The HCAC public history focused digital archive cataloging is an ongoing process, and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. We welcome your comments and feedback if you have more information to share about an item featured on the site, please contact us at: HCAC-DigiTeam@si.edu
ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen writes to William Lamson requesting a first draft of a report and to alert him that depositions are now scheduled for September 18-20, 1984. Hansen writes that Lamson should be present at this round of depositions and they will discuss the matter further.
ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen writes to William Lamson to express his gratitude for working on the case. Hansen thanks Lamson on behalf of the class of Black school children in Topeka and writes that he feels the team presented a strong case that Topeka schools have never been fully desegregated and he expects a ruling sometime in early 1985.
ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen sends William Lamson the order of activities for the case between December 1985 and March 1986. Also attached is the designation of fact witnesses by individually-named defendants associated with the State Board of Education.
ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen writes to Robert Longman of Central Surveys Inc. to confirm a pre-test survey. Mr. Hansen gives background on the case and talks more specifically about the two questions he wants answered in the survey about Topeka residents' perception of whether schools are white or Black and if some schools are less adequate.
ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen writes to Lead Defense Attorney K. Gary Sebelius to outline a possible settlement for the case since the court has again pushed the date of the trial back. Mr. Hansen lists the principles on which a settlement would have to be based, including community involvement in any plans for the district.
This letter from ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen to lead defense Attorney Gary K. Sebelius and Kansas Assistant Attorney General Dan Biles confirms deposition dates for June 7, 8, and 11, 1984, with a completion date of June 12. Hansen notes that formal notice of deposition will be served and a court reporter will be in the depositions.
ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen writes to Elvia Rosales Arriola of the ACLU, William Lamson, Attorney Richard Jones, and Attorney William Rich to send an update on the round of depositions he completed. He also attached superintendent's and principal's annual reports for each school that he obtained on his recent trip to Topeka.
ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen writes to Elvia Rosales Arriola of the ACLU and William Lamson to outline the discovery schedule for the Brown III case. The schedule runs from July 15, 1984 to January 15, 1985 and includes depositions, due dates for interrogatories, tours of sites, and pre-trial orders.
ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen writes to plaintiff expert witnesses Dr. Gordon Foster, William Lamson, Hugh Spear, and Bob Crain to inform them that dates and witness lists did not change after his appearance before the judge in early December. Attached is an early draft of findings of facts that he has shared with the defense.
ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen writes to Dr. Gordon Foster and William Lamson to inform them that he is unavailable for the requested meeting date of June 13th, 1985, but can meet on June 20th instead. Dr. Foster and Lamson were to meet with the plaintiff team about their roles as expert witnesses in the Brown III case.
ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen writes to the members of the Brown III Counsel team to inform them that Lee Henson of the Federal Community Relations Service has offered their service in the case. Mr. Hansen is suspicious of this because of his opinion of the Justice Department under then-president Ronald Reagan.
ACLU Attorney Chris Hansen writes to the members of the Brown Counsel team to inquire about their thoughts on a possible settlement. Attached is the court document containing the order of activities for the case between May and September 1986.
A letter from Nuh Abdul Qaiyum, who is imprisoned, to his wife Frankye Adams-Johnson (Malika). He sends the family his love and shares his thoughts on life in prison and conflict within the Black community and the Black Panther Party. He asks her about her upcoming birth and offers guidance and advice. He also includes multiple poems.
In this letter, Frankye Adams-Johnson (Malika)’s husband, Nuh Abdul Qaiyum, who is imprisoned, outlines a training and education program for Black liberation. He outlines the goals and priorities of the Black Panther Party moving forward and the means required. Instead of the usual militant rhetoric, he takes a social approach to the Revolution.
A booklet written by Bernice Jones (aka Safiya Bukhari), who was a Black Panther Party member and vice president of the Republic of New Afrika. The booklet lists members of the Black Panther Party who were killed between 1966 and 1981. There is also a memorial write up and poem in the conclusion.
