Raphael Cassimere Jr., papers

The bulk of the collection consists of Cassimere’s records of the activities of the New Orleans Branch of the NAACP and the NAACP Louisiana State Conference of Branches and Youth Councils; convention materials for the annual meeting of the NAACP; local committees and boards including, the Vieux Carré Commission in New Orleans, the Louisiana Black Culture Commission, and the Citizen’s Committee for Equality and Excellence in Louisiana’s Universities. The materials are administrative in general and include agendas, correspondence, minutes, conference programs and publications, and reports for these organizations.

The papers also document Cassimere’s administrative and teaching activities within the department of history at the University of New Orleans through correspondence; class planning documents, such as syllabi; student papers including, undergraduate and graduate thesis’s and dissertations; and research and lecture materials. Much of the collected research materials are in the form of photocopied articles and book chapters from print and online sources. Of interest are Cassimere’s professional writings in hand script and typescript form, which focus on African American history in Louisiana from a historian’s point-of-view. These materials include book reviews, articles and essays, and drafts of speeches by Cassimere. The rest of the collection consists extensively of collected publications; reports; and news clippings on various topics, as well as University of New Orleans publications. Audiovisual materials are limited; but include, one 8x10 inch photograph of L-R: Roy L. Rome, Sr., Diana Humphrey, Don Poindexter, and Arnetta M. Robottom; VHS tapes of episodes 1-4 of a documentary titled,The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow /by Thirteen WNET NY (undated); and a reel-to-reel audiotape in poor condition labeled, ALAJO L. Williams (undated). Of note is a hand script manuscript of a speech for New Orleans Mayor Ernest “Dutch” Morial written by Cassimere titled, “The Function of Black Religion in Civil Rights,” (Spring 1978). Of interest is a typescript essay titled, “Towards a Plan for Dismantling the Dual System of Higher Education in Louisiana prepared by the Louisiana Coalition for Dismantling the Dual System of Higher Education in Louisiana,” (1974). A report titled, “The Search for Military Justice: Report of an NAACP Inquiry into the Problem of the Negro in West Germany,” (1971). Also, the NAACP Project Proposal for the film documentary about domestic workers in New Orleans, Yes Ma’am by Gary L. Goldman (1978). Lastly, a file for the NAACP LSUNO Chapter including correspondence and the chapter’s newsletter, The Nigger (1968-1969) is included. Publications of interest include issues of the Negro History Bulletin (1973-1976); a book The Negro In New Orleans by Charles B. Rousseve (1969); a self published book, The Pictorial Bastardizaiton of a Race, the Destruction of a Civilization by Harrietta Cook Harris (1988); “Highlights of the Underground Railroad: Greater Kansas City,” by the NAACP Political Action Committee (1984); and a publication titled, “Essays on the Powerlessness of the Poor,” edited by Alan T. Leonard of the University of New Orleans and published by the Louisiana Committee for the Humanities (1976). A series of news clippings dating 1961-1965 covering the topics of desegregation in various southern states and the issue of the Ku Klux Kan in Georgia is also of interest. Main topics include: activities of the NAACP in New Orleans and Louisiana; the history of African Americans in Louisiana; race relations in Louisiana; desegregation in higher education in Louisiana; legislation in the state of Louisiana; and New Orleans city planning.