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Collection Number: 03834

Collection Title: Howard Kester Papers, 1923-1972

This collection has access 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.


expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 16.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 12,000 items)
Abstract Howard Anderson Kester was a theologian, educator, and administrator active in Christian movements relating to race relations, pacifism, and economic reform in the South from the 1920s until his retirement in 1970. The collection contains correspondence of Howard Kester and his wife, Alice Harris Kester, together with writings, reports, leaflets, pamphlets, newsletters, organization reports, photographs, and other items. Much of the material relates to civil rights, desegregation, sharecroppers, and labor struggles; there is some material relating to lynching. Included are materials about Kester's association, beginning in the 1930s, with such organizations as the YMCA, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Committee on Economic and Racial Justice, the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union, the Socialist Party, the NAACP, the Delta Cooperative Farm, and others active in the movement for social change. Also included are materials relating to Kester's work, beginning in the 1940s, with such institutions as the Penn School, the John C. Campbell Folk School, Eureka College, Christmount Christian Assembly, and Montreat-Anderson College. There is also material relating to Kester's later work as an educational innovator and about Kester himself and his development as a Christian radical, social reformer, administrator, and teacher. Among the correspondents are William Ruthrauff Amberson, Olive Campbell, Thomas B. Cowan, Elizabeth Gilman, Frank Porter Graham, Charles Houston, Thurgood Marshall, Harry Leland Mitchell, Nelle Morton, Reinhold Niebuhr, Howard Washington Odum, Arthur Franklin Raper, Clarence Senior, Celestine Smith, Norman Thomas, Walter White, and Roy Wilkins.
Creator Kester, Howard, 1904-1977.
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
RESTRICTED: Series 12. Personal Correspondence, is restricted and may be used only with written permission from Kester's daughter, Nancy Kester Neale.
Restrictions to Use
No usage restrictions.
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 Howard Kester Papers #3834, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Howard Kester of Black Mountain, N.C., in 1973.
Additional Descriptive Resources
There is a detailed index to Howard Kester's correspondence with individuals and organizations that refers to materials found in Series 1, and, to a lesser extent, to Series 2. Penn School and Series 3. John C. Campbell Folk School, all in Part I of this collection. This index only exists in digital form; it appears in the container list at the beginning of Series 1.
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: Edward Wayland and Mark Beasley, 1973 and 1987

Reprocessed by: Jessica Sedgwick, April 2009

Encoded by: Jessica Sedgwick, April 2009

Processing note: The Howard Kester papers are divided into two parts. Part I refers to the portion of the collection that was microfilmed and described in 1973. This portion represents the bulk of the papers. Part II refers to the smaller portion of the collection that was not microfilmed. The arrangement and description of materials in Part II corresponds to the pattern established when Part I was described.

The current arrangement and description of the Howard Kester Papers is based on the original order of the papers as received as on earlier processing work. Because information on various topics may be scattered throughout the collection, researchers are advised to check all likely series for materials of interest.

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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 Biographical Information

Howard Anderson "Buck" Kester was a theologian, educator, and administrator active in Christian movements relating to race relations, pacifism, and economic reform in the South from the 1920s until his retirement in 1970.

21 July 1904 Born, Martinsville, Va., son of William and Nannie Holt Kester
1916 Kester family moved to Beckley, W.Va.
1921-1925 Attended Lynchburg College
Summer 1923 Traveled with other students on an American Pilgrimage of Friendship to European Students
1925-1926 Attended Princeton Theological Seminary
1926-1927 Attended Vanderbilt University School of Religion
18 February 1927 Married Alice Harris
1927-1934 Worked for Fellowship of Reconciliation
1929-1931 Attended Vanderbilt University
1931 Awarded B.D. degree by Vanderbilt University
Fall 1931 Joined Socialist Party
1932 Ran for Congress on Socialist Party ticket
1932-1933 Involved with striking coal miners, Wilder, Tenn.
January 1934 Left Fellowship of Reconciliation
1934-1941 Worked for Committee on Economic and Racial Justice, Reinhold Niebuhr, chair
27 April 1934 Nancy Kester born
May 1934 First meeting of Conference of Younger Churchmen of the South (later Fellowship of Southern Churchmen), Monteagle, Tenn.
1935-1941 Worked with Southern Tenant Farmers' Union
1936 Revolt Among the Sharecroppers published
1937 Elected to National Executive Committee, Socialist Party
1939 Built house in High Top Colony, Black Mountain, N.C.
1941-1943 Worked as executive secretary for the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen
1944-1948 Worked as principal, Penn School, Saint Helena Island, S.C.
May 1949-May 1950 Worked as director of the Congregational Christian Church Displaced Persons Program in New York City, N.Y.
July 1950-January 1952 Worked as headmaster, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, N.C.
February 1952-August 1957 Served as executive secretary, Fellowship of Southern Churchmen
1957-1960 Served as director of student life, professor of history, dean of students, Eureka College, Eureka, Ill.
1960-1965 Served as executive director of Christmount Assembly, Black Mountain, N.C.
1963-1965 Part-time instructor at Montreat-Anderson College, Montreat, N.C.
1965-1971 Full-time instructor at Montreat-Anderson College, Montreat, N.C.
1968-1970 Dean of students at Montreat-Anderson College, Montreat, N.C.
April 1970 Alice Harris Kester died
1972 Howard Kester died

Full biographical note on Howard Kester (PDF)

full biographical note

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection contains correspondence of Howard Kester and his wife, Alice Harris Kester, together with writings, reports, leaflets, pamphlets, newsletters, organization reports, photographs, and other items. Much of the material relates to civil rights, desegregation, sharecroppers, and labor struggles; there is some material relating to lynching. Included are materials about Kester's association, beginning in the 1930s, with such organizations as the YMCA, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Committee on Economic and Racial Justice, the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union, the Socialist Party, the NAACP, the Delta Cooperative Farm, and others active in the movement for social change. Also included are materials relating to Kester's work, beginning in the 1940s, with such institutions as the Penn School, the John C. Campbell Folk School, Eureka College, Christmount Christian Assembly, and Montreat-Anderson College. There is also material relating to Kester's later work as an educational innovator and about Kester himself and his development as a Christian radical, social reformer, administrator, and teacher. Among the correspondents are William Ruthrauff Amberson, Olive Campbell, Thomas B. Cowan, Elizabeth Gilman, Frank Porter Graham, Charles Houston, Thurgood Marshall, Harry Leland Mitchell, Nelle Morton, Reinhold Niebuhr, Howard Washington Odum, Arthur Franklin Raper, Clarence Senior, Celestine Smith, Norman Thomas, Walter White, and Roy Wilkins.

Processing Note: The Howard Kester papers are divided into two parts. Part I refers to the portion of the collection that was microfilmed and described in 1973. This portion represents the bulk of the papers. Part II refers to the smaller portion of the collection that was not microfilmed. The arrangement and description of materials in Part II corresponds to the pattern established when Part I was described.