Leroy Smith was born in Jackson in 1918 and lived in Jackson his entire life. He attended Smith Robertson School until 6th grade and talks about his time there. He discusses the nightlife in the district beginning in the 1930s, including a number of restaurants, ballrooms, limited options to watch movies, and the red light district.
A newspaper article from The News Tribune about Lennox Hinds, president of the National Conference of Black Lawyers, being cited by The Ethics Committee of the Middlesex County Bar Association. Chief defense counsel William Kunstler, representing Assata Shakur (JoAnne Chesimard) in her trial for the 1973 killing of a state trooper, protested it.
Lee Williams was born in 1900, moved to the Farish Street District in 1915, and lived on various streets for the rest of his life. He attended Smith Robertson School. In the interview, Mr. Williams recounts the different businesses, people, and schools over the years in the district. The transcript contains handwritten edits.
Lee Williams became a homeowner in the Farish Street District in 1924. At the time of the interview he was Vice President for Administration at Jackson State. Mr. Williams discusses a variety of aspects about the district in relation to his time growing up there, including childhood activities and the different jobs he did.
Mr. Lee moved to Dreyfus Street in the Farish Street Historic District in 1924. He attended schools in the district and eventually served as Vice President of Administration at Jackson State for many years. He talks about his time living in the district and the social and cultural life there, including businesses, churches, and music.
Laverne White moved to Jackson when she was 9 years old and was married to Jackson’s police sergeant for over 40 years. In the interview she talks about her education; her 21-year employment at Boot's Flower Shop in the Farish Street District; her participation in civil rights marches; and the deterioration of the Farish Street District.
Lavaree Jones interviewed by Major O'Neal; both are students in Dr. Alferdteen Harrison’s Oral History class at Jackson State University. He asks her 3 questions about the origins of the Head Start program in Mississippi and the role Head Start plays in the Black community.
This interview was recorded in Dr. Alferdteen Harrison's oral History class at Jackson State University and is conducted between two students. Lavaree Jones gives a rundown of the history of the beginnings of Head Start starting with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party registering voters and Freedom Schools during Freedom Summer.
LaCrystal Evans was a graduate student at Jackson State University at the time of the interview. She talks about her experiences as a Head Start student in the Greenville, Mississippi, Head Start program in 1969.
A newspaper article from The Home News about arguing between chief defense counsel William Kunstler and Superior Court Judge Theodore Appleby in the trial of Assata Shakur (JoAnne Chesimard) for the 1973 killing of a state trooper. The argument centered on a citation given to Lennox Hinds, president of the National Conference of Black Lawyers.
A copy of “The King Alfred Plan,” a fictional CIA-led scheme supporting an international effort to eliminate people of African descent, invented by author John A. Williams in his 1967 novel The Man Who Cried I Am. Copies of the plan circulated in Black communities during the late 1960s and early 1970s, with many people accepting it at face value.
Katherine Mosley moved to the Farish Street District in 1949. She recounts her time as a young person in the district, specifically the entertainment she enjoyed. Ms. Mosley also goes into detail about the decline of the district and lack of Black businesses and she gives her opinions about urban renewal on Farish Street.
A newspaper article from The Black Panther. It is a transcript of Kathleen Cleaver's speech at May Day (International Workers Day) on May 1, 1969 in San Francisco, California. Cleaver’s speech, like many of the speeches given that day, centered on the calls to Free Huey Newton from his arrest on murder charges on October 28, 1967.
A newspaper article from The News Tribune about defense attorneys for Assata Shakur (JoAnne Chesimard), who was on trial for the 1973 killing of a state trooper, filing a complaint claiming that the jury selection in her murder trial is biased toward the prosecution. Shakur was convicted in 1977 of the killing and escaped prison in 1979.
A newspaper article from The Daily News about items entered into evidence by the prosecution in the Assata Shakur (JoAnne Chesimard) trial for the 1973 killing of a state trooper. The slain trooper’s bloodied uniform shirt was submitted into evidence, as well as bullet fragments pulled from the body, and empty shell casings.
