Rencher Nicholas Harris papers, 1851-1980 and undated, bulk 1926-1965

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Summary

Creator:
Harris, Rencher Nicholas, 1900-1965
Abstract:
African American civic leader during the period following the Brown decision of 1954 and the Civil Rights Movement. Harris was the first African American city councilman in Durham, N.C., and the first black man to sit on the Durham County Board of Education. The Rencher Nicholas Harris Papers span the years from 1851 to 1980, with the bulk dating from 1926 to 1965. The collection consists mainly of clippings, correspondence, legal papers, photographs, printed materials, journals and diaries, scrapbooks, oversize maps, and reports relating to Harris' work in political and educational affairs in Durham, North Carolina in the 1950s and early 1960s as a member of the City Council and the School Board, with emphasis on school desegregation, civil rights, and race relations in Durham. Also represented is Harris' business career in banking, insurance, and real estate, his role as an official of the Bankers' Fire Insurance Company, and his civic activities, including leadership roles in the NAACP, Lincoln Hospital, and North Carolina Mutual Insurance, and Mechanics and Farmers Bank, all serving African Americans in Durham. Some biographical materials, family papers, and correspondence also relate to his wife, Plassie Williams Harris. Part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture at Duke University.
Extent:
16.5 Linear Feet
2,112 Items
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.00515

Background

Scope and content:

The Rencher Nicholas Harris Papers span the years from 1851 to 1980, with the bulk dating from 1926 to 1965. The collection consists mainly of clippings, correspondence, legal papers, photographs, printed materials, journals and diaries, scrapbooks, and reports relating to Harris' work in political and educational affairs in Durham, North Carolina in the 1950s and early 1960s as a member of the City Council and the School Board, with emphasis on school desegregation, civil rights, and race relations in Durham. Also represented is Harris' business career in banking, insurance, and real estate, his role as an official of the Bankers' Fire Insurance Company, and his civic activities, including leadership roles in the NAACP, Lincoln Hospital, and North Carolina Mutual Insurance, all in Durham. Some biographical materials and correspondence also relate to his wife, Plassie Williams Harris. In detailing the business and government official activities of Durham's first African American city councilman, the first black man to sit on the Durham County Board of Education, and an active, if rather moderate, African American civic leader during the period following the Brown decision of 1954 and the Civil Rights Movement, this collection is especially significant for the documentation it offers on the problems of city government and race relations in the mid-twentieth-century South. Includes a large group of oversize maps of Durham, N.C. Part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture at Duke University.

Biographical / historical:
Chronology List
Date Event
1900 October 7
Born in Abingdon, Virginia
1917
Graduated from Corey Memorial Institute in Portsmouth, Virginia
1917-1918
Attended Virginia Union University of Richmond
1919-1920
Attended Northwestern University School of Commerce
1921
First employed by Banker's Fire Insurance Company
1922
Married Plassie Williams of Durham, North Carolina
1935
Appointed as Vice-Secretary of Banker's Fire Insurance Company
1949
Ran for Durham City Council and was defeated
1953
Elected to Durham City Council
1957
Declined to run for a second term to City Council
1958
Accepted appointment to fill an unexpired term on the Durham School Board
1959
Reappointment for four-year term on School Board
1962
Resigned from School Board due to ill health
1965 January 4
Died in Durham, N.C.
Acquisition information:
The Rencher Nicholas Harris Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1966.
Processing information:

Processed by Aaron Thornburg, May 2009

Encoded by Aaron Thornburg, Paula Jeannet, May 2009

Accession 66-50 is described in this finding aid.

Updated by Jessica Carew and Paula Jeannet in preparation for digitization, October 2011

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in twelve series, of which Volumes and Scrapbooks and Durham City Council are the largest. The much smaller groupings are: Clippings; Correspondence; Genealogy and Biography; Insurance and Banking; Legal Papers; Miscellany; North Carolina College; Photographs; Printed Materials; and Speeches. There is also a group of oversize materials that were separated from the main collection and rehoused.

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

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. Digitized documents are made available by Duke University Libraries for the purpose of research, teaching, and private study. For all other uses, such as commercial uses, researchers must contact the Rubenstein Library to request permission.

Digitized materials from this collection are made available for use in research, teaching and private study. The digital reproductions have been made available through an evaluation of public domain status, permissions from the rights' holders, and authorization under the law including fair use as codified in 17 U.S.C. ยง 107. Although these materials are publicly accessible for these limited purposes, they may not all be in the public domain. Users are responsible for determining if permission for re-use is necessary and for obtaining such permission. Individuals who have concerns about online access to specific content should contact the Rubenstein Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Rencher Nicholas Harris Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library