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American Foundation for Negro Affairs (AFNA) Records
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Held at: Temple University Libraries: Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Temple University Libraries: Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The American Foundation for Negro Affairs (AFNA) was established in 1968 by civic leader, activist, and impresario Samuel L Evans in collaboration with other prominent Black leaders, to "unify and harness American Negro worth and potential in all areas of life." AFNA sought to remedy the social and economic problems faced by Black Americans. After identifying fifteen areas of study, including education, health and welfare, and communications, AFNA established commissions for each to develop programs of remediation.
The AFNA Board of Director included Evans, as Chairman, federal judge A. Leon Higginbotham, as President, and eight vice presidents, including educator, historian and social science researcher Horace Mann Bond, as well as Esther Weston King, Barbara L. Weems, and C. Delores Tucker. King also partnered with Evans during his career as an impresario. Over the succeeding thirty years, King and Tucker would remain with AFNA as it transitioned from a national initiative to address multiple aspects of Black American life to a local operation encouraging and preparing minority youth for careers in medicine, law, and other professions, through a specially designed educational program beginning at the high school level.
AFNA held it first biennial convention September 9-13, 1968. The five-day program consisted of general assemblies, commission workshops, and a public hearing and testimony on AFNA's articles of incorporation, which the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia, approved on September 11, 1968. (AFNA registered its name as a non-profit corporation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in July 1967.)
During its early years, Evans and the board envisioned AFNA as a national organization with state chapters as well as a united federation of existing organizations established on community, city, and state levels. The earliest challenges to this structure were acknowledged at the June 1969 Board of Directors meeting in New York and changes were instituted: AFNA would pursue and participate only where public acceptance was certain, and Board membership would be limited to twelve individuals from the Philadelphia area or from locations that could afford the expense. Philadelphia would also be the design site for the model programs the fifteen commissions would recommend. Once the pilot projects proved successful, they would be moved to the national level in each state.
By the time of the Second Biennial Convention, September 24-26, 1970, AFNA's Commission on Health and Welfare had made considerable progress with its proposal for a program to address the contemporary health care crisis, particularly in urban areas of minority population. In addition to recommendations for city hospitals, it included an educational initiative, making it the first documented proposal of the "AFNA Plan: New Access Routes to Medical Careers" for minority and low socioeconomic group students. This served as the basis of AFNA's first contract proposal for federal funding submitted on September 4, 1970, to the Bureau of Health Manpower Education, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, which operated under the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A sixteen-month contract was awarded in May, granting AFNA nearly $129,000 to design and plan a national model.
AFNA began its first recruitment of students in April 1971. The program took full advantage of its location, drawing on Philadelphia's concentration of hospitals, medical schools, and universities for instructors, advisers, preceptors and lecturers. Classes were conducted in university settings so that students would become more familiar and less intimidated by a higher education environment. AFNA also served as an advocate for students having financial, academic, or other difficulties and provided recommendations for students continuing in graduate and professional schools.
Over the course of its history, AFNA adapted its program. In October 1974, it began planning a prototype for careers in law, commerce, and finance and science and technology, and in April 1975 received funding to start up its law program. AFNA established only one other branch outside of Philadelphia, in New Orleans, Louisiana. It operated from 1974 to 1980, offering both the medical and legal career programs. The branch's charter was part of a corporate restructuring that began by summer 1974. "The AFNA Plan: New Access Routes to Professional Careers" and the federal grants used in its implementation were transferred from AFNA to the newly chartered AFNA National Education and Research Fund, Inc., which was also incorporated in Pennsylvania as a non-profit corporation. A separate entity, the AFNA Education and Research Fund, would oversee fundraising and other activities and objectives.
Although AFNA's Second Biennial Convention was also its last, it did hold several national interdisciplinary conferences and annual college fairs. It also sponsored events outside the realm of education, ranging from the Black Unity Football Classic (1970) to an international conference on HIV-AIDS (1990). It hosted a number of dinners at which it presented the AFNA Distinguished American Award to prominent local, national, and international figures. AFNA proposed other programs that never reached fruition.