The current arrangement and description of the Howard Kester Papers is based on the original order of the papers as received as on earlier processing work. Because information on various topics may be scattered throughout the collection, researchers are advised to check all likely series for materials of interest.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

Part I
Part I. Series 1. General correspondence and related materials, 1923-1972.
Part I. Series 2. Penn School, 1924-1971.
2.1. Penn School correspondence, 1932-1971 (bulk 1932-1954).
2.2. Penn School reports, 1931-1948.
2.3. Penn School financial records, 1938-1948.
2.4. Penn School printed matter, 1924-1954.
2.5. Penn School miscellaneous files, 1940s.
Part I. Series 3. John C. Campbell Folk School, 1925-1952.
Part I. Series 4. Writings by Howard Kester, 1924-1972.
Part I. Series 5. Publications edited by Howard Kester, 1924-1957.
Part I. Series 6. Writings about Howard Kester, 1940-1964.
Part I. Series 7. Writings by others, 1926-1960.
Part I. Series 8. Financial records, 1934-1957.
Part I. Series 9. Lists of names.
Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.
Part I. Series 11. Printed Matter, 1930s-1960s.
Part II
Part II. Series 1. General correspondence and related materials, 1931-1972.
Part II. Series 2. Penn School, 1934-1948.
2.1. Penn School correspondence, 1943-1948.
2.3. Penn School reports, 1937-1948.
2.3. Penn School financial records, 1934-1941.
2.4. Penn School printed matter and pictures, 1940s.
2.5. Penn School miscellaneous files, 1938-1947.
Part II. Series 3. John C. Campbell Folk School, 1948-1957.
Part II. Series 4. Writings by Howard Kester, 1924-1972.
Part II. Series 6. Writings about Howard Kester, 1935-1977.
Part II. Series 7. Writings by others, 1920s-1960s.
Part II. Series 9. Lists of names.
Part II. Series 10. Photographs, 1938.
Part II. Series 11. Printed Matter, 1930s-1960s.
Part II. Series 12. Personal correspondence, 1924-1972.
Part II. Series 13. Prophetic Religion, 1946-1949.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I

About 10,000 items
12 linear feet

Processing Note: Part I of the Howard Kester papers includes materials that were microfilmed and described in 1973. Note that there is a detailed index to correspondence with individuals and organizations found in the following series of Part I: Series 1. General correspondence and related materials, and, to a lesser extent, Series 2. Penn School and Series 3. John C. Campbell Folk School. Currently, this index only exists in digital form, and appears in the container list at the beginning of Series 1.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I. Series 1. General correspondence and related materials, 1923-1972.

About 5,400 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence relates to Howard Kester's work with organizations such as the Fellowship of Reconciliation; the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union; the Socialist Party; the Workers' Defense League; the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen; the Congregational Christian Service Committee; and several colleges, including Eureka College, Christmount Assembly, and Montreat-Anderson College. To locate correspondence related to these organizations and institutions, refer to the rough year ranges described below and the subsequent chronological folder list.

Included with the correspondence are mimeographed minutes, reports, and statements issued by these organizations. Also included in this series are a number of reports written by Kester specifically for organizations that employed him. These deal with his activities, problems, and recommendations relating to his work. There are also reports written by others concerning special investigations or areas of knowledge, such as the report written by Hollace Ransdell for the American Civil Liberties Union on the Scottsboro case, 27 May 1931. Throughout this series, there are also a number of letters inviting Kester to speak, debate, or attend conferences. These invitations are followed by correspondence concerning details and final arrangements for the meetings, as well as reports and minutes of the meetings. There are also letters, dated most regularly during the late 1930s and early 1940s and again during the 1960s, from students working on various projects relating to the South. These letters request information on areas of Kester's work or interviews with him.

Topics addressed throughout the correspondence include:

The Communist Party: There are a number of references to the Communist Party in the correspondence, particularly in connection with the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union and the Socialist Party. There is an interesting exchange of letters between Kester and Francis P. Miller concerning the use of Miller's name without his permission by the Southern Conference for Human Welfare, reputedly a Communist-front organization. Kester had correspondence with Frank Porter Graham, president of the University of North Carolina, regarding this organization. A letter of 16 September 1948 from Lucien Koch, a former director of Commonwealth College in Mena, Ark., illustrates the difficulties faced by former Communist Party members, sympathizers, and even those merely suspected of being sympathizers.

Labor unions: Kester's involvement in the problems of labor and unionization is treated in a number of documents in this series. In a letter to Alice on 7 June 1929, he described the situation at Gastonia, N.C., which he visited at the height of the disturbances surrounding the strike against the Loray Mills. Correspondence and reports during the period from December 1932 to fall 1933 describe the miners' strike in Fentress County, Tenn., and the Kesters' involvement in it.

Correspondence between Howard and Alice Kester, primarily letters from Howard to Alice, begins in 1926 and continues into the 1960s. This correspondence is particularly heavy for the period 1926-1943, when Kester was traveling extensively. It is useful as a source for the kinds of activities in which he was involved, the people with whom he dealt, problems he had to confront, and his perceptions of events. There is one group of letters from Alice to Howard, written during his fall 1928 trip, which includes insights into contemporary life. During this period, Alice commuted to New York City to work as a sales clerk at Gimbels. Her letters are filled with comments on the city, the presidential election, dress styles, people and events, the radio, and popular music.

In 1939, the Kesters moved from Nashville, Tenn., into their new home at High Top Colony, outside of Black Mountain, N.C. Their correspondence with friends at the colony prior to 1939 and with their neighbors thereafter is included in this series. There are a number of letters dealing with life at the Colony, including correspondence with C. B. Loomis, Ed S. King, Herbert King, and Dagnall F. Folger, as well as minutes from several of the Colony's annual business meetings.

Note that correspondence relating specifically to Kester's work with the Penn School and with the John C. Campbell Folk School is filed separately as Series 2. and 3.

Below is a rough chronological guide to correspondence related to some of the organizations and efforts with which Kester was involved.

