Ed Pincus collection addendum

This addition to the collection of filmmaker Ed Pincus consists of correspondence, news clippings, an interview, reviews, photographs, slides, and production materials related to two civil rights era documentaries shot, directed, and produced by Pincus, Black Natchez and Panola. Filmmakers Ed Pincus and David Neuman shot footage in Natchez, Mississippi, between June and September 1965, which documented race relations in the city and civil rights activities on the part of various organizations, including the NAACP, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and the Deacons for Defense and Justice. In 1967, they returned to Natchez and shot 10 additional hours of film for a planned sequel to Black Natchez, which was never produced.

The correspondence, dating from 1965 to 1967, regards the release and response to Black Natchez. The two earliest letters regard financial donations in support of Pincus' plans to film in Natchez. A November 1965 letter from Pincus, Neuman, and Dennis Sweeney (a student at Stanford University who assisted with the project), written after their return to Boston, describes their decision to visit and film in Natchez and their reception and work in the city. The majority of the correspondence is from academics and individuals in the film and television fields offering their reactions to the unfinished films. In some cases, these letters include offers to assist and financially support the completion of the films. However, not all of the correspondence is supportive of the films. A November 1966 letter from Stephen Benedict of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund describes a meeting and film viewing by Pincus and Neuman to members of John D. Rockefeller III's office and Benedict's unfavorable impressions. A photocopy of a telegram by Roy Wilkins to the offices of National Educational Television (NET) on March 28, 1967, offers his description of Black Natchez as a "grossly unfair picture" of the NAACP. A response to Wilkins by Edwin R. Bayley of NET is present. Also included is an undated draft letter to Betty Shabazz, likely from Pincus and Neuman, thanking her for her interest in their films.

Correspondents include: Mrs. Harold Aaron, Eugene N. Aleinikoff, Kenneth J. Arrow, Edwin R. Bayley, Stephen Benedict, Richard W. Boone, L.M. Kit Carson, Nancy Carter, Jack Churchill, Robert Coles, Chester Cornett, David M. Davis, Marjorie Gatchell, Stephen A. Glauber, Michal Goldman, Helen L. Gray, Felix Greene, Lester S. Hyman, William C. Jersey, David Kantor, John Korty, Adrienne Mancia, Henry Morgenthau, David Neuman, Ed Pincus, Gordon Quinn, Victor G. Reid, James W. Silver, John P. Spiegel, Dennis Sweeney, Roy Wilkins, and Ugo Zilletti.

Production materials in the collection include copies of prospectuses for the Black Natchez film project, a transcript from film dailies and photographs for the film. A transcript from dailies and a shot list for Panola are also present. Items related to the filmmakers' time filming in Natchez include a telephone contact list, a map of the city of Natchez, and a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) report on Adams County, Mississippi. Lastly, the collection also contains a 1967 agreement with NET regarding the broadcasting of Black Natchez, news clippings regarding Black Natchez and Panola, and an undated poster advertising Black Natchez as part of a film series called "The 60's Legacy."