Inventory of the James E. Campbell Papers, 1930 - 2009

Descriptive Summary

Abstract:	James E. Campbell (born 1925), an African American educator and civil rights activist, worked as a teacher in Baltimore, Maryland; New York, New York; and Tanzania. He later became an administrator with the New York City public school system. Campbell also served as contributing editor for the journal Freedomways. Relocating after retirement, he became a community activist in Charleston, South Carolina and continued his involvement with educational initiatives. Throughout his life, Campbell has worked with organizations focused on socialism, Pan-Africanism, freedom struggles, and equity in education.
	This collection includes correspondence, writings, photographs, and other material documenting the personal, professional, and ideological interests of James E. Campbell. Correspondence includes letters written by Campbell to Betty Shabazz, letters from the Malcolm X Commemoration Committee, and professional correspondence relating to Campbell's involvement with the Charleston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the South Carolina Algebra Project. Photographs include images of an Audubon Ballroom Rally attended by Malcolm X and Ella Lee-Little Collins, images of Nelson Mandela's 1990 visit to New York, and personal photographs. Professional materials chiefly relate to Campbell's career as an educator and school administrator in New York; his association with the Organization of Afro-American Unity's Liberation School; documentation of his tenure as an English teacher in Tanzania; and civic involvement related to educational issues in Charleston, South Carolina. A large portion of this series consists of printed material relating to the South Carolina Algebra Project, including transition curriculums and budgets; organizational materials, photographs, and a scrapbook related to Nelson Mandela's visit to New York in 1990; and pedagogical materials. Also included is material related to James E. Campbell's political and social activism. Subject files include interview transcripts of Malcolm X and printed material relating to Jesse Jackson, South Africa, Central America, and the Caribbean. Publications and clippings include international, national, and local newsletters, publications, newspaper, and magazine clippings assembled by James E. Campbell. Newspaper and magazine clippings are heavily represented, a large portion of which relate to the life, death and legacy of Malcolm X. Other topics include education in South Carolina and the United States; South African political and social issues, including apartheid; African American art, culture, and history; child welfare; economics and business; civil rights; and various issues in national and international politics. The collection also includes drafts of Campbell's poetry and other writings.
Title:	James E. Campbell Papers, 1930 - 2009
Creator:	Campbell, James E., 1925-.
Repository:	Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston
Call Number:	AMN 1113
Language of Material:	Material in English
Extent:	10.0 linear feet (20 archival boxes)

Biographical Note

James Eber Campbell was born in Charleston, South Carolina on July 31, 1925 to James and Eva Jones Campbell. He received his primary and secondary education at Immaculate Conception School in Charleston, South Carolina and the Voorhees Normal and Industrial School in Denmark, South Carolina.

In 1943, Campbell was drafted into the Marine Corps and served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. After the war, Campbell attended Morgan State College in Baltimore, Maryland. His studies were interrupted by employment and two years of stateside service as an Army reservist during the Korean War. He then returned to Morgan State, where he graduated with a major in English and a minor in theatre in 1953. After graduation, Campbell taught elementary school in Baltimore and helped organize the Arena Players, the only continuously running black theatre company in the United States. During this time, Campbell became an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1964, after relocating to New York City to teach, Campbell met Malcolm X, with whom he collaborated in creating the Organization of Afro-American Unity's Liberation School. He became a teacher for the New York City public school system and, during the summer, traveled to Mississippi and Georgia to register voters for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Campbell took graduate courses at the City University of New York from 1960 to 1967 and attended the Bank Street College of Education, where he earned a master's degree in Educational Administration and Supervision in 1972.

From 1970 to 1975, Campbell was a contributing editor to Freedomways, a quarterly journal devoted to African American arts and culture.

From 1973 to 1982, Campbell taught English in Tanzania, first in Bihawana and later at the International School in Dar es Salaam. After teaching for nine years in Tanzania, Campbell returned to New York City to work as a school administrator until his retirement in 1991.

Throughout these years, Campbell collected a variety of monographs, pamphlets, and collected works that reflected his political and ideological interests and pursuits, including those on Marxism-Leninism (especially dialectical materialism), socialism, Pan-Africanism, Black Nationalism, African American literature, African literature in the late colonial period, freedom movements, and Afrocentric pedagogy.