1927-1933 Kester's work with the Fellowship of Reconciliation is the subject of much of the correspondence during the period 1927-1933. The correspondence is generally with other Fellowship of Reconciliation members or sympathizers and concerns meetings, conferences, and the work of the organization. Included is information on international activities supplied through correspondence with Irene and Donald Grant. Information from the Fellowship of Reconciliation national headquarters in New York City appears in correspondence with J. Nevin Sayre and J. B. Matthews. Kester's correspondents in the local group in Nashville included Alva Taylor, Dagnall F. Folger, Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Johnson, and Albert Barnett. The minutes of the council and the executive committee of Fellowship of Reconciliation are most complete for the years 1930-1933. These minutes include accounts of the meetings of these groups, reports of the various secretaries, financial and membership records, and some of the official correspondence of the organization. Following his departure from Fellowship of Reconciliation in early 1934, Kester maintained contact with the organization chiefly through its southern secretaries, Harold Fey, Claude Nelson, and Constance Rumbough. In the late 1930s, Kester was elected to the Fellowship of Reconciliation executive committee and again received some of the organization's published minutes and announcements.
1930s Periodically during the 1930s there are letters from Walter White, Roy Wilkins, Thurgood Marshall, and Charles Houston of the NAACP asking Kester to investigate reported lynchings at various places in the South. The reports themselves have been filed separately in Series 4. There is a good deal of correspondence throughout the 1930s concerning investigations for which Kester wrote reports and several others which, for various reasons, Kester was unable to undertake or to complete. There is also scattered correspondence with Celestine Smith of the YWCA during this time period.
1931-1941 Kester joined the Socialist Party in the fall of 1931, and Party matters are reflected in the correspondence for the next ten years. There is little reference in the correspondence to his involvement in the 1932 campaign, although he was a candidate on the Party ticket for Congress. Most of the correspondence relating to the Party during 1932-1933 concerns the organization of the Tennessee local. Correspondents include G. H. Braun, J. K. Stockton, and Kate Stockton. For the most part, this correspondence deals more with organizational plans than with Party issues. One exception is Kester's letter to George Jackson of 9 February 1933 outlining Kester's views on the need for the Party locals to be interracial. During this period, there is also correspondence with people and organizations in which the Socialist Party had an interest, such as Dorothy Detzer of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; Louise Leonard McLaren of the Southern Summer School for Women Workers in Industry; and James Dombrowski, Myles Horton, Eugene Sutherland, and Don West, all associated with the Highlander Folk School.
Following the organization of the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union in 1934, there is a great deal of correspondence with Socialist Party leaders Clarence Senior and Norman Thomas concerning the union. In 1937-1938, Kester served as a member of the Party's national executive committee. In this capacity, he received volumes of reports, resolutions, statements, and mimeographed letters relating to the power struggles within the party, as well as the minutes of the national executive committee meetings. The committee meetings in September 1937, when the Trotskyite group was expelled from the Party, are described in letters Kester wrote to Alice and others at this time. Following 1938, the number of documents referring to the Party decreases, although Kester's work with other groups dominated by Party members, such as the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union and the Workers' Defense League, kept him in touch with the party into the early 1940s.
1933-1940 Kester's work with the League for Industrial Democracy lecture circuit program, 1933-1940, is documented in correspondence with Dagnall F. Folger and Guy Sarvis in Nashville, Tenn., and Mary Hillyer and later Mary Fox in New York. These papers include information on the finances and organization of the Nashville League for Industrial Democracy group lecture circuit as well as Kester's own involvement as a circuit speaker every winter during these years. Alice Kester participated in the correspondence relating to the Nashville League for Industrial Democracy program, as well as in making arrangements for Howard's travel schedule. As his official secretary, she dealt with much of Howard's correspondence, especially during 1934-1943 and 1952-1957, making speaking arrangements for him, presenting his viewpoints when possible, and establishing herself as a leader in her own right of groups such as the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen.
1934-1941 Correspondence relating to the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union, sharecroppers, and Kester's work with them, is heaviest during the years 1934-1941. This is primarily correspondence between Kester and union leaders such as H. L. Mitchell, J. R. Butler, Evelyn Smith, and Arthur Raper. There is also considerable correspondence relating to the organization and promotion of the Delta Cooperative Farm in Rochdale, Miss. Correspondence with Sam Franklin, Sherwood Eddy, W. R. Amberson, and Reinhold Niebuhr, 1936-1942, and with David Minter and Eugene Cox in the 1950s deals with the Farm, its operation, and its problems. In 1940, there are a number of documents relating to an investigation of the Farm by a board appointed by the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union and chaired by Kester. Other information relating to the Union is contained in minutes and notes on Union meetings, reports, and articles written by Kester and other union leaders, and in correspondence with people outside the South relating to the Union's financial needs, such as letters to Harriet Young and Paula Marray of the National Sharecroppers' Fund. In addition, documents relating to the Workers' Defense League, the official legal representative of the Union, contain information on the Union. There is also scattered correspondence with Arthur Raper of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation.
Most of the activities in which Kester was involved during 1934-1941 are discussed in correspondence with Reinhold Niebuhr, chair of the Committee on Economic and Racial Justice, and Elizabeth Gilman, Committee on Economic and Racial Justice treasurer. Letters between Elizabeth Gilman and Alice Kester are particularly detailed in their description of Kester's work.
1934-1958 One of the organizations with which the correspondence deals most fully is the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, from its organization as the Conference of Younger Churchmen of the South in 1934 to its dissolution in 1958. Kester's papers document the growth of the organization and the thinking of its leaders, people such as Thomas B. Cowan, Eugene Smathers, Walter Sikes, Abram Nightingale, and Melvin Watson. The correspondence for the period 1944-1949 deals almost exclusively with Fellowship of Southern Churchmen: its projects; the publication of its magazine, Prophetic Religion; and its problems, notably the financial onces. Leaders from this period whose correspondence is included are, in addition to those named above, Nelle Morton, Charles Jones, and David Burgess. From 1944 to 1948, Kester was inactive in Fellowship of Southern Churchmen since he was serving as the principal of Penn School.
1949-1950 From May 1949 to June 1950, there is correspondence relating to the Kesters' work with the Congregational Christian Service Committee in New York City, where Howard served as director of the Displaced Persons Program. There are a number of letters complimenting Alice Kester on her efforts as hostess of the International Service Center. There is also a report by Kester, dated 10 May 1950, detailing the progress of the Displaced Persons Program under his administration.
1952-1957 From 1952 to 1957, Kester returned to Fellowship of Southern Churchmen to serve as executive secretary. His papers for this period deal with the financial condition of the organization as well as several projects with which he was involved. The Fellowship of Southern Churchmen continued the development of the fellowship center at Swannanoa, N.C., which was being built mainly during summer work camps, 1952-1957. There are letters from participants in the work camps, correspondence with Charles Brown and Nancy Kester relating to the organization of the camps, and lists of participants in these work camps. In 1955, the Kesters took a trip across the South to survey the reaction to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision on the desegregation of public schools. This trip was reported in the November 1955 newsletter of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen. Kester organized two conferences dealing with the problems of desegregation, which were held in Nashville, Tenn., 10-11 January 1956 and 23-25 April 1957. The collection includes a number of mailing lists for these conferences. The Kesters left the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen in the fall of 1957.
1957-1972 Correspondence covering the years 1957-1972 deals mainly with Howard Kester's work at three institutions: Eureka College, 1957-1960; Christmount Assembly, 1960-1964; and Montreat-Anderson College, 1963-1971. Among the papers relating to the colleges are faculty memos and committee reports, correspondence with students, schedules, announcements, and documents generally detailing Kester's work. The papers concerning Christmount relate to Kester's attempts to organize and effectively operate the assembly grounds for the Disciples of Christ. During this period, there are letters from old friends, such as H. L. Mitchell and Eugene Cox, containing information on their earlier work and present positions.
Digital Folder DF-3834/1

Index to correspondence

Folder 1

Correspondence, 1923-1927

Folder 2

Correspondence, 1928

Oversize Paper OP-3834/1

"Tammany Democrats Raise Negro Issue," Democratic State Anti-Smith Committee political advertisement, 1928