Between 1971 and 2006, AFNA received nearly $16 million in federal, state and city funding. This included funding from the Department of Health and Human Services to develop two publications intended as national guides: The Community-Based Organization in the Educational Continuum-An Inner City Model (1990) and AFNA Cookbook Recipe for Replication: The AFNA Plan: A Cookbook Structure for a National Model: Health and Allied Health Sciences, Medicine, Law, Business to the Humanities: for Inner-City, Rural and Community-Based Organizations (1998). From its inception, AFNA enrolled more than 20,000 students, turning out 750 medical doctors, 550 lawyers, 96 Ph.D. recipients and 4,500 college graduates.
AFNA's last tax filing was for 2006, and the last Board of Directors meeting was held on January 10, 2007. At that meeting Evans remarked that he was providing AFNA's only funding. He died in June 2008.
These records document the founding, operation and programs of AFNA and its ultimate dedication to encourage and prepare minority youth for careers in medicine, law, and other professions through a specially designed educational program beginning at the high school level. Correspondence, grant and other proposals, financial records, reports, minutes, and legal documents comprise most of the documentation. Clippings, photographs, audiovisual and printed materials, and objects are also included.
The collection dates from 1967 to 2008, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1973 to 2007. Some documents containing confidential or personal information have been restricted. These select documents are included in Subseries 2.4: Student enrollment records, 1983-2006, undated; Series 3: Educational program: New Orleans branch, 1973-1979; Subseries 3.1: Medical careers program, 1973-1979, undated; and Series 6: Chronological files, 1975-2007. Wherever possible some information within a document was redacted to allow immediate patron access.
The collection is arranged into 8 series as follows:
- Series 1: Founding and early activities, 1967-1974, undated
- Subseries 1.1: Founding and First Biennial Convention, 1967-1968
- Subseries 1.2: Second Biennial Convention and other initiatives, 1969-1974, undated
- Subseries 1.3: Chronological and name and subject files, 1967-1974, undated
- Series 2: Educational program records: Philadelphia branch (PORTIONS RESTRICTED),1973-2007, undated
- Subseries 2.1: Grants, 1975-2006, undated
- Subseries 2.2: Programs and procedures, 1973-2007, undated
- Subseries 2.3: Working files of site and program directors, 1982-2007, undated
- Subseries 2.4 Student enrollment records (PORTIONS RESTRICTED), 1983-2006, undated
- Series 3: Educational program records: New Orleans branch (PORTIONS RESTRICTED), 1973-1979, undated
- Subseries 3.1 Medical careers program (PORTIONS RESTRICTED), 1973-1979, undated
- Subseries 3.2 Legal careers program, 1978-1980, undated
- Series 4: Other AFNA initiatives, 1975-2003, undated
- Subseries 4.1 Events, 1975-2003, undated
- Subseries 4.2 Projects, 1976-2001, undated
- Subseries 4.3 Organizations, 1986-2003, undated
- Series 5: Office operations and organizational records, 1968-2008, undated
- Subseries 5.1: Board of Directors and supporting committees, 1968-2007, undated
- Subseries 5.2: Financial records, 1974-2008, undated
- Subseries 5.3: Other department records and working files, 1968-2007, undated
- Subseries 5.4 General office files, 1976-2006, undated
- Series 6: Chronological files (PORTIONS RESTRICTED), 1975-2007
- Series 7: Name and subject files, 1975-2007, undated
- Series 8: Audiovisual and other materials, 1968-2006, undated
- Subseries 8.1 Audiovisual material, 1968-2006
- Subseries 8.2 Other material, 1969-2001, undated
Donated by Ethel S. Barnett.
Subseries 8.1 consists of original audiovisual items that are accessible via use copies in the reading room only. Please allow approximately two weeks for staff to prepare use copies. In some instances, material may have to be sent to an outside vendor for preparation or transfer.
Certain digital files may also be inaccessible.
Collection processed and finding aid prepared in March 2017 by Bertha Adams, Project Archivist.
This collection was received with minimal original order and included the papers of AFNA founder Samuel L. Evans. During processing, the latter material was separated for processing as its own collection. The remaining papers identified as related to AFNA were further rearranged, primarily to undo the regrouping of material by subject headings imposed during the late 1990s or early 2000s by an AFNA staff member that was determined to be misleading or inaccurate. A significant amount of loose papers also needed to be identified and organized. Many of the names and subjects documented in this record group are also included in the Samuel L. Evans Papers. The former consists of material in which AFNA is clearly the subject; the latter addresses more general educational matters as well as political or other social concerns. Some unintended duplication of material between both collections may exist.
