymen) seeking to apply the Christian faith to social problems in the South. While changes in conditions caused shifts in emphasis and specific policies, the group's interests centered on race relations, anti-Semitism, rural dependence, and labor conditions.

The Fellowship sponsored workshops, work camps, conferences, and institutes throughout the South to advance the aims of the organization. Because the program was interracial and interdenominational, these activities served to promote the Fellowship's purpose of promoting human understanding and cooperation among people of different backgrounds. The Fellowship did extensive work with students, one of its aims being to bring southern students to choose vocations with a religious and social sense of mission. The Fellowship also promoted and participated in special schools and institutes for rural ministers and laymen.

The organization maintained close cooperation with other groups with similar interests and goals, i.e., the American Friends Service Committee; the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; the Congress of Racial Equality; and many church, student, and labor groups. The Fellowship sponsored an organization known as Friends of the Soil, which sought to strengthen rural churches and join with them in encouraging and promoting better use of the soil, diversity and abundance in agriculture, and better economic and social arrangements. Friends of the Soil also sponsored legislation to promote the welfare of rural America.

The Fellowship also dealt with many emergency local situations involving issues of tenancy, labor, anti-Semitism, and other forms of discrimination.

"Prophetic Religion," a mimeographed periodical, was the official organ of the Fellowship. It contained some news of the organization's activities, but seems to have been primarily concerned with discussions of faith and of topics relevant to the aims of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen. The "Newsletter" was another mimeographed publication, designed to keep members and friends of the group informed of the work of the Fellowship and especially of its General Secretary. "Fellowship Student News," as suggested by the title, was similar to the "Newsletter," but written for student members. Aside from these regular publications, the Fellowship often issued special pamphlets concerning outstanding work of social significance being carried on by a southern minister or church group. They also published, or reprinted and distributed, pamphlets publicizing and condemning things such as the Ku Klux Klan and Jim Crow practices.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Records of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen include early papers, 1937-1944, that are largely copies of reports and publications and some material relating to Howard Kester, general secretary of the Fellowship, 1937-1944; Thomas B. Cowan, chair, 1937-1946; and Charles M. Jones, acting general secretary in 1944. The largest portion of the collection consists of the office files, 1945-1949, of Nelle Morton, general secretary at the organization's headquarters in Chapel Hill, N.C., including routine correspondence concerning membership, conferences, applications and acceptances of work camp staff, and project planning. Also included are the office files, 1950-1957, primarily of Howard Kester at Black Mountain, N.C., but also of Charles M. Jones, 1951-1952; David S. Burgess; and Francis A. Drake. Kester's files contain information about relations with other organizations and individuals interested in race relations, anti-Semitism, rural dependency, labor conditions, and other social issues and with the Fellowship's financial structure. Later materials are primarily membership lists.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Records, 1937-1957 and undated.

About 12,960 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

1937-1944

Mimeographed reports and publications, along with some correspondence beginning in 1941 and some financial records. These are files of Howard Kester, who was general secretary from 1937 (or earlier) to 1944 and of Thomas B. Cowan, who was chair, 1937-1946. The papers of 1944 include some correspondence of Charles M. Jones, acting general secretary, and Nelle Morton, then at the Presbyterian Building, Richmond, Va.

1945-1949

Files of Nelle Morton, general secretary, consist largely of business correspondence of a routine nature, i.e., letters soliciting contributions; announcements of conferences and plans for them; recruiting of work campers, prospective campers' applications, notifications of acceptance, and plans for the camps; recruiting of new members; planning committee meetings; and soliciting and distributing subscriptions to "Prophetic Religion" and arranging for exchanges of publications.

Some of the papers contain descriptive material. For example, in their effort to interest prospective members, contributors, work campers, the Secretary and other officers gave some detailed information about the organization and its projects. Work campers wrote summaries, some of which were quite informative, of their experiences in camp. Also, in addition to mimeographed communications sent by the organization, there was often correspondence among members concerning events of special interest, such as the Sweatt case, or the Journey of Reconciliation to test the court ruling on desegregation in common carriers in interstate commerce, 1947, or new uprisings of the Ku Klux Klan. Among other events reflected in the papers are mob action at Columbia, N.C., which forced Fellowship work campers to leave their project (the construction of a credit union building) in the summer of 1947, and the arrest of Fellowship members in Atlanta, Ga., because of an interracial student folk dance party in the summer of 1948.

Throughout the files there are financial reports, membership lists, lists of contributions, and scattered papers of other officers and committee chairs. The successive presidents or chairs were Thomas B. Cowan, 1937-1946, 1949; Howard Kester, 1947-1948; Charles M. Jones, 1950-1951; and Neal Hughley, beginning in 1952.