Folder 3

Correspondence, 1929

Folder 4

Correspondence, 1930-1931

Folder 5-6

Folder 5

Folder 6

Correspondence, 1931

Folder 7-8

Folder 7

Folder 8

Correspondence, 1932

Folder 9

Correspondence, 1933

Folder 10-13

Folder 10

Folder 11

Folder 12

Folder 13

Correspondence, 1934

Folder 14-19

Folder 14

Folder 15

Folder 16

Folder 17

Folder 18

Folder 19

Correspondence, 1935

Folder 20-25

Folder 20

Folder 21

Folder 22

Folder 23

Folder 24

Folder 25

Correspondence, 1936

Folder 26-46

Folder 26

Folder 27

Folder 28

Folder 29

Folder 30

Folder 31

Folder 32

Folder 33

Folder 34

Folder 35

Folder 36

Folder 37

Folder 38

Folder 39

Folder 40

Folder 41

Folder 42

Folder 43

Folder 44

Folder 45

Folder 46

Correspondence, 1937

Folder 47-64

Folder 47

Folder 48

Folder 49

Folder 50

Folder 51

Folder 52

Folder 53

Folder 54

Folder 55

Folder 56

Folder 57

Folder 58

Folder 59

Folder 60

Folder 61

Folder 62

Folder 63

Folder 64

Correspondence, 1938

Folder 65-79

Folder 65

Folder 66

Folder 67

Folder 68

Folder 69

Folder 70

Folder 71

Folder 72

Folder 73

Folder 74

Folder 75

Folder 76

Folder 77

Folder 78

Folder 79

Correspondence, 1939

Folder 80-90

Folder 80

Folder 81

Folder 82

Folder 83

Folder 84

Folder 85

Folder 86

Folder 87

Folder 88

Folder 89

Folder 90

Correspondence, 1940

Folder 91-103

Folder 91

Folder 92

Folder 93

Folder 94

Folder 95

Folder 96

Folder 97

Folder 98

Folder 99

Folder 100

Folder 101

Folder 102

Folder 103

Correspondence, 1941

Folder 104-110

Folder 104

Folder 105

Folder 106

Folder 107

Folder 108

Folder 109

Folder 110

Correspondence, 1942

Folder 111-112

Folder 111

Folder 112

Correspondence, 1943

Folder 113

Correspondence, 1944

Folder 114

Correspondence, 1945

Folder 115

Correspondence, 1946

Folder 116

Correspondence, 1947

Folder 117-120

Folder 117

Folder 118

Folder 119

Folder 120

Correspondence, 1948

Folder 121-125

Folder 121

Folder 122

Folder 123

Folder 124

Folder 125

Correspondence, 1949

Folder 126

Correspondence, 1952

Folder 127

Correspondence, 1953

Folder 128

Correspondence, 1953

Folder 129

Correspondence, 1954

Folder 130-133

Folder 130

Folder 131

Folder 132

Folder 133

Correspondence, 1955

Folder 134-138

Folder 134

Folder 135

Folder 136

Folder 137

Folder 138

Correspondence, 1956

Folder 139-147

Folder 139

Folder 140

Folder 141

Folder 142

Folder 143

Folder 144

Folder 145

Folder 146

Folder 147

Correspondence, 1957

Folder 148-149

Folder 148

Folder 149

Correspondence, 1958

Folder 150-151

Folder 150

Folder 151

Correspondence, 1959

Folder 152-153

Folder 152

Folder 153

Correspondence, 1960

Folder 154

Correspondence, 1961

Folder 155

Correspondence, 1962

Folder 156

Correspondence, 1963

Folder 157

Correspondence, 1964

Folder 158

Correspondence, 1965

Folder 159

Correspondence, 1966

Folder 160

Correspondence, 1967

Folder 161

Correspondence, 1968

Folder 162

Correspondence, 1969

Folder 163-164

Folder 163

Folder 164

Correspondence, 1970

Folder 165

Correspondence, 1971-1972

Folder 166

Correspondence, undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I. Series 2. Penn School, 1924-1971.

About 1,200 items.

Arrangement: by material type, then chronological.

The Penn School material includes correspondence, reports, financial records, printed matter, and miscellaneous files covering the development of the school from the early 1930s to the early 1950s.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.1. Penn School correspondence, 1932-1971 (bulk 1932-1954).

Included are correspondence, memos, and printed School programs. The bulk of the correspondence ends in the fall of 1948 when Kester left the School. However, there are some letters dealing with the School in the early 1950s, and one woman continued to write to the Kesters about the School until 1971. The correspondence generally contains information on the internal organization and operation of the School and its search for financial stability. Prior to the Kesters' arrival in 1944, the most important correspondent on behalf of the School was the principal Rossa B. Cooley. Most of her letters relate either to the search for money with, for example, W. W. Brierley and Leo M. Favrot of the General Education Board, or to the operation of the teacher training program at the School. Following the Kesters' arrival, there is extensive correspondence with a number of the School's trustees, notably Ethel P. Moors, Grace Smith, W. E. Cadbury, and John Silver. Correspondence between the Kesters and Rossa Cooley, Francis Cope, and the board of trustees covers the Kesters' relationship with the School from their initial visits and interviews through their acceptance of the position, their years of work there, their dissatisfactions, and finally their resignations. Minutes of the board of trustees meetings are also included. There is also correspondence between Alice Kester and various southern teacher placement agencies, as she attempted to arrange for a larger, more highly trained faculty. Correspondence with the School staff kept the Kesters informed of events at the School during the summer break, which they usually spent at their home in Black Mountain. There are also letters with former students of the School and with friends of the Kesters concerning their lives at the School.

Folder 167

Penn School correspondence, 1932-1942

Folder 168-169

Folder 168

Folder 169

Penn School correspondence, 1943

Folder 170-175

Folder 170

Folder 171

Folder 172

Folder 173

Folder 174

Folder 175

Penn School correspondence, 1944

Folder 176-179

Folder 176

Folder 177

Folder 178

Folder 179

Penn School correspondence, 1945

Folder 180-183

Folder 180

Folder 181

Folder 182

Folder 183

Penn School correspondence, 1946

Folder 184-185

Folder 184

Folder 185

Penn School correspondence, 1947

Folder 186-188

Folder 186

Folder 187

Folder 188

Penn School correspondence, 1948

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.2. Penn School reports, 1931-1948.

Reports consist chiefly of descriptive and evaluative accounts of the operation of Penn School, the operation of various School departments, and the operation of certain Penn School programs. Reports by Trudelle Wimbush, covering the period from September 1937 to April 1944, concern the establishment and operation of the cooperative teacher training program at Penn, a program designed to offer student-teacher training to qualified African American students from the colleges at Orangeburg and Hampton. Annual reports from each of the School's vocational departments for the years 1944 and 1945 are also included. These reports document the number of students enrolled, the amount of work done or products produced, and sales or income. There is also some evaluation of the department's operation. Also included are Kester's reports to the board of trustees concerning the operation of the School. The reports, 1946-1948, are generally concerned with assessment of the School's resources, its potential, and its operation with a view toward changes in the School structure. The most detailed of these reports, and the report that the board of trustees used as the basis for the changes in School structure initiated in 1948, was prepared by a team from Clemson College and other educational institutions, under the direction of sociologist Ira De A. Reid (19 February 1948).

Folder 190

Penn School reports, 1931-1940

Folder 191

Penn School reports, 1939-1943

Folder 192

Penn School reports, 1944-1945

Folder 193

Penn School reports, 1945-1948

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.3. Penn School financial records, 1938-1948.

Financial records include accounts from various Penn School departments, statements of income and expenditures, reports on projects, and other reports concerning the financial condition of the School and its activities during the period of Kester's administration.

Folder 194

Penn School financial materials, 1942-1948

Folder 195

Penn School financial materials, 1948

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.4. Penn School printed matter, 1924-1954.

Included are promotional pamphlets concerning Penn School and its operation, 1933-1950. Issues of the "Penn School News," 1943-1954, a newsletter mailed primarily to trustees and donors to the School precede issues of the "Penn School Journal," 1943-1946, a newsletter prepared and issued by the students at the School. The published annual reports of the Penn School, which generally included a statement of events at the School during the preceding year and a detailed financial statement, cover the years 1924-1947. Also included are undated published writings concerning the School, some fiction based on island life that was written by School headmistresses, pamphlets, and products of the School print shop.