Certain material, primarily the daily reports generated by site directors and student council documents generated from the late 1990s on, identifies individual students singled out because of disciplinary or other problems. This same material offers a unique account of the daily operation of the AFNA program. To allow immediate access, student names have been redacted where necessary. Social security numbers listed in early grant applications have also been redacted. Enrollment lists that include social security numbers and certain documents that include personal or confidential information that could not be redacted have been retained and restricted.
Approximately 70 linear feet of material were separated from these records and processed as the Samuel L. Evans Papers.
People
Organization
- American Foundation for Negro Affairs. Education and Research Fund
- Philadelphia (Pa.). Office of Employment and Training
- United States. Department of Education
- United States. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
- United States. Department of Health and Human Services
Subject
- Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA)
- Education—United States
- Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs ("GEAR UP")
- Law—Study and teaching
- Medical education
Place
- Publisher
- Temple University Libraries: Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection
- Finding Aid Author
- Machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan, Sky Global Services India (P) Ltd.
- Finding Aid Date
- January 2025
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research. Due to privacy and confidentiality concerns, certain files in Series 2, 3 and 7 are closed to research for seventy-five years from date of creation, as noted in the collection inventory.
- Use Restrictions
-
The American Foundation for Negro Affairs Records are the physical property of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, Temple University Libraries. The creator/donor has not assigned their rights to Temple University Libraries. Other creators' intellectual property rights, including copyright, belong to them or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for determining the identity of rights holders and obtaining their permission for publication and for other purposes where stated.
Collection Inventory
Series 1: Founding and early activities, 1967-1974, undated, documents the founding of the American Foundation for Negro Affairs and its operation and initiatives up to its reorganization as the AFNA National Education and Research Fund and its chartering of branches in Philadelphia and New Orleans. Much of the documentation appears to have been the files of Barbara Weems, with some financial records created by Esther Weston King. Weems was one of the Board Vice Presidents as well as an Executive Director and National Executive Secretary. She appears to have left AFNA in early 1971. During this time period, King also served as a Board Vice President and then First Vice-Chairman and Treasurer. (In 1988 she was appointed President.) The series is arranged in three subseries: Subseries 1.1: Founding and First Biennial Convention; Subseries 1.2: Second Biennial Convention and other initiatives; Subseries 1.3: Chronological and name and subject files.
Subseries 1.1: Founding and First Biennial Convention, 1967-1968, undated, documents the establishment and incorporation of AFNA as well as its nationally recognized debut—the First Biennial Convention, held September 9-13, 1968, at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Documentation consists primarily of incorporation documents and transcripts of remarks made at the convention workshops facilitated by the various commissions. Of particular note are two publications: "Convention Overview and Summary" and one published in December 1968 that not only summarizes the convention but details and defines AFNA's complex organizational structure and proposed budget.
Audio recordings of the workshops and other events of the First Biennial Convention are included in Series 8: Audiovisual and other materials. See also a set of unidentified printer's plates in the same series which, based on text, likely date to 1967 and were used for a convention prospectus/funding proposal. Arrangement begins with incorporation documents and early press releases and reports followed by convention-related material arranged in alphabetical order.
[First page missing] 1968
Subseries 1.2: Second Biennial Convention and other initiatives, 1969-1974, undated, pertains primarily to the three major events organized by AFNA in 1970. Like the first, the Second Biennial Convention, held September 24-26, 1970 in Philadelphia, centered on the presentations and findings of the various commissions. Most of the documentation here pertains to the Commission on Health and Welfare, Subsection on Health, and its health care resolutions and proposed medical careers plan. See Subseries 1.3 for an earlier version of the plan and related funding proposal submitted to NIH. The Commission on Afro-American Heritage, which is documented in the papers of the Second Biennial, sponsored one of the other initiatives included here— "The Afro-Philadelphian" by playwright Loften Mitchell, which was performed May 29, 1970, at Philadelphia's Academy of Music. The subtitle of the play very much reflected the guiding principle of AFNA in documenting the [African American's] History, Accomplishments and Future Direction." Press releases, programs and an annotated script are among its documentation. The third event of 1970 was the Black Unity Football Classic, played between Alcorn A&M College (Lorman, MS) and North Carolina Central University (Durham, NC). Part of American Unity Week, the game was held September 26, 1970, at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. AFNA was one of its sponsors. Its documentation is the most extensive of this subseries, comprised of correspondence, ticket sale and other financial papers, press releases, posters, programs, a scrapbook and other papers.