Among the treasurers and finance committee chairs during the years, 1937-1957, were William W. McKee, George R. Bent, Allyn Robinson, Warren Ashby, Sadie Hughley, Charles M. Jones, and J. C. Herrin. The two members most actively concerned in the Friends of the Soil appear to have been Francis Drake and Eugene Smathers. David Burgess served many terms as chair of the labor committee, and in the 1950s, was chair of the board of trustees of the Fellowship Center. Walter Sikes served at one time as chair of the executive committee and also as chair of publications.

1950-1957

The papers for 1951 and 1952 include files of the Reverend Charles M. Jones, chair, who was also performing some of the duties of general secretary between the time Nelle Morton left in September 1949 and the time Howard Kester took over. There are also some papers of David S. Burgess, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Fellowship Center in western North Carolina, and papers of Francis A. Drake of the Friends of the Soil.

Howard Kester's correspondence began in June 1951, when he was living at Brasstown, N.C., and became more voluminous when he assumed his office as executive secretary in February 1952, establishing his headquarters at Black Mountain, N.C. The papers for 1953-1957 are almost entirely Kester's files and include carbon copies of letters written by Kester; letters received from other persons in the Fellowship; other correspondence and related papers, particularly correspondence with other organizations and individuals having similar aims; and audits, budgets, mimeographed releases.

Undated and Miscellaneous Papers

Undated items include letters, lists, committee reports and minutes, papers relating to the Journey of Reconciliation, papers of Friends of the Soil, work camp reports, and other items.