Folder 196-200

Folder 196

Folder 197

Folder 198

Folder 199

Folder 200

Penn School printed matter, 1924-1954

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.5. Penn School miscellaneous files, 1940s.

Included are documents relating to School life, forms, information on course work, regulations governing student life, the School song, announcements, and a copy of the School catalog for 1945-1946. Also included are a series of lists of names; a set of application forms for teaching and nursing positions at the School; and Rossa B. Cooley's personal notebook, circa 1941-1943, containing mainly a schedule of appointments, some notes, and memos.

Folder 201-203

Folder 201

Folder 202

Folder 203

Penn School miscellaneous files, 1940s

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I. Series 3. John C. Campbell Folk School, 1925-1952.

About 400 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

The documents that deal with the John C. Campbell Folk School prior to the Kesters' arrival in 1950 consist primarily of financial correspondence, financial reports, and budgets relating to the School's operation. Included also are reports from George Bidstrup and Dagnall F. Folger relating to the administration of the School. Most of the correspondence following the Kesters' arrival consists of letters between the Kesters and correspondence they carried on with several members of the School's board of directors, notably Fred Brownlee, Margaret Stanley-Brown (Peggy Sellers after January 1951), and Eva Eastman. Correspondence between the Kesters and Olive Dame Campbell and Richard Coolidge documents the events that led to Kester's resignation in 1951. Also included are reports and correspondence relating to the running of the School. There is also a group of documents relating to the 25th anniversary celebration at the School, held in the late spring of 1951.

Folder 204

1925-July 1949

Folder 205

July-December 1949

Folder 206

January-July 1950

Folder 207

July-September 1950

Folder 208

October 1950-April 1951

Folder 209

May-October 1951

Folder 210

November 1951-January 1954

Image Folder PF-3834/1b

John C. Campbell Folk School pictures

Includes a postcard booklet and a few photographs of crafts and craftsmen.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I. Series 4. Writings by Howard Kester, 1924-1972.

About 400 items.

Arrangement: by category, then chronological.

Manuscripts and printed copies of writings by Howard Kester.

Folder 211

Articles: "War Stands Condemned Before the Bar of Reason!" 1924

Articles: "Need for Social Security," 1935

Articles: "Acts of Tyranny and Terror," 1935

Articles: "Life and Death in Arkansas," 1936

Articles: "Religion--Priestly and Prophetic--in the South," 1936

Articles: "The Fellowship of Southern Churchmen: A Religion for Today," 1939

Articles: Preface, To Establish Justice ... : Pamphlet, published by the Workers Defense League, 1940

Articles: "The Problem of Man's Relationship to the Soil..."

Articles: "The Call to Righteousness, " 1940?

Articles: Untitled, March 1934

Articles: "Summons for Americans," March 1946

Articles: Untitled, 1957

Folder 212

Books: Untitled manuscript and other fragments

Folder 213

Books: Revolt Among the Sharecroppers

Folder 214

Ceremonies: "A Statement of Faith"

Ceremonies: "Ceremony of the Land"

Ceremonies: "Ceremony of the Prophets"

Ceremonies: "Ceremony of the Soil"

Ceremonies: "Darkness: An All-too-Ordinary"

Ceremonies: "Litany for the Installation of the Student Council"

Folder 215

Interviews and poetry

Folder 216-217

Folder 216

Folder 217

Reports: Lynchings

Various reports regarding cases of lynchings. The following reports are included: "The Maddox Murder," 1933; "The Lynching of Claude Neal," 1934; "Lynching by Blow Torch: A report upon the double lynching at Duck Hill, Miss.," 13 April 1937; "Report of forced labor in Warren County, Ga.," 1938; and "Notes relating to an investigation of a lynching in Columbia, Ala."

Folder 218-219

Folder 218

Folder 219

Reports: Farm tenancy: "A Statement Concerning Farm Tenancy Submitted to the Farm Governor's Commission on Farm Tenancy by the Executive Council," Southern Tenant Farmers' Union (and supplement), 1936

Folder 218

Folder 219

Reports: Farm tenancy: Testimony to President's Commission, 1937

Folder 218

Folder 219

Reports: Farm tenancy: Brief, on farm tenancy and alternative policies, submitted to the President's Committee on Farm Tenancy, 1937

Folder 218

Folder 219

Reports: Farm tenancy: "Problems of Farm Tenancy," 1937

Folder 218

Folder 219

Reports: Farm tenancy: Testimony before the Senate Special Committee to investigate unemployment and relief, March 1938

Folder 220

Other reports and reviews: Reports: "The Interracial Situation," 1933

Other reports and reviews: Southern Tenant Farmers' Union convention report, January 1936

Other reports and reviews: Southern Tenant Farmers' Union convention report, 2 February 1935

Other reports and reviews: Southern Tenant Farmers' Union convention report, February 1938

Other reports and reviews: Bealle, James, Dixie Needs No Cotton Picker, 1936

Other reports and reviews: Harold Isaac's review of Harry Ashmore's An Epitaph for Dixie, 1957

Other reports and reviews: Caudill, Harry M., Night Comes to the Cumberlands, 1964

Folder 221-224

Folder 221

Folder 222

Folder 223

Folder 224

Sermons, 1924-1964

Folder 225-227

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Untitled, delivered at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City, N.Y., 1928

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "Why United States Should Join the League," 1929?

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "We have come to the end of an era," outline, circa 1934

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "The Struggle Against Peonage," address delivered before the 26th annual conference of the NAACP, Saint Louis, Mo., June 1935

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "The Human Side of Cotton Tenancy," 1936

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "Problems of the Rural South"

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "Landless Farmers," 1940

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Untitled, fall 1942?

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "The Christian Church and the Building of Tomorrow's World," 1943

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Untitled: Graduation speech, Penn School, May 1944

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Untitled: Founders Day speech, Penn School, March 1946?

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Untitled: Graduation speech, Adventure School, June, 1948?

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Untitled, circa 1950

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Memorial to Charlie J. Brown, 1956

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "Some Things of Value, " circa 1956

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Untitled: Address to a conference, 25 April 1957

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "Toward an Understanding of These Days at Eureka College," 1957

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "Race Prejudice is Everybody's Business," circa 1958

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "Responsibility in a Democratic Society," 1958

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "Man's Mad Vision," 1959

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "If I Were Young," circa 1960

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "A World Money Won't Buy," Fall 1960

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "On Reinhold Niebuhr," 1961

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "For a Better Self and Society under God," circa 1960

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Untitled, circa 1964

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Presentation: Dedication of Encyclopedia Britannica to Dr. Weatherford for the board, 28 August 1965

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: "Laws Physical and Laws Spiritual," 1966

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Installation of New Student Government Officers, 1969-1970

Folder 225

Folder 226

Folder 227

Speeches: Appalachian Week, Montreat-Anderson College, 1972

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I. Series 5. Publications edited by Howard Kester, 1924-1957.

About 200 items.

Arrangement: by publication.