Most of the newspaper clippings included in the "Various initiatives" scrapbook (now housed in two folders) pertain to the Unity football classic and parade. There are also a few items about Loften Mitchell's play and other AFNA activities making the news in 1970 and 1971.
Several additional clippings documenting the early years of AFNA are in Subseries 8.2: Other materials.
Audio recordings from the Second Biennial Convention and from the First Interdisciplinary Conference (January 1972), which is also documented here, are included in Subseries 8.1: Audiovisual materials. Audio recordings of the National Interdisciplinary Conference held in October 1974, also in Subseries 8.1, are the only documentation of that event. The only documentation for the Interdisciplinary Conference held in March 1973 are photographs, which are part of Subseries 8.2: Other material. Arrangement is by event, with subgroups of files in alphabetical order.
Minutes (2 sets)
2 versions
Vouchers. Nos. 1-29
Vouchers. Nos. 30-141, 602
Subseries 1.3: Chronological and name and subject files, 1967-1974, undated, documents early office operations, including that of various committees and AFNA's Board of Education, as well as the work product of the various commissions issued before and after the second convention. Chronological folders consist primarily of incoming and outgoing correspondence with the earliest dating from 1967. Most pertain to requests for information about AFNA in general and its two conventions. Commission and committee reports and proposals, financial records and grant applications comprise the bulk of name and subject files.
Of note are the reports and proposals of the Commission on Health and Commission on Health and Welfare dated February and March 1970, which drew on Evans' community services outside of AFNA. Both documents examine and evaluate the role of Philadelphia General Hospital (PGH)—the only municipal hospital to provide medical treatment for those often refused at other facilities because of race, ethnicity, low income or lack of insurance. Two years earlier Evans was made a Trustee of PGH. Documentation of his involvement with hospital is included in the Samuel L. Evans Papers. Around the same time, Evans was also appointed to the Mayor's Citizens' Committee that was charged with developing plans for the delivery of adequate health services in the city. Because the Committee's report did not include educational components that would allow minorities to pursue medical careers, Evans resigned. The AFNA Plan: New Access Routes to Medical Careers, which evolved from these earlier reports, resolved that shortcoming.
Also of note are the minutes of the various committees overseen by the AFNA Board of Education, which was established to develop a supplemental school system for young Black children. Raymond Pace Alexander, the first African American judge appointed to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, was the Board's chairman.
Additional documentation of this time period is included in Series 8; namely a recording of a radio program on WUHY-FM (now WHYY, Philadelphia) in Subseries 8.1: Audiovisual materials; and the clippings and printing plates and negatives in Subseries 8.2: Other materials. Tax filings for 1969-1974 are included in the working files of Laurence Sutton, which are part of Subseries 5.2. Subseries begins with chronological files, followed by name and subject files, alphabetically arranged.
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Series 2: Educational program: Philadelphia branch, 1973-2007, undated, documents the funding and implementation of the AFNA Plans leading to careers in medicine, health and the allied health sciences, law, computer science, and business. This material also makes evident much of the daily operation of the educational and other student programs in Philadelphia, where classes were conducted at Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, and for a short time at Drexel University. (The AFNA office operated at a separate location in center city Philadelphia-first at 1714 Walnut Street, 1968-1969; followed by 136 S. 17th Street, 1970-1982; 1700 Market Street, 1983-1987; and finally at 117 S. 17th Street.) Grants, curricula and program documentation, enrollment records and working files of the staff directly involved with the daily activity of students comprise the bulk of the records.
The series is arranged in four subseries: Subseries 2.1: Grants; Subseries 2.2: Programs and procedures; Subseries 2.3: Working files of site and program directors; and Subseries 2.4: Student enrollment records.
Subseries 2.1: Grants, 1975-2006, undated, particularly the lengthy proposals of the 1980s, offer detailed descriptions of AFNA's educational programs. Documentation includes course outlines, tests and classroom handouts, identification and qualifications of teaching and operational staff, student and graduate analyses and calculations of operational costs. The "Linear Progress Report" included in some proposals is a detailed chronology of AFNA, beginning in 1968. A few also include a chronology of grant awards. While federal funding comprises most of the documentation, a city and state source of note included here pertains to the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), a federal law enacted in 1973 to train workers and provide them with jobs in public service, which was succeeded in 1982 by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). AFNA received funding that was provided for a summer youth employment and training program. The working files of Laurence Sutton in Subseries 5.2 contain extensive documentation of CETA for both the Philadelphia and New Orleans branches. Additional documentation is also included in the working files of Philip Bright in Subseries 5.2, the working files of Robert Rountree, in Subseries 5.3, and in the related state and city agencies in Series 7: Names and subjects.