After retirement, Campbell moved back to Charleston, South Carolina where, as of 2011, he remains active in local political and educational issues. Campbell has served as the state coordinator of the South Carolina Algebra Project, an advisory board member for the School of Education at the College of Charleston, and the chair of the Education Committee for the Charleston branch of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He has served as the national co-chairman of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism and has lead a socialist education project in Charleston.

James Campbell had three sons, Glenn, Gary, and Paul T. R., and one daughter, DuBois. As of 2011, he had four grandchildren: Urai Elaine Mitchell, Dylan Rivera, Jay Rivera, and DuBois M. V. Campbell. Campbell has regularly contributed to the Charleston County Public Library in honor of his daughter, the late DuBois Kenyatta Campbell.

SOURCES: (1) Frazier, Herb. "James Campbell: Retired Educator, a Student of Life, Returns to His Past,"The Post and Courier, July 23, 2005, F1 (2) James E. Campbell: Interview by Dana Campbell.

Collection Overview

This collection includes correspondence, writings, photographs, and other material documenting the personal, professional, and ideological interests of James E. Campbell.

1. Correspondence includes letters to Betty Shabazz and letters from the Malcolm X Commemoration Committee as well as professional correspondence relating to Campbell's involvement with the Education Committee of the Charleston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as well as the South Carolina Algebra Project.

2. Professional Activities include material chiefly related to Campbell's career as an educator and school administrator in New York; his association with the Organization of Afro-American Unity's Liberation School; documentation of his tenure as an English teacher in Tanzania; and civic involvement related to educational issues in Charleston, South Carolina. A large portion of this series consists of printed material relating to the South Carolina Algebra Project, including transition curriculums and budgets; organizational materials, photographs, and a scrapbook related to Nelson Mandela's visit to New York in 1990; and pedagogical materials, including resource, teacher, and curriculum guides. Also included is material related to James E. Campbell's political and social activism.

3. Writings include poetry and original drafts of Campbell's written work.

4. Photographs include images of an Audubon Ballroom Rally attended by Malcolm X and Ella Lee-Little Collins, images of Nelson Mandela's 1990 visit to New York, and personal photographs.

5. Publications and Clippings include international, national, and local newsletters, publications, newspaper, and magazine clippings assembled by James E. Campbell that relate to his political, professional, and personal life. Newspaper and magazine clippings are heavily represented, a large portion of which relate to the life, death and legacy of Malcolm X. Other topics include education in South Carolina and the United States; South African political and social issues, including apartheid; African American art, culture, and history; child welfare; economics and business; civil rights; and various issues in national and international politics.

6. Subject Files include interview transcripts of Malcolm X; materials relating to the DuBois Kenyatta Campbell Memorial Collection inauguration; and printed material relating to Jesse Jackson, South Africa, Central America and the Caribbean.

Collection Arrangement

1. Correspondence, 1965-2005

2. Professional Activities, 1963-1998

3. Writings, 1952-1966

4. Photographs, circa 1960s-1990

5. Publications and Clippings, 1930-2009

6. Subject Files, 1961-2009

Subject Headings

• African Americans -- History -- Study and teaching.
• African American civil rights workers.
• African American educators -- United States -- 20th century.
• African American political activists -- United States -- 20th century.
• African American school principals -- New York (State) -- New York -- 20th century.
• African American social reformers -- United States -- 20th century.
• African American teachers -- New York (State) -- New York -- 20th century.
• African American teachers -- Tanzania -- 20th century
• Algebra -- Study and teaching (Middle school) -- South Carolina.
• Apartheid -- South Africa.
• Blacks -- History -- Study and teaching.
• Campbell, James E., 1925-.
• Campbell, James E., 1925- -- Manuscripts.
• Civil rights movements -- United States.
• Civil rights workers -- United States.
• Education -- Study and teaching.
• Education -- South Carolina -- Charleston.
• Mandela, Nelson, 1918- -- Travel -- United States.
• Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Middle school) -- South Carolina.
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Charleston Branch (Charleston, S.C.).
• Organization of Afro-American Unity.
• Political activists -- United States -- 20th century.
• School improvement programs -- South Carolina.
• School principals -- New York (State) -- New York -- 20th century.
• Shabazz, Betty -- Correspondence.
• Social reformers -- United States -- 20th century.
• South Africa -- Politics and government -- 20th century.
• South Africa -- Race relations -- 20th century.
• South Africa -- Social conditions -- 20th century.
• Teachers -- New York (State) -- New York -- 20th century.
• Teachers -- Tanzania -- 20th century.
• United States -- Race relations -- 20th century.
• X, Malcolm, 1925-1965.