This series includes five serial publications for which Howard Kester wrote and/or edited. Volume number and corresponding dates are very irregular for some of these serials, particularly Prophetic Religion. Most of this series consists of Fellowship of Southern Churchmen publications, specifically the magazine Prophetic Religion and the "Fellowship of Southern Churchmen Newsletter."  Prophetic Religion continued publication, irregularly, from 1937-1955, but Kester's involvement with the magazine was minimal after 1942. All of the issues of the magazine that were in his possession, both in draft and printed states, have been included in this series. Prophetic Religion contains writings by Fellowship of Southern Churchmen members or friends on a number of topics relating to southern life, the role of the church in the South, perceptions of world events, social and economic institutions, and on the demands upon Christianity as a "prophetic religion." The "Fellowship of Southern Churchmen Newsletter," a mimeographed publication written largely by Kester, except for the period from 1944 to 1951, is also included here. The "Fellowship of Southern Churchmen Newsletter" served as a supplement to and often a substitute for Prophetic Religion . It details the growth of Fellowship of Southern Churchmen projects, the activities of Fellowship of Southern Churchmen members, and offers commentary on southern problems of the time.

Folder 228

Publications: Prophetic Religion and other publications, 1924-1938

Folder 229-233

Folder 229

Folder 230

Folder 231

Folder 232

Folder 233

Publications: Prophetic Religion , 1938-1955

Folder 234

Publications: "The Fellowship of Southern Churchmen Newsletter," 1942-1957

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I. Series 6. Writings about Howard Kester, 1940-1964.

About 50 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

This series contains material directly concerning Howard Kester and his work. It includes the beginnings of an autobiography, written by Kester in early 1940, a biographical sketch written by Henry Busch, and several brief articles outlining some of Kester's work.

Folder 235

Written material about Howard Kester, 1940-1964

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I. Series 7. Writings by others, 1926-1960.

About 50 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by author.

This series contains articles, essays, speeches, and poetry written by people who worked with Kester or whose work was related to his.

Folder 236-238

Folder 236

Folder 237

Folder 238

Writings by others, 1926-1960

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I. Series 8. Financial records, 1934-1957.

About 50 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Financial records are from three different periods of Howard Kester's life.

Folder 239

Committee on Economic and Racial Justice, 1935-1941

Two notebooks containing monthly statements of receipts and expenditures covering the period when Kester was employed by the Committee on Economic and Racial Justice.

Congregational Christian Service Committee International Service Center, 1949-1950

Petty cash accounts relating to Alice Kester's work as hostess of the International Service Center of the Congregational Church in New York City, N.Y.

Folder 240

Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, 1952-1957

Monthly statements of receipts and expenses of the Black Mountain, N.C., office of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen. During this period, Kester served as the organization's executive secretary.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I. Series 9. Lists of names.

About 20 items.

Processing Note: Many of the lists of names found in the Kester Papers have been filed in Series 1 with their covering letters or at the dates they were compiled. However, several of these lists could not be accurately dated or connected with covering letters. Those lists appear in this series.

Several lists of names of people involved in the various organizations and projects with which Kester worked. The lists are often lengthy and are useful as a means of identifying the groups of people who became involved with a variety of social reform movements in the South.

Folder 241

Lists of names

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.

About 300 items.

Arrangement: by subject.

This series contains photographs of people, places, and events with which Kester was involved. The majority of the photographs were taken by Kester in Arkansas, 1935-1936, and relate to the work of the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union and to conditions existing among Arkansas tenant farmers.

Image Folder PF-3834/2

A. Howard Kester

1. Passport photograph, 1932 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
2. Alice Harris Kester, passport photograph, 1932 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
3. Circa 1933 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
4. At Piney Moors, circa 1940 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
5. In "Ceremony of the Soil," circa 1942 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
6. With Alice Kester, Penn School, circa 1946 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
7. As director of Displaced Persons Program, circa 1950 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
8-9. At Buck Eye Cove, N.C., circa 1955 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
10. Living room, Piney Moors, circa 1956 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
11. Receiving Hobbs Award, Lynchburg College, 25 April 1959 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2

B. People

1. Ethel P. Moors, Memphis, Tenn. #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
2. Fellowship of Reconciliation conference, 1932 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
3. Fellowship of Southern Churchmen conference, Nashville, Tenn., 1957 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/2
Image Folder PF-3834/3

C. Places and Events

1. Miner's wife, Wilder, Tenn., circa 1932 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/3
2. Unidentified lynching, circa 1930s [MISSING] #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/3
3. Altar arrangement for the "Ceremony of the Prophets" #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/3
4. Fellowship House, Soddy, Tenn., 1941 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/3
5. Hampton House, Penn School, 1944 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/3
6. Penn School graduates, circa 1947 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/3
7. Piney Moors, circa 1948 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/3
8. Work camp, Swannanoa, N.C., circa 1954 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/3
9. Work camp, Buckeye Cove, N.C., circa 1955 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/3
10. Terrace at Inwood, home built by Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Strietmann for Christmount, circa 1957 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/3
11. View of Christmount entrance, circa 1957 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/3
Image Folder PF-3834/4

D. Southern Tenant Farmers' Union

A. Leaders #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/4
1. Ward H. Rodgers, 18 January 1935 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
2. Vernon Paul #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
3. H. L. Mitchell and E. B. McKinney #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
4. E. B. McKinney #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
5. E. B. McKinney and friends #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
6. H. L. Mitchell and Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Stultz #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
7. A. B. Brookins #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
8. Members of the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union, Marked Tree, Ark., February 1935, including A. B. Brookins and H. L. Mitchell #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
B. Sharecroppers and their families (21 photographs) #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/4
Image Folder PF-3834/5

D. Southern Tenant Farmers' Union

C. Sharecroppers' homes, Arkansas, circa 1935-1936 (29 photographs) #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/5
Image Folder PF-3834/6

D. Southern Tenant Farmers' Union

D. Planters' homes, Arkansas, circa 1935-1936 (6 photographs) #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/6
Image Folder PF-3834/7

D. Southern Tenant Farmers' Union

E. The environment: Scenes from Arkansas rural life, circa 1935-1936 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/7
1-2. Cotton gin plant #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
3. Saint Francis River #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
4. Man in rowboat, Saint Francis River #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
5. Winter ground #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
6. Church in Earle, Ark. #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
7. Union Church #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
8. Church in Birdsong, Ark. #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
9. Church or schoolhouse #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
10. Abandoned schoolhouse #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
11. Two men, Two mules, and a cart #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
12. Woman outside house #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
13. Two women cutting wood #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
14. Two mules and a cart #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
15-16. Men and mules plowing #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
17. Man and mule plowing #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
18. Evicted sharecroppers #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
19-21. Evicted family with all their possessions #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
22. Evicted sharecropper, Earle, Ark. #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
23. Evicted sharecroppers from the Dibble Plantation #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
Image Folder PF-3834/8

D. Southern Tenant Farmers' Union

F. Southern Tenant Farmers' Union, Arkansas, 1935-1936 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/8
1. Union fish fry #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
2. Leader speaking to a crowd #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
3-4. Union meeting #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
5. Trial of Dave Benson, union organizer, Forest City, Ark., 1935 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
6. Clearing land for the Delta Cooperative Farm, 1936, with Howard Kester on the left #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,

D. Southern Tenant Farmers' Union

G. March on Marked Tree, Ark., February 1935 #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959., Imagefolder PF-3834/8
1. Road to Marked Tree #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
2-5. Rally outside Marked Tree #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
6-7. Jennie Lee addressing the rally #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
8-11. The march #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
12-15. In Marked Tree #03834, Series Part I. Series 10. Photographs, 1932-1959.,
Image Folder PF-3834/9

Howard Kester and others

Image Folder PF-3834/10

Camp Anderson

Image Folder PF-3834/11-12

PF-3834/11

PF-3834/12

Sharecroppers, homes, and marches

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part I. Series 11. Printed Matter, 1930s-1960s.