Additional correspondence with the United States Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and the predecessor to both, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare are in Series 7: Name and subject files. So, too, are the files of correspondence and other papers to some of the state and city agencies noted here.
The earliest grants AFNA submitted are in Subseries 1.3. Also see the working files of Laurence Sutton in Subseries 5.4 for documentation of all grants executed between 1972 and 1985. Proposals to establish similar programs in Chicago, Wilmington, DE and Mississippi, as well as a naval program, are included in Subseries 4.2. None developed beyond paper. Arrangement is by funding source, in the order of federal, state, city, and foundations or other private sources.
2 versions
Two versions
Two versions?
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Subseries 2.2: Programs and procedures, 1973-2007, undated, expands on the educational elements described in Subseries 2.1: Grants, with more detailed documentation of AFNA's programs of the 1990s and 2000s. Two integral elements of the AFNA plan well-documented here are the Frontiers of Knowledge lecture series and the preceptorship program. The lecture series draws on a program Evans introduced to Philadelphia in 1952 offering an integrated concept of science, philosophy and education. Documentation of the earlier lecture series is included in the Samuel L. Evans Papers. The material included here consists primarily of lecture transcripts, handouts and reference. The preceptorship program sought to place students in medical, legal and other professional settings and working with mentors. Documentation consists primarily of correspondence to solicit mentors, place students and track student performance. The working files of Helena G. Powers, which are part of Subseries 2.3, include additional documentation. The subset of "Semester" folders were devised during processing to accommodate loose papers and miscellaneous folders compiled occasionally by teachers or Betty Thompson, the administrative officer, circa 2000-2006. Folder content varies; many include schedules, rosters, flyers, classroom reservations memos, and occasional correspondence, general assembly announcements, daily tally sheets, seating charts and classroom handouts. The "writings" folders at the end of the subseries include what may be drafts of narratives included in grant proposals or intended as stand-alone reports describing AFNA's progress in developing its unique educational program. For another writing, see the set of folders identified as "Katcher, Aaron Honori" in Series 7: Name and subject files. AFNA contracted Katcher to write about the medical program in 1978. Only two chapters are here in draft form.
Recordings of several General Assembly sessions, a Frontiers of Knowledge lecture, student orientation and student testimonials are in Subseries 8.1 Audiovisual material. This subseries is arranged in alphabetical order.
Photocopies
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Subseries 2.3: Working files of site and program directors, 1982-2007, undated, pertain to the AFNA staff, who along with teachers and preceptors, were responsible for curriculum development (program directors) or who were responsible for securing classroom space and monitoring the daily flow of class activity (site directors). Such staff whose sets of files could still be identified during processing are: Frances D. Coleman, Program Director, likely of the Professional Careers program, during the late 1980s and early 1990s; Verna W. Edwards, summer program coordinator/Superintendent, AFNA Advanced Academic Program and teacher of computer science/pascal); Maureen O'Connor, Project Officer (earlier title of program director), likely of legal careers plan, mid-late 1970s; Helena G. Powers, Director of Preceptor Program, circa 1978-1988; and P. Earl Vinson, Director of University Facilities and Student Affairs and Site Director at University of Pennsylvania, circa 1999-2006.
