Joseph A. Hardin papers

The papers of Joseph A. Hardin consist of approximately 248 items. Correspondence accounts for a third of the collection.

The bulk of non-correspondence is clippings from newspapers and magazines. Perhaps, the most distinctive items of non-correspondence are the photographs and medals or awards, which give an otherwise unavailable glimpse into Hardin's life and that of his associates in New Orleans' Black community.

The principal correspondents, with the inclusive dates of their correspondence, are as follows: de Lesseps S. Morrison, Mayor of New Orleans, 1941-1953 (5 items); William Coleman, Sr., Secretary of Transportation under Gerald Ford and son-in-law of Hardin, 1953-1966 (5 items); Robert F. Kennon, Governor of Louisiana, 1952 (1 item); Thurgood Marshall, Special Counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., 1953 (1 item); James F. Redmond, Superintendent of Orleans Parish Public Schools, 1953 (1 item); Joseph F. Rummel, Archbishop of New Orleans, 1941 (1 item); and Fannie C. Williams, Principal of Valena C. Jones Elementary School, 1952-1955 (2 items). Among the important topics covered in the correspondence are the Liberian Consulate in New Orleans, civil rights cases conducted by Thurgood Marshall, the promotion of neighborhood civil leagues, and Louisiana Republican Party policies. The lack of information about his medical practice is unusual.