The papers of the Congress of Racial Equality: Addendum, 1944-1968, chronicle the
development of CORE from the time of its founding until the 1960s, when the organization
underwent a transition from a commitment to nonviolent action to a militant philosophy of black
power. The majority of the collection covers the period between 1961 and 1968. The papers
include a quantity of material on the administration of Floyd McKissick, national director from
1966 until 1968, and extensive documentation of CORE's desperate financial situation which
brought the organization to the brink of collapse in 1965 and 1966.
The papers are arranged in seven subgroups. The three largest subgroups in the CORE Addendum are
Subgroup A, the
National Directors' Files, 1960-1968; Subgroup E, the files of the CommunityRelations Department,
1949-1968; and
Subgroup F, the files of the Organization Department, 1957-1968. These subgroups are divided into several
series. The
remaining four subgroups consist of a single series of files. The materials relating extensively to CORE's
earlier years
are primarily those found in Subgroup C, the files on theNational Action Council and Conventions.
For the most part, the files in each subgroup and series are arranged alphabetically by subject
category. Items within each subject file are arranged chronologically by year, month, and day,
with undated materials placed at the end of all dated materials. The arrangement of each
subgroup and series is described more fully in the individual descriptions. This collection will
benefit primarily students and scholars of the United States Civil Rights Movement.
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