Patricia M. Derian papers, 1962-2008 and undated

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Summary

Creator:
Derian, Patricia M. and Human Rights Archive (Duke University)
Abstract:
Patricia Murphy Derian (1929-2016) was an activist, organizer, researcher, and served as the first Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights (HR) and Humanitarian Affairs (HA), a bureau of the executive branch created in 1977 during the Carter Administration. The papers of Patricia M. Derian cover the years 1962-2007 and document Derian's involvement and interventions concerning international human rights, and to a lesser extent, civil liberties and women's rights. The collection comprises Derian's personal notes; correspondence with state officials, friends and human rights activists; unclassified State Department documents; reports; interviews; memorabilia; and news clippings. These and other materials provide valuable insights to the history of human rights activism and major cases of human rights violations from the early 1970s up to the second term of the George W. Bush administration. The scope of Derian's papers is extensive, covering the history of human rights movements and national policies and politics since the early 1970s in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Topics include U.S. foreign and military policies, repercussions of those policies, and disappearances, torture and other forms of violation of human rights. Derian's papers include subject files on Argentina, El Salvador, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, South Korea, Vietnam, and Middle Eastern countries, as well as smaller files on sixteen other countries. Many of these country files cover several decades of information and analysis. Especially significant are documents concerning U.S.-El Salvador and U.S.-Argentina relations during the 1970s and 1980s. Other topics in the collection include women's rights, women in public office, and civil rights movements in the U.S., especially in Mississippi.
Extent:
15.3 Linear Feet
Language:
Material in English and Spanish
Collection ID:
RL.00305

Background

Scope and content:

The Patricia M. Derian papers cover the years 1962-2008 and document Derian's involvement and interventions concerning human rights and civil liberties in the U.S. and worldwide. The collection comprises Derian's personal notes; correspondence with state officials, friends and human rights activists; unclassified State Department documents; reports; travel information; posters (located in the Oversize Material); interviews (both audio-visual and printed); memorabilia; and news clippings. These and other materials provide valuable insights into the history of human rights activism and major cases of human rights violations from the early 1970s up to the second term of the George W. Bush administration. The collection is arranged into five series: Carter Administration - 1980 Campaign and Employment, Department of State Human Rights (HR) and Humanitarian Affairs (HA) Bureau, Post-Carter Administration Human Rights Work, Countries, and Audiovisual Material. A final group houses oversize material. The scope of Derian's papers is extensive, covering the history of human rights movements and national policies and politics since the early 1970s in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. U.S. foreign and military policies, repercussions of those policies, and documentation of disappearances, torture and other forms of violation of human rights are documented extensively in the Department of State Human Rights (HR) and Humanitarian Affairs (HA) Bureau Series, and in the large Countries Series, which brings together Derian's files on Argentina, El Salvador, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, South Korea, Vietnam, and Middle Eastern countries, as well as a grouping on sixteen other countries. Many of these country files cover several decades of information and analysis. Especially significant are documents concerning U.S.-El Salvador and U.S.-Argentina relations during the 1970s and 1980s. Other topics in the collection include women's rights, women in public office, civil liberties in the U.S., and the human rights work of foundations such as the Carter-Menil Human Rights Foundation and Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation.

The Carter Administration - 1980 Carter-Mondale Campaign and Employment series includes materials concerning the organization of the 1980 Carter-Mondale election campaign; it also documents employment procedures for Derian's position at the White House.

The Post-Carter Administration Human Rights Work series is arranged into five subseries. The Human Rights Organizations subseries documents Derian's post-Carter administration human rights work in connection with various organizations, NGO's and research institutes. The Symposia and Conferences subseries comprises programs, proceedings, and papers presented at conferences and symposia attended by Derian. The General Files subseries contains subject files assembled by Derian that address broad human rights matters, including some materials on civil rights movement in Mississippi, human rights during the Reagan administration, and human rights violations around the world, including torture, murder, and kidnappings. The Prizes and Awards subseries covers the materials concerning Derian's work on committees of various foundations advocating the improvement of human rights conditions worldwide. The Miscellaneous Files subseries contains materials such as articles, dissertation monographs, reports, correspondence, political posters, and news clippings which refer to diverse issues such as humans rights and the Bush administration, the women's rights movement, U.S. foreign policy, and evaluation of the political and human rights situation in various Latin American countries.

Recordings of Patricia Derian's public speeches, interviews and excerpts from political protests in Argentina are housed in the Audiovisual Series. The Oversized Material grouping houses large items removed from files throughout the collection.

Biographical / historical:

Patricia Murphy Derian (1929-2016) was a white U.S. Secretary for Human Rights, a veteran of the Civil Rights movement, and an international human rights activist. She was born in New York City in 1929 and and grew up in Virginia, where she received a degree from the University of Virginia School of Nursing in 1952. In 1953, she married Dr. Paul "Mike" Derian; the couple later divorced in 1976. The Derians moved to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1959, after which Patricia Derian became involved in local civil rights activism and political organizing. In the mid-1960s, Derian acted as consultant to the Office of Economic Opportunity for the oversight of the Mississippi Action for Progress (MAP). She helped organize the Loyalist Democrats faction of the Mississippi Democratic party and was a delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention. During the 1970s, she held positions in organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi and the Southern Regional Council.

Derian became the first Secretary of Human Rights when Carter formed the State Department's Bureau for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs in 1977. During that period she wrote Human Rights: A World Perspective (1978), Human Rights in Latin America (1979), Human Rights in Jeopardy (1980), and Review of Human Rights in Latin America (1980). In 1980, she served as Deputy Director for Jimmy Carter's presidential 1980 campaign. After leaving the U.S. government in 1981, she continued to work as a human rights activist with a number of non-profit organizations.

In 1978, Derian married Hodding Carter III, who was Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs under President Carter. She passed away in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in May 2016.

Sources include collection material and: Paul Vitello, "Patricia Derian, Diplomat Who Made Human Rights a Priority, Dies at 86." New York Times , 2016 May 20. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/21/us/patricia-derian-diplomat-who-made-human-rights-a-priority-dies-at-86.html. Accessed 2024-09-04.

Acquisition information:
The Patricia M. Derian Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2010.
Processing information:

Processed by Yektan Turkyilmaz and Kevin Modestino; June 2010

Accessions described in this collection guide: Acc. 2010-0011

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

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Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Access note. Some materials in this collection are fragile audiovisual formats that may need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

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], Patricia M. Derian papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

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