About 800 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by name of publishing organization.

Most printed and mimeographed material appears in Series 1, filed with a covering letter or by the date of publication. Printed matter that is undated or that relates to causes and organizations with which Kester was not involved have been filed in this series. These publications are mainly leaflets, pamphlets, and promotional material. There are a number of conference programs included in this series, among them, those issued by the Commission on Interracial Cooperation and its two offshoots, the Conference on Education and Race Relations and the Southern Commission on the Study of Lynching.

Folder 242

Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America

American Civil Liberties Union

American Committee for Non-participation in Japanese Aggression

American Friends Service Committee

American Seminar

American Youth Congress

Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith

Folder 243

Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching

Blue Ridge Assembly

Christian Rural Fellowship

Christian Social Justice Fund, Inc.

Commission on Interracial Cooperation

Committee on Economic and Racial Justice

Committee on Militarism in Education

Communist Party

Folder 244

Community Service, Inc.

Conference on the Economic Status of the Negro, 11-13 May 1933

Conference on Education and Race Relations

Folder 245

Council for Social Action

Delaware Statement, 3-5 March 1942

Delta Cooperative Farm

Disciples of Christ

Eureka College

Folder 246

Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America

Folder 247

Fellowship of Reconciliation

Fellowship of Southern Churchmen

Folder 248

Friends of the Land

Friends of the Soil

Highlander Folk School

Institute of Race Relations, Swarthmore College, July 1933

Interracial Committee of the District of Columbia

Folder 249

Interracial Leadership Conference, 23-24 October 1956

Folder 250

Keep America Out of War Congress

League for Industrial Democracy

Montreat-Anderson College

Folder 251

Nashville Typographers' Union 20

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

National Cooperating Committee on Christian Reconstruction

National Intercollegiate Christian Council

National Religion and Labor Foundation

Folder 252

National Urban League

Non-partisan Committee for the Defense of Fred E. Beal

Kirby Page

People's Institute of Applied Religion

People's Lobby

Religion and Labor Center of Cleveland

Folder 253

Socialist Party

Southern Baptist Convention

Southern Commission on the Study of Lynching

Folder 254

Southern Conference for Human Welfare

Southern Leaders Conference on Transportation, 10-11 January 1957

Southern Tenant Farmers' Union

United Christian Council for Democracy

Folder 255

United States Government

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

Workers' Defense League

Folder 256

YMCA-YWCA

Folder 257

Other conference programs

Folder 258

Church services: programs and bulletins

Folder 259

Posters

Folder 260

Other printed matter

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II

About 2,000 items
4 linear feet

Processing Note: The Howard Kester papers are divided into two parts. Part II is comprised of the materials that were not microfilmed in 1973. The arrangement and description of materials in Part II corresponds to the pattern established when Part I was described.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II. Series 1. General correspondence and related materials, 1931-1972.

About 250 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence relates to Howard Kester's activities, especially with the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union and the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen. Material, chiefly from the 1930s, documents Kester's activities with these two organizations, and relates to their publications, goals, and internal workings. Material circa 1937 relates to tensions among factions within the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union and other organizations, such as the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing and Allied Workers of America.

Correspondence from late 1940 deals with investigations by the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union into the management of the Delta and Providence Cooperative Farms. A good deal of the correspondence circa 1946 relates to efforts Kester coordinated among the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen and other groups to transport cattle to Europe following World War II; this chiefly concerns staffing cattle boats with interracial crews of college-age men.

Kester's activities to promote the Conference of Christian Faith and Human Relations is documented in correspondence from early 1957. This interracial conference of southern churchmen was held in Nashville, Tenn., in April 1957, and attempted to develop a consensus among southern liberal churchmen on the subject of desegregation. Material from the 1960s relates chiefly to Kester's activities at Montreat-Anderson College, Montreat, N.C.

Prominent correspondents, appearing chiefly in the 1930s, include H. L. Mitchell, co-founder of the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union; J. R. Butler, president of Southern Tenant Farmers' Union; Norman Thomas, Socialist Party U.S.A. leader; and Nelle Morton, secretary of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen. Other correspondents include Frank Porter Graham, president of the University of North Carolina; Howard W. Odum; Elizabeth Gilman, treasurer of the Committee for Economic and Racial Justice; Reinhold Niebuhr, chair of Committee on Economic and Racial Justice; Thomas B. Cowan, president of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen; and Harry Hopkins, Work Projects Administration administrator.

Folder 261

Correspondence, 1931-1935

Folder 262

Correspondence, 1936

Folder 263

Correspondence, 1937

Folder 264-265

Folder 264

Folder 265

Correspondence, 1938

Folder 266

Correspondence, 1939

Folder 267

Correspondence, 1940

Folder 268

Correspondence, 1941-1945

Folder 269-276

Folder 269

Folder 270

Folder 271

Folder 272

Folder 273

Folder 274

Folder 275

Folder 276

Correspondence, 1946

Folder 277

Correspondence, 1947-1949

Folder 278

Correspondence, 1950-1954

Folder 279

Correspondence, 1955

Folder 280

Correspondence, 1956

Folder 281-282

Folder 281

Folder 282

Correspondence, 1957

Folder 283

Correspondence, 1960-1969

Folder 284

Correspondence, 1970-1972

Folder 285

Correspondence, undated

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II. Series 2. Penn School, 1934-1948.

About 100 items.

Arrangement: by material type.

Penn School materials include correspondence, reports, financial records, printed matter, and miscellaneous files. These sections cover the development of the School from the early 1930s to the early 1950s.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.1. Penn School correspondence, 1943-1948.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.3. Penn School reports, 1937-1948.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.3. Penn School financial records, 1934-1941.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.4. Penn School printed matter and pictures, 1940s.

Folder 289-290

Folder 289

Folder 290

Penn School printed matter

Image Folder PF-3834/1a

Penn School pictures

Photographs and postcards depict Penn School leaders, students, meetings, and grounds and facilities. Note that there are a few additional Penn School photographs in Part II. Series 10.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.5. Penn School miscellaneous files, 1938-1947.

Folder 291-295

Folder 291

Folder 292

Folder 293

Folder 294

Folder 295

Penn School miscellaneous files, 1938-1947

Schedules, notes, programs, applications, and other material relating to the school.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II. Series 3. John C. Campbell Folk School, 1948-1957.

About 50 items.

Arrangement: by material type.

Correspondence, executive board minutes, and other material relating to Kester's assignment as principal of the School.

Folder 296

Correspondence and notes

Folder 297-298

Folder 297

Folder 298

Reports and minutes

Folder 299

Financial material

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II. Series 4. Writings by Howard Kester, 1924-1972.

About 100 items.

Manuscripts and printed copies of writings by Howard Kester.