Vinson's files are the most extensive and meticulously maintained. His "Lecture" folders consist of announcement flyers and transcripts or handouts of Frontier of Knowledge lectures. "Semester" folders often contain student and teacher rosters, flyers announcing lectures and other events, correspondence and other papers regarding classroom reservations, seating charts showing individual student names, grade level, attendance record and subjects. Of note are the Director's Weekly Linear Progress Reports that consist of the site director's observations and activities at the start and conclusion of the school day, including disciplinary issues. Names of those involved in such actions were redacted during processing. The daily tally sheets attached for each class are submitted by teachers, with the site director completing a more general tally. "Student Council meetings" contain general correspondence and guidelines and sign-in sheets of the various events council members were expected to attend. Various papers pertaining to student violators, whose cases were presented to the Council, were redacted to conceal names of concerned parties. Student rosters note student name, grade level and status as continuing or new AFNA member; "Teachers" files include payroll sheets, which also note subject taught
Missing are the files of Mary Anne Bartley, AFNA's first project director, appointed in 1971, who was appointed Director of Medical Division, circa 1979. Her name appears in most of the grant proposals. Her article about the development of the AFNA plan that was published in 1972 is included in Subseries 1.3. Bartley is also identified in some of the audio recordings in Subseries 8.1. Files arranged in alphabetical order, by staff name, with unidentified site directors at the end.
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Subseries 2.4: Student enrollment records, 1983-2006, undated, gives various accountings of students participating in the AFNA programs. Documents generated during the 1980s include a tracking of AFNA graduates through college and professional graduate studies. These analyses are similar to the summaries used in grant proposals. The later printouts are the work product of the Admissions Department. Prepared in table formats, these are more voluminous and detailed than the earlier documents, but limited to actively enrolled 7th through 12th graders. Information includes student name, address, grade level, school and status in AFNA program; namely new or continuing. Parent names are sometimes included. Roll sheets and other lists are generated by classroom site; namely University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and Drexel University. Arrangement: Chronological order with restricted folders listed at the end.
parts 1-3
Series 3: Educational program. New Orleans branch, 1973-1979, undated, documents the funding and implementation of the AFNA Plan for medical and legal careers in the New Orleans branch. Carlton Pecot was the person central to the establishment and operation of the branch.
As a Community Organization Consultant with the Louisiana Advancement Association, Pecot accompanied AFNA staff in a meeting with NIH in 1973 and later that year met with New Orleans medical school representatives to establish the chapter. The AFNA plan was instituted in July 1974, accepting its first students in December. In 1975, AFNA held a National Interdisciplinary Conference in New Orleans to adapt the medical prototype to communications, education and government. Two years later, the legal careers program received funding. During his tenure, Pecot served as Director of the medical program, senior staff officer and AFNA Southern Regional Coordinator.
Series 8: Audiovisual and other materials includes the only documentation of the three-day conference hosted in New Orleans in 1975. Audio recordings of the event are in Subseries 8.1. In Subseries 8.2 is a photograph album and printing negatives of the publications distributed at the conference. The second AFNA Distinguished American Award dinner, which would be the only one held in New Orleans, also took place during the conference on October 14, 1975. Its only documentation, a program, is included in Subseries 4.1 Events.
Working files of Laurence Sutton included in Subseries 5.1 contain additional grant documentation for both the medical careers and legal careers programs operating in New Orleans. Additional documentation of CETA funding awarded to the legal program is in Sutton's files as well.
The series is arranged in two subseries: Subseries 3.1: Medical careers program and Subseries 3.2: Legal careers program.
Subseries 3.1: Medical careers program, 1973-1979, undated, consists primarily of correspondence and grant proposals. Of note is the proposal identified as HRA 106-0A-30 (4). It was submitted to the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare around 1974 for the purpose of securing funding to establish the New Orleans division.
Subseries 3.2: Legal careers program, 1978-1980, undated, consists primarily of grant proposals and progress reports. Of note is the director of the program, Bernette J. Johnson, who in later years became the first African American woman to serve as associate and chief justice of Louisiana Supreme Court. Subseries is arranged alphabetically.
Series 4: Other AFNA initiatives, 1975-2003, undated, pertains to events, projects and organizations that were often conducted "under the auspices" of AFNA Education and Research Fund-the organization's fundraising entity, as well as conferences and college fairs. Additional press coverage of certain events is included among the subset of "Clippings" folders in Subseries 8.2 Other materials. The series is arranged in three subseries: Subseries 4.1: Events; Subseries 4.2: Projects; and Subseries 4.3: Organizations.
Subseries 4.1: Events, 1975-2003, undated, documents special events related to AFNA's educational program or to issues relevant to the African American community at large. Of note are those described below.