Folder 1a

Original finding aid

Folder 1

14 September 1937-31 October 1938

Folder 2

1 November 1938-17 October 1940

Folder 3

7 May 1941-1 September 1942

Folder 4

1 October 1942-10 March 1943

Folder 5

15 March 1943-24 November 1943

Folder 6

1 January-31 December and undated 1944

Folder 7

1 January-8 February 1945

Folder 8

8 February 1945-19 April 1945

Folder 9

21 April 1945-24 May 1945

Folder 10

25 May 1945-18 June 1945

Folder 11

19 June 1945-20 July 1945

Folder 12

21 July 1945-30 September 1945

Folder 13

1-31 October 1945

Folder 14

1 November-4 December 1945

Folder 15

5-31 December 1945

Folder 16

1-21 January 1946

Folder 17

22-28 January 1946

Folder 18

29 January-5 February 1946

Folder 19

6-11 February 1946

Folder 20

12-18 February 1946

Folder 21

19-22 February 1946

Folder 22

23-27 February 1946

Folder 23

28 February-14 March 1946

Folder 24

15-20 March 1946

Folder 25

21-27 March 1946

Folder 26

28-31 March 1946

Folder 27

1-10 April 1946

Folder 28

11-20 April 1946

Folder 29

22-30 April 1946

Folder 30

1-8 May 1946

Folder 31

9-15 May 1946

Folder 32

16-20 May 1946

Folder 33

21-28 May 1946

Folder 34

29 May-6 June 1946

Folder 35

7-12 June 1946

Folder 36

13-21 June 1946

Folder 37

22-30 June 1946

Folder 38

1-15 July 1946

Folder 39

16-23 July 1946

Folder 40

24 July-7 August 1946

Folder 41

8-15 August 1946

Folder 42

16-26 August 1946

Folder 43

27 August-9 September 1946

Folder 44

10-18 September 1946

Folder 45

19-23 September 1946

Folder 46

24-30 September 1946

Folder 47

1-8 October 1946

Folder 48

9-15 October 1946

Folder 49

16-21 October 1946

Folder 50

22-31 October 1946

Folder 51

1-7 November 1946

Folder 52

8-19 November 1946

Folder 53

20-27 November 1946

Folder 54

28 November-11 December 1946

Folder 55

12-17 December 1946

Folder 56

18-31 December 1946

Folder 57

Undated 1946

Folder 58

1-11 January 1947

Folder 59

12-26 January 1947

Folder 60

27-31 January and undated 1947

Folder 61

1-10 February 1947

Folder 62

11-17 February 1947

Folder 63

18-24 February 1947

Folder 64

25-28 February and undated 1947

Folder 65

1-9 March 1947

Folder 66

10-14 March 1947

Folder 67

15-21 March 1947

Folder 68

22-25 March 1947

Folder 69

26-31 March and undated 1947

Folder 70

1-8 April 1947

Folder 71

9-14 April 1947

Folder 72

15-21 April 1947

Folder 73

22-26 April 1947

Folder 74

27-30 April 1947

Folder 75

1-6 May 1947

Folder 76

7-12 May 1947

Folder 77

13-16 May 1947

Folder 78

17-22 May 1947

Folder 79

23-31 May 1947

Folder 80

1-3 June 1947

Folder 81

4-8 June 1947

Folder 82

9-12 June 1947

Folder 83

13-19 June 1947

Folder 84

20-25 June 1947

Folder 85

26-30 June 1947

Folder 86

1-7 July 1947

Folder 87

8-10 July 1947

Folder 88

11-16 July 1947

Folder 89

17-21 July 1947

Folder 90

22-29 July 1947

Folder 91

30 July-3 August 1947

Folder 92

5-10 August 1947

Folder 93

11-17 August 1947

Folder 94

18-24 August 1947

Folder 95

25-31 August 1947

Folder 96

1-6 September 1947

Folder 97

7-19 September 1947

Folder 98

20-25 September 1947

Folder 99

26-30 September and undated 1947

Folder 100

1-7 October 1947

Folder 101

8-15 October 1947

Folder 102

16-21 October 1947

Folder 103

22-28 October 1947

Folder 104

29-31 October and undated 1947

Folder 105

1-9 November 1947

Folder 106

10-17 November 1947

Folder 107

18-23 November 1947

Folder 108

24-30 November and undated 1947

Folder 109

1-8 December 1947

Folder 110

9-15 December 1947

Folder 111

16-19 December 1947

Folder 112

22-31 December and undated 1947

Folder 113

Undated 1947

Folder 114

Undated 1947

Folder 115

1-7 January 1948

Folder 116

8-12 January 1948

Folder 117

13-16 January 1948

Folder 118

17-24 January 1948

Folder 119

26-30 January 1948

Folder 120

1-8 February 1948

Folder 121

9-13 February 1948

Folder 122

14-18 February 1948

Folder 123

19-29 February 1948

Folder 124

1-7 March 1948

Folder 125

8-11 March 1948

Folder 126

12-13 March 1948

Folder 127

14-16 March 1948

Folder 128

17-21 March 1948

Folder 129

22-24 March 1948

Folder 130

25-29 March 1948

Folder 131

30-31 March 1948

Folder 132

1-5 April 1948

Folder 133

6-11 April 1948

Folder 134

12-15 April 1948

Folder 135

16-19 April 1948

Folder 136

20-26 April 1948

Folder 137

27-30 April 1948

Folder 138

1-6 May 1948

Folder 139

7-11 May 1948

Folder 140

12-17 May 1948

Folder 141

18-23 May 1948

Folder 142

24-31 May 1948

Folder 143

1-6 June 1948

Folder 144

7-11 June 1948

Folder 145

12-23 June 1948

Folder 146

24-30 June 1948

Folder 147

1-8 July 1948

Folder 148

9-19 July 1948

Folder 149

20-26 July 1948

Folder 150

27-31 July 1948

Folder 151

2-9 August 1948

Folder 152

10-19 August 1948

Folder 153

20-31 August 1948

Folder 154

1-10 September 1948

Folder 155

11-20 September 1948

Folder 156

21-30 September 1948

Folder 157

1-8 October 1948

Folder 158

11-19 October 1948

Folder 159

20-25 October 1948

Folder 160

26-30 October 1948

Folder 161

1-7 November 1948

Folder 162

8-13 November 1948

Folder 163

15-22 November 1948

Folder 164

23-30 November 1948

Folder 165

1-12 December 1948

Folder 166

13-31 December 1948

Folder 167

Undated 1948

Folder 168

Undated 1948

Folder 169

1-11 January 1949

Folder 170

12-20 January 1949

Folder 171

21-31 January 1949

Folder 172

1-10 February 1949

Folder 173

12-20 February 1949

Folder 174

21-28 February 1949

Folder 175

1-7 March 1949

Folder 176

8-12 March 1949

Folder 177

13-21 March 1949

Folder 178

22-31 March 1949

Folder 179

2-16 April 1949

Folder 180

18-22 April 1949

Folder 181

23-30 April 1949

Folder 182

Undated April 1949

Folder 183

1-14 May 1949

Folder 184

16-23 May 1949

Folder 185

24-31 May 1949