Folder 300-304

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "As Christian men and women"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "Austria Today," October 1923

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "Christianity has been called a materialistic religion"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "The conditions which served to drive them from the land"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "Dreamers and Doers: Report of a Council Address," July 1942

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: Eureka College material: Course and administrative notes

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: Fellowship of Southern Churchmen news release, 26 December 1942

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "Friends of the Soil"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: Howard Kester, secretary of the Committee on Economic and Racial Justice

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: Howard Kester in letter describes economic plight of Arkansas

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "Religion and Labor Foundation," February 1935

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "Hungary's Soul Unconquered," November 1923

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "I See America "

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "Imperatives on the Home Front"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: Kester: "Theological Orientation," 1960

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "Man's Mad Vision"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "Portrait"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "The Rural Resettlement Administration"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "The Situation which Confronts us"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "A Stranger Still"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "To Whom Shall They Turn"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "The Weather Vane"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "While Men Die"

Folder 300

Folder 301

Folder 302

Folder 303

Folder 304

Articles: "Woe unto them that join house to house"

Folder 305

Books

Typescript draft of the prologue of Revolt Among the Sharecroppers.

Folder 306

Books

Typescript of chapter one of Revolt Among the Sharecroppers.

Folder 307

Books

Typescript draft of chapter two of Revolt Among the Sharecroppers.

Folder 308

Books

Typescript draft of chapter three of Revolt Among the Sharecroppers.

Folder 309a

Books

Typescript draft of chapter four of Revolt Among the Sharecroppers.

Folder 309b

Books

Typescript of Radical Prophets: A History of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen , 1974.

Folder 310-311

Folder 310

Folder 311

Ceremonies: "Ceremony of the Land"

Folder 310

Folder 311

Ceremonies: "Ceremony of the Prophets"

Folder 310

Folder 311

Ceremonies: "Ceremony of the Soil"

Folder 310

Folder 311

Ceremonies: Other ceremonies

Folder 312

Poetry

Folder 313-315

Folder 313

Folder 314

Folder 315

Reports: Submitted to the Governor's Commission on Farm Tenancy, 1936?

Folder 313

Folder 314

Folder 315

Reports: Annual Report of Howard Kester, Southern Secretary, Annual Conference of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, October 1933

Folder 313

Folder 314

Folder 315

Reports: The Fellowship of Southern Churchmen in 1939-1940, 1941?

Folder 313

Folder 314

Folder 315

Reports: Fellowship of Southern Churchmen: Secretary's notes

Folder 313

Folder 314

Folder 315

Reports: Notes on Business Sessions of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, October 1940

Folder 313

Folder 314

Folder 315

Reports: Reflections and Notes on the Big Ridge Retreat of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, 1941?

Folder 313

Folder 314

Folder 315

Reports: Report of Committee on Economic and Racial Justice, 1941

Folder 313

Folder 314

Folder 315

Reports: Report of Howard Kester, 16 October 1937

Folder 313

Folder 314

Folder 315

Reports: Report of the Secretary to the Annual Conference: Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, 15 October 1940

Folder 313

Folder 314

Folder 315

Reports: Second Annual Convention Southern Tenant Farmers' Union, 1936

Folder 316-317

Folder 316

Folder 317

Sermons, 1924-1964

Folder 318

Speeches: "The Human Side of Cotton Tenancy:" Address Delivered Before American Economic Association, 29 December 1936

Speeches: "Laws Physical and Spiritual," 17 February 1966

Speeches: "Winning the World With Democracy"

Speeches: "Witnessing in a Strange world"

Speeches: "Woe is me!"

Speeches: Wood, Richard, "The Morning"

Speeches: "The Works Program: Works Progress Administration," September 1937

Speeches: "World Federation for Peace"

Speeches: "You are Called to Fellowship," August 1948

Speeches: Young, Frances, "A Sociofiscal Approach to Church History"

Speeches: Young, Harriet, "Southern Tenant Farmers' Union Minutes of Executive Council Meeting," 20 November 1937

Speeches: Young, Lorena, "At Paine College we have a yearly interracial student conference ... ," 1948

Speeches: "Youth is Spent"

Folder 319

"Statement of Principles: Fellowship of Southern Churchmen," 1938

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II. Series 6. Writings about Howard Kester, 1935-1977.

About 50 items.
Folder 320

1935-1977 and undated

Folder 321

Undated

Folder 322-323

Folder 322

Folder 323

Clippings, 1935-1977

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II. Series 7. Writings by others, 1920s-1960s.

About 500 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by title.

Much of this material was submitted to Kester as editor of Prophetic Religion. This series also contains unsigned writings that may have been written by Kester.

Folder 324-360

Folder 324

Folder 325

Folder 326

Folder 327

Folder 328

Folder 329

Folder 330

Folder 331

Folder 332

Folder 333

Folder 334

Folder 335

Folder 336

Folder 337

Folder 338

Folder 339

Folder 340

Folder 341

Folder 342

Folder 343

Folder 344

Folder 345

Folder 346

Folder 347

Folder 348

Folder 349

Folder 350

Folder 351

Folder 352

Folder 353

Folder 354

Folder 355

Folder 356

Folder 357

Folder 358

Folder 359

Folder 360

Writings by others, 1920s-1960s

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II. Series 9. Lists of names.

About 25 items.

Lists of names of people in organizations with which Kester was involved.

Folder 361-362

Folder 361

Folder 362

Lists of names

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II. Series 10. Photographs, 1938.

6 items.
Image Folder PF-3834/13

Photographs, 1938

Photographs of teaching students and others at the Penn School

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II. Series 11. Printed Matter, 1930s-1960s.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II. Series 12. Personal correspondence, 1924-1972.

About 1,000 items.

RESTRICTION: This series is available for research use only with written permission from Nancy Kester Neale.

Folder 367-468

Folder 367

Folder 368

Folder 369

Folder 370

Folder 371

Folder 372

Folder 373

Folder 374

Folder 375

Folder 376

Folder 377

Folder 378

Folder 379

Folder 380

Folder 381

Folder 382

Folder 383

Folder 384

Folder 385

Folder 386

Folder 387

Folder 388

Folder 389

Folder 390

Folder 391

Folder 392

Folder 393

Folder 394

Folder 395

Folder 396

Folder 397

Folder 398

Folder 399

Folder 400

Folder 401

Folder 402

Folder 403

Folder 404

Folder 405

Folder 406

Folder 407

Folder 408

Folder 409

Folder 410

Folder 411

Folder 412

Folder 413

Folder 414

Folder 415

Folder 416

Folder 417

Folder 418

Folder 419

Folder 420

Folder 421

Folder 422

Folder 423

Folder 424

Folder 425

Folder 426

Folder 427

Folder 428

Folder 429

Folder 430

Folder 431

Folder 432

Folder 433

Folder 434

Folder 435

Folder 436

Folder 437

Folder 438

Folder 439

Folder 440

Folder 441

Folder 442

Folder 443

Folder 444

Folder 445

Folder 446

Folder 447

Folder 448

Folder 449

Folder 450

Folder 451

Folder 452

Folder 453

Folder 454

Folder 455

Folder 456

Folder 457

Folder 458

Folder 459

Folder 460

Folder 461

Folder 462

Folder 463

Folder 464

Folder 465

Folder 466

Folder 467

Folder 468

Personal correspondence, 1924-1972

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Part II. Series 13. Prophetic Religion, 1946-1949.

About 75 items.

Material related to Kester's editorial role with Prophetic Religion, a publication of the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen. Writings submitted to Kester for publication in Prophetic Religion are included in Series 7.

Folder 469

Correspondence, 1946-1947

Folder 470-474

Folder 470

Folder 471

Folder 472

Folder 473

Folder 474

Correspondence, January-July 1948

Folder 475

Correspondence, August 1948-1949 and undated

Folder 476

Notes

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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