The African American Proclamation Convention, held October 2-7, 1983, had an ambitious agenda that was undone and permanently postponed due to seemingly unrelated political accusations. Heading the list of initiatives identified in the convention agenda was the call for an annual "African American National Holiday." Evans had drafted its proposal no later than March 1982. Those drafts are included here as is related correspondence, which includes his telegram to President Ronald Reagan. Coming at the same time Congress was considering to declare the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a national holiday, Evans suggested instead a holiday recognizing, among other significant events, the "birth of humanity on the African continent…the Emancipation Proclamation…as well as the contributions and achievements of distinguished Africans and African descendants." The proposal, along with the convention and its other initiatives, never made it past the planning stages when Mayor Bill Green rescinded the $50,000 funding City Council previously approved. Clippings and correspondence included here document the reaction from Evans and others, with the press questioning the motives of both sides.
Also well-documented is the World Conference on HIV-AIDS and Global Population, held November 27-29, 1989. Correspondence and papers presented comprise much of the documentation. There are also many related writings regarding the origins of AIDS from one of the presenters, Dr. John Seale of the Royal Society of Medicine. Not included in this collection but worth noting is the detailed account of the conference proceedings included in the December 15, 1989, issue of Executive Intelligence Review (EIR)(Vol. 16, No. 50). The publication was founded by Lyndon H. LaRouche, a controversial political activist who had his own conspiracy theories and initiatives for the cause and treatment of AIDS. LaRouche and Evans were in contact prior to the conference. The issue is available online at larouchepub.com
In addition to the conferences, conventions and college fairs, AFNA sponsored a number of dinners honoring local, national and international individuals. Dinner programs and other ephemera and financial records comprise the bulk of material.
AFNA honored City Council President Joseph Coleman and Esther Weston King three times each. Coleman in 1980, September 1981 and 1984; King in 1975, October 1981, and posthumously in 1997. King and Evans shared the 1981 tribute. AFNA also instituted its Hall of Fame and Distinguished American awards. The Hall of Fame award launched the AFNA proposal for an African American Hall of Fame Sculpture Garden. Documentation of that initiative is in Subseries 4.2 Projects.
Prior to the honor he shared with Esther Weston King in 1981, Evans received the second AFNA Distinguished American Award in 1976. His plaque is included in Subseries 8.2: Other materials. The last set of folders pertains to the series of dinners Evans planned to mark his 100th birthday that were intended as fundraising events for AFNA. The only celebrations noted in the press were an all-day celebration at his office and one dinner held at the Warwick Hotel. Those clippings are in the Samuel L. Evans Papers.
Photocopies
2 versions
Subseries 4.2: Projects, 1976-2001, undated, document projects planned, but never realized. The African American Hall of Fame Sculpture Garden is the most extensively documented and controversial, becoming a political and social battle played out in the press. Additional clippings are in Subseries 8.2. Perhaps a repurposing of the Hall of Fame proposal was the one for an African American Memorial Tomb of the Unknown Slaves and Historical Sculpture Garden, presented in 1993. Documentation of Evans' writing, "Requiem: Where are the graves of the unknown slaves," is included in the Samuel L. Evans Papers.
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Subseries 4.3: Organizations, 1986-2003, undated, documents organizations identified as a division or affiliate of AFNA. Some of the organizational names and purposes appear similar, with papers interfiled. Both titles have been retained to reflect original identification. Other organizations that were determined during processing to have been established without affiliation to AFNA are documented in Series 3: Names and subjects of the Samuel L. Evans Papers. The Atonement Foundation, which is part of the Evans' Papers, appears to be a separate entity from the AFNA International Atonement Council, which is included here. The former received its own IRS employer identification and tax exemption. A few of Evans' writings, which are also in the Evans Papers (Series 6: Writings) are referenced in some of the files here. Most notable is Evans' "Requiem for Ten Million Slaves," which is listed as a potential income source with the American Global Community University. The university was envisioned along with a satellite TV educational network, an initiative documented in Subseries 4.2. Neither was realized.
3 versions
Tabs 1-6
Series 5: Office operations and organizational records, 1968-2008, undated, documents the typical operations and procedures of an office as well as the oversight and assistance provided by the Board of Directors and committees of non-AFNA personnel; namely professionals, parents and volunteers. Board meeting minutes, financial records and staff working files of several staff comprise the bulk of documentation. The series is arranged in four subseries: Subseries 5.1: Board of Directors and supporting committees; Subseries 5.2: Financial records; Subseries 5.3: Other department records and working files; and Subseries 5.4: General office.