Folder 186

1-8 June 1949

Folder 187

9-19 June 1949

Folder 188

20 June-31 July 1949

Folder 189

1 August-28 September 1949

Folder 190

1-31 October 1949

Folder 191

2 November-31 December 1949

Folder 192

Undated 1949

Folder 193

January-February 1950

Folder 194

3 March-29 April 1950

Folder 195

1 May-30 June 1950

Folder 196

3 July-29 September 1950

Folder 197

3 October-30 November 1950

Folder 198

1-28 December and undated 1950

Folder 199

3 January-28 February 1951

Folder 200

3 March-29 June 1951

Folder 201

14 July-30 October 1951

Folder 202

3 November-31 December and undated 1951

Folder 203

2 January-19 February 1952

Folder 204

20 February-20 March 1952

Folder 205

21 March-9 April 1952

Folder 206

10 April-19 May 1952

Folder 207

20 May-20 June 1952

Folder 208

22 June-31 July 1952

Folder 209

3 August-7 September 1952

Folder 210

9-29 September 1952

Folder 211

1 October-3 November 1952

Folder 212

5-26 November 1952

Folder 213

1-12 December 1952

Folder 214

13-31 December and undated 1952

Folder 215

1-25 January 1953

Folder 216

26 January-11 February 1953

Folder 217

12-25 February 1953

Folder 218

26 February-17 March 1953

Folder 219

18 March-13 April 1953

Folder 220

14 April-8 May 1953

Folder 221

11-29 May 1953

Folder 222

1 June-7 July 1953

Folder 223

8 July-13 August 1953

Folder 224

17 August-27 September 1953

Folder 225

28 September-6 November 1953

Folder 226

8 November-29 December 1953

Folder 227

1-31 January 1954

Folder 228

1-28 February 1954

Folder 229

1-29 March 1954

Folder 230

1-30 April 1954

Folder 231

1-28 May 1954

Folder 232

1 June-30 July 1954

Folder 233

1 August-30 September 1954

Folder 234

1-31 October 1954

Folder 235

1 November-28 December and undated 1954

Folder 236

1 January-16 February 1955

Folder 237

17 February-17 March 1955

Folder 238

19 March-31 May 1955

Folder 239

2-30 June 1955

Folder 240

1-31 July 1955

Folder 241

1-31 August 1955

Folder 242

1-25 September 1955

Folder 243

26 September-11 October 1955

Folder 244

12 October-30 November 1955

Folder 245

2-31 December and undated 1955

Folder 246

5-31 January 1956

Folder 247

1-29 February 1956

Folder 248

1 March-30 April 1956

Folder 249

2 May-31 July 1956

Folder 250

1 August-31 October 1956

Folder 251

1 November-13 December and undated 1956

Folder 252

5 January-16 November 1957

Folder 253

Letters, undated

Folder 254

Lists, undated

Folder 255

Committee reports and minutes, undated

Folder 256

Statements of aims, history, and policies, undated

Folder 257

Statements of aims, history, and policies, undated

Folder 258

Papers relating to the "Journey of Reconciliation," undated

Folder 259

Papers of "Friends of the Soul," undated

Folder 260

Work camp reports, undated

Folder 261

Printed materials, undated

Folder 262

Miscellaneous papers

Folder 263

Miscellaneous papers

Folder 264

Miscellaneous papers

Folder 265

Miscellaneous papers

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Volumes, 1937-1952.

About 13 items.

Volumes contain membership lists, 1937-1942; financial records, 1938-1941, 1944-1946, 1947-1952; accounts for "Prophetic Religion," 1941; membership records of Friends of the Soil, 1942-1943; and registration for a meeting in Raleigh, N.C., March 1943.

Folder 266

Volume 1: Membership lists and accounts, 1937-1941

Folder 267

Volume 2: Membership lists, 1937-1942

Folder 268

Volume 3: Financial records, 1938-1941

Folder 269

Volume 4: Accounts for "Prophetic Religion," 1941

Folder 270

Volume 5: Friends of the Soil members' names, addresses, and amounts paid, 1942-1943

Folder 271

Volume 6: Registration book for meeting at Raleigh, N.C., March 1943

Folder 272

Volume 7: Miscellaneous accounts, ca. 1944-1946

Folder 273-276

Folder 273

Folder 274

Folder 275

Folder 276

Volume 8: Financial records and statements, 1947-1952

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Photographs, undated.

5 items.

There are five black-and-white photographs of groups or individuals.

Image Folder PF-3479/1

Photographs

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Additions

About 22 items.

There have been three small additions to the collection. The addition of June 1982 (Acc. 82095) contains letters, a note, and a postcard, 1974 and 1978, from Nelle Morton to Anthony Dunbar and Howard Kester, describing Morton's work in the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen in the late 1940s. The addition of August 1986 (Acc. 86105) contains a printout, a floppy disk (5 1/4"), a backup floppy disk, and a codesheet documenting membership of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen. The disk may not be copied and may not be used to produce ASCII files of the data or any form of file for statistical analysis or other manipulation. The addition of January 2004 (Acc. 99696) contains correspondence, 1977-1979, of Elizabeth M. Kester and J. Andrew Lipscomb about a possible book about Howard Kester, as well as information about Kester's memorial services, a few letters from other people, a few writings of Howard Kester, and photographs of a banner that became the logo of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen.

Photographs of a banner that became the logo of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen were added in January 2004.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Addition of June 1982 (Acc. 82095)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Addition of August 1986 (Acc. 86105)

Floppy Disc FLD-3479/1

Floppy disk

Folder 278

Membership list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Addition of January 2004 (Acc. 99696)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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