Related Material

James E. Campbell Collection

Separated Material

The James E. Campbell Collection of monographs, pamphlets, and collected works has been separated and individually cataloged in the College of Charleston's online catalog.

Issues of Freedomways, for which James E. Campbell served as contributing editor, have been separated and individually cataloged in the College of Charleston's online catalog.

Special Formats

1113-OPF/1

Detailed Description of the Collection

Box 1   Folder 1Box 1   Folder 2Box 1   Folder 3Box 1   Folder 4Box 1   Folder 6Box 1   Folder 5Box 1   Folder 7
Box 1   Folder 8Box 1-2   Folder 9-13Box 3   Folder 14Box 3   Folder 15Box 3   Folder 16Box 3   Folder 17Box 3   Folder 18Box 4   Folder 19Box 4   Folder 20Box 4   Folder 21Box 4   Folder 22Box 4   Folder 23Box 4   Folder 24 Box 4   Folder 25Box 5   Folder 26 Box 5   Folder 27Box 5   Folder 28Box 5   Folder 29Box 5   Folder 30
Box 6   Folder 31Box 6   Folder 32 Box 6   Folder 33
Box 6   Folder 34Box 6   Folder 35Box 6   Folder 36 Box 6   Folder 37-38 Box 6   Folder 39
Box 6   Folder 40Box 6   Folder 41Box 6   Folder 42Box 6   Folder 43Box 6   Folder 44Box 6-7   Folder 45-46Box 7   Folder 47Box 7   Folder 48Box 7   Folder 49Box 7   Folder 50Box 7   Folder 51Box 7   Folder 52Box 7   Folder 53Box 7   Folder 54Box 7   Folder 55Box 7   Folder 56Box 7   Folder 57Box 7   Folder 58Box 7   Folder 59Box 7   Folder 60 Box 8   Folder 61Box 8   Folder 62Box 8   Folder 63Box 8   Folder 64Box 8   Folder 65 Box 8   Folder 66Box 8   Folder 67 Box 8   Folder 68Box 8   Folder 69 Box 8-9   Folder 70-71Box 9   Folder 72Box 9   Folder 73Box 9   Folder 74 Box 9   Folder 75Box 9   Folder 76 Box 9   Folder 77 Box 10   Folder 78 Box 10   Folder 79Box 10   Folder 80Box 10   Folder 81Box 10   Folder 82Box 10   Folder 83 Box 10   Folder 84Box 10   Folder 85Box 10   Folder 86Box 10   Folder 87Box 10   Folder 88Box 10   Folder 89 Box 11   Folder 90Box 11   Folder 91Box 11   Folder 92Box 11   Folder 93Box 11   Folder 94Box 11   Folder 95Box 11   Folder 96Box 12   Folder 97Box 12-13   Folder 98-103 Box 13   Folder 104Box 13-14   Folder 105-125 Box 15   Folder 126-127 Box 15   Folder 128-129 Box 16   Folder 130-139 Box 16   Folder 140Box 16   Folder 141Box 17   Folder 142Box 17   Folder 143Box 17   Folder 144Box 17   Folder 145 Box 17   Folder 146Box 17   Folder 147Box 18   Folder 148-149Box 18   Folder 150Box 18-19   Folder 151-153
Box 19   Folder 154Box 19   Folder 155Box 19   Folder 156Box 19   Folder 157Box 20   Folder 158Box 20   Folder 159Box 20   Folder 160 Box 20   Folder 161Box 20   Folder 162Box 20   Folder 163Box 20   Folder 164

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright Notice

The nature of the Avery Research Center's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Avery Research Center claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], James E. Campbell Papers, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Received from James E. Campbell in May 1992, August 1992, January 1999, and April 2002.

Processing Information

Processed by Joshua Minor, May 2011

Encoded by Joshua Minor, June 2011

Edited by Jessica Farrell and Amanda Ross, June 2011

Funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources supported the collection processing and encoding of this finding aid.