Lionel Barrow papers, 1940-2008

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Summary

Creator:
Barrow, Lionel C., 1926-2009
Abstract:
Dean of Howard University School of Communications, 1975-1985; founder of the Minorities and Communications Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Collection includes materials from Lionel Barrow's advertising career, his teaching and tenure at Howard University, and his involvement in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The earliest materials include student work from Barrow's youth and his studies at Morehouse College, as well as materials from his service in the 24th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. Another significant portion of the collection is Barrow's newspaper clippings and subject files, dating largely from the 1960s-2000s. His research on an unfinished book about the Freedom's Journal is also a large component of the collection. Also included are numerous photographs, some dating as early as the 1950s, but the bulk of which date 1982-2000s. These include family vacations and events, as well as professional events with AEJMC, the National Association of Black Journalists, and other conferences and organizations. Another notable component of the collection is the section of materials from Barrow's mother, Wilhelmina Barrow, who served as an American Red Cross Girl in Europe during World War II and the post-war period. Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture.
Extent:
48.3 Linear Feet
Language:
English
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.00084

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes materials from Barrow's advertising career, his teaching and tenure at Howard University, and his involvement in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). AEJMC materials include a series of folders from a diversity survey in 2004; files from the founding and the operations of the Minorities and Communications Division; and programs and reports from AEJMC activities, especially in the 1970s and 1980s. Materials also reflect Barrow's involvement in the Council for Opportunities in Education, in particular his promotion of the TRIO program, offering funding and education opportunities for underprivileged youth.

A small part of the collection is Barrow's educational materials, dated 1940s-1970s, including reports and essays from his years at Morehouse College as well as his Ph.D. proposals and notes from the University of Wisconsin.

Also included are materials from his service in the 24th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. The Korean War material, dated 1950-1951, includes press releases, written by Barrow, regarding various battles and army movements. Also included is correspondence to his mother, Wilhelmina Barrow, discussing his activities, as well as his struggles with payment and segregation in the U.S. Army.

Another significant portion of the collection is Barrow's newspaper clippings, dating largely from the 1960s-2000s, covering racial integration and the Civil Rights movement in Washington D.C., issues in journalism, and diversity and the condition of black Americans. These clippings have been loosely arranged by Barrow according to the date, the person's name, or the subject.

There are also numerous folders with clippings and research from Barrow's unfinished book on the history of the Freedom's Journal, the first African-American owned and operated newspaper in the United States. Subjects include slavery, education, conditions in different states, and other information about American life in the 1820s.

Also included are numerous photographs, some dating as early as the 1950s, but the bulk of which date from 1982 to the 2000s. The majority of the photographs are snapshots, many featuring the Barrow family and its activities. There are also snapshots of professional events with AEJMC, the National Association of Black Journalists, and other conferences and organizations. The photographs have not been arranged, but arrived well-labeled by Barrow, frequently with dates and captions for each image.

The collection also includes materials from Wilhelmina Barrow, Lionel's mother, relating to her service in the American Red Cross during World War II and in the post-war period. Wilhelmina's materials include ARC training and recruitment documents, her transport papers, newspapers and other publications geared toward servicemen and women, reports from Red Cross Clubs, suggested itineraries for traveling Europe while on leave, and souvenirs from her trips to Italy, France, and Belgium. Also included in this section are reports and clippings about the National Council of Negro Women; Barrow was a member for some time during the 1950s and 1960s. Some of these materials relate to segregation and discrimination.

Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture.

Biographical / historical:

Lionel C. Barrow, Jr., was born in New York in 1926 to Lionel C. and Wilhelmina Barrow. He attended Morehouse College and graduated with Martin Luther King in 1948. He also served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947, and from 1950 to 1953.

Barrow attended the School of Journalism at the University of Wisconsin, earning his master's degree in 1958 and a doctorate in mass communication in 1960. Subsequently, he worked in advertising as a researcher, and in 1968 became vice president and associate director of research at the Foote, Cone and Belding agency in New York. Barrow became the dean of Howard University's School of Communications in 1975, where he worked until 1985. He married his wife, Frederica, in 1992; the couple eventually settled in Florida.

Along with his academic interests, Barrow was an active member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and was a principle force in helping the organization begin to promote diversity in the field. He founded the Ad Hoc Committee on Minority Education in 1968, and expanded to also form the Minorities and Communication Division in 1970. An AEJMC scholarship was created in his honor to assist women and minorities in their graduate journalism education.

Barrow was also active in politics, fundraising and campaigning for Democratic candidates as early as the 1960s and as recently as the Barack Obama presidential campaign in 2008. He died shortly after Obama's inauguration in January 2009.

Acquisition information:
The Lionel Barrow Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2010 and 2017.
Processing information:

Accessioned by Meghan Lyon, 2010

Processed by Dan Chen, Sandra Niethardt, and Meghan Lyon, 2016

Addition 2017-0203 processed by Alice Poffinberger, February, 2018

Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2010-0031, 2010-0079, 2010-0144, 2017-0203

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lionel Barrow Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University