Roy Joseph Weems papers

The papers of Roy Joseph Weems richly reflect student life at Straight College in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the late 1920s and early 1930s, before the school's merger with New Orleans University to form Dillard University. The collection also reflects alumni relations between Dillard University and graduates of Dillard's predecessor institutions. Materials include photographs, correspondence, student publications, newspaper clippings, diplomas, and certificates, which richly chronicle Straight College athletics and rivalries among other area colleges, such as Xavier University and New Orleans University. Sports represented in the collection include football, track and field, and baseball.

Correspondence in the collection chiefly pertains to the organization of reunions of Straight graduates, and enclosures include alumni lists and obituaries of classmates. Correspondence in the collection suggests that several of the materials in this collection, particularly photographs of Straight College, were given to Weems from former classmates. In particular, correspondence here indicates that former Straight teacher, Beatrice West, donated the photograph album now housed in this collection. Straight College publications include The Straight Gleaner, The Crimson Courier, and Straight College Bulletin. Photographs in the collection richly reflect student life at Straight College in the 1920s and 1930s, with a particular emphasis on athletics, including football and track and field. Newspaper clippings, in particular, highlight football rivalries between Xavier University, Straight College, and New Orleans University.

Items of interest include collected programs from 1935 and 1941 for the Xavier University relays, a joint track and field meet and tennis tournament with colleges such as Samuel Huston College, Tougaloo College, Tuskegee Institute, Dillard University, and Southern University.

Other materials in the collection include Weems' voter registration card, which indicates when he voted in 1946 and 1948 elections. Also included is a newspaper fragment of the short-lived New Orleans newspaper the New Orleans Sentinel. Other collected materials include photographs of heavyweight boxer Joe Frazier and a phonograph single of Frazier singing "My Way" issued by Knockout Records.