American Missionary Association: correspondence, 1949 May - June

The correspondence in the collection is divided into two periods. During the first period, 1942 to 1951, Buggs worked for the American Missionary Association (AMA) at Fessenden Academy in Martin, Florida, as the director of the school. He had gone to Fessenden from Trinity Academy in Athens, Alabama, with the understanding that he was to implement a program of "functional education" for the junior and senior high school children of Marion County, Florida. Buggs originated the concept of "functional education" while teaching at Trinity Academy, and as employed at Fessenden, it consisted of a program of both vocational training and college preparatory work modified to the needs of African American students entering school. The 20 correspondence items for 1942 begins with a discussion of the qualifications of teachers to be hired at Fessenden and the budget for the school year. The primary correspondents for this period and the years up to 1951 are Frederick L. Brownlee, General Secretary of the Board of Home Missions for the AMA Division of the Congregational and Christian Churches, and Ruth A. Morton, Director of Schools for the AMA. Among the topics covered in the years following Buggs' first selection of teachers in 1942 are: the possibility of Fessenden's cooperation with the Florida State Department of Education in establishing centers of vocational education throughout the state; Buggs' philosophy of education concerning "middle class students," racial integration of schools, and functional education; the establishment of a youth center at Fessenden and the local opposition to it; the integration of the University of Florida at Gainesville through the cooperation of white students there; the possible sale of Fessenden to the state of Florida as a vocational educational school; the public relations campaign to attract students to Fessenden; Buggs' fight to avoid being drafted into the armed services in 1943; and the reorganization of the AMA and closure of Fessenden Academy in 1951. The total correspondence concerning Buggs' activities with the AMA school during the period 1942 to 1951 amounts to 1,500 items.

The second period of correspondence in the collection spans the years 1952 to 1965. After the closing of Fessenden in May of 1951, Buggs moved to Los Angeles where he eventually became executive Director of the Los Angeles Committee on Human Rights. The correspondence covering this period is incomplete, but does provide some documentation of Buggs' early role in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Much of the material consists of inter-office memoranda that describe incidents of racial discrimination in Los Angeles County and the response of the Committee to these incidents.

The notable correspondents in the incoming and outgoing letters include: Herbert C. Legg, Supervisor of the Third District of Los Angeles County and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for Los Angeles County; Forrest C. Weir, Executive Director of the Church Federation of Los Angeles; Clarence R. Johnson, Racial Relations Officer, Public Housing Administration (PHA), Housing and Home Finance Agency (HHFA); Stephen Thierman, Executive Secretary, Northern California Regional Office, American Friends Service Committee; Robert E. Kelly, Associate Superintendent, Los Angeles City Board of Education; Walter F. Coombs, Executive Director, Los Angeles World Affairs Council; G. Alden Jackson, President of the Los Angeles Federation of Community Coordinating Councils; Ernest E. Debs, Chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; Sam J. Ervin, Senator, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights; Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California; Peter J. Pitchess, Sheriff of Los Angeles County; Franklin D. Murphy, Chancellor of the University of California; J.M. Wedemeyer, Director of the California Department of Social Welfare; Frank G. Bonelli, Supervisor of Los Angeles County; William L. Becker, Assistant to the Governor for Human Rights; Harvey B. Schechter, staff member of the Pacific Southwest Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith in charge of Fact-Finding and Civil Rights; Morris S. Sass, Director of the New York Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith; David P. Goldman, Chairman of the Pacific Southwest Regional Advisory Board of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.

The indexes of correspondence in the collections are arranged alphabetically by last name within the three categories of outgoing, incoming and other correspondence. In the case of Fred L. Brownlee and Ruth A. Morton, the researcher will also need to consult the index for letters listed under the names of their secretaries: Helen P. Desort, Madelyn V. White, and Doris R. Reid. Louise Dixon (who often simply initialed her correspondence "L.D." was secretary to John Buggs during his tenure in Los Angeles and her name should be consulted for additional letters that originated from Buggs' desk.