Subseries 5.1: Board of Directors and supporting committees, 1968-2007, undated, documents those entities that oversaw or assisted staff in the operation of AFNA. Most significant are the annual meetings of the Board of Directors. Minutes and reports presented by various officers and department heads are the primary documentation. The committees and councils included here relied on the voluntary participation of education and other professionals as well as parents, guardians, community leaders or AFNA students and graduates. Although documentation of many of these groups is limited, their significance is worth noting. The hours of service committee members provided was considered an in-kind contribution and calculated as a percentage of AFNA's overall operational cost. As noted in much of the grant documentation in Subseries 2.1, in-kind contributions weighed heavily in securing grant funding. The earliest calculation of institutional contributions to AFNA was reported by the accounting firm of Peat Marwick in 1976. That report is included in the set of "Financial records" folders in Subseries 1.3. See also the "In-kind contributions" folder in Series 7: Name and subject files.
The earliest Board of Directors material is housed in two volumes that consist of originally-executed documents maintained by the Secretary. At page seventeen, the minute book begins with the first national board meeting of the American Foundation for Negro Affairs held September 7, 1968, during the First Biennial Convention. Esther Weston King submitted the minutes as AFNA's Secretary-Treasurer. Minutes for the meetings from 1969 to 1976 were the charge of AFNA Secretary Melvin L. Hardy. In May 1977, the Board of Directors of the AFNA National Research and Education Fund convened for the first time and six months later held its first annual meeting. Recording Secretary and General Counsel Charles F. Ludwig submitted both sets of minutes, as well as those of the next annual meeting, which was not held until March 6, 1980. The latter minutes conclude the volume. The first sixteen pages of the minute book pertain to an organization unrelated to AFNA—the Tanner Duckrey Memorial Fund Committee. It is but one of the many other causes advocated by Evans that are documented in the Samuel L. Evans Papers.
The second volume begins with AFNA's 1974 reorganization; namely, the original Articles of Incorporation and By-laws of the AFNA National Research and Education Fund and the Grant of Charter of the Philadelphia branch. Minutes of the annual meetings held from 1974 to 1982 complete the volume. Documentation of meetings held through 1994 was housed in a binder (now disassembled) also compiled by Charles Ludwig, who continued to serve as Recording Secretary through 2002. (Ramona Chube, M.D. succeeded him.) Documentation of meetings held after 1994 was not as carefully compiled. Most of those papers were collated during processing.
Documentation of many of the committees is limited to a single file of member lists or descriptions of duties and goals. Better documented is the Counselors' Council, comprised of high school counselors who recommended students for the AFNA program. Its few files consist of correspondence and meeting materials. Possibly related is the subgroup of "Committee Outreach" folders in Series 7: Name and subject files. Most contain some type of analysis of the wards and districts in Philadelphia where AFNA students lived. Perhaps, as the original file title suggests, this information was used to solicit AFNA committee volunteers.
Board of Directors minutes are arranged in chronological order, followed by any duplicate sets and a limited number of meeting announcements and Board member listings. Committee and council files are arranged alphabetically.
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Subseries 5.2: Financial records, 1974-2008, undated consists primarily of tax filings, financial statements prepared by outside accounting firms and the working files of the AFNA personnel who served as fiscal officers. In order of their tenure, the earliest fiscal officer whose records are also the most extensive is Laurence Sutton. Sutton worked at AFNA between 1975 and 1990 approximately. Some of his earliest records include the documents of Esther Weston King, in her capacity as AFNA's treasurer. The bulk of King's financial records, all of which pertain to the earlier years of AFNA, are in Subseries 1.3. Sutton maintained meticulous documentation of the grants and other assistance awarded to AFNA from federal, state, and city agencies and private funders. Weldon Smith, Jr. was hired as fiscal officer in February 1990, apparently as Sutton's replacement. His tenure was short, and it appears the fiscal responsibilities were assumed by Robert Board, accountant and Board director, circa 1996-2001, and then Stanley Adams, an accountant who began circa 2001. There are also two folders reflecting the work of Evans' grandson, Philip A. Bright. Bright began at AFNA circa 1981 as an accountant/bookkeeper and by the mid-1990s served as a Vice President and Controller, as well as Board member.
Despite their many years with AFNA, no discrete set of files document the work of Esther Weston King or Ethel S. Barnett. The latter came to AFNA in 1978 as appointed National Director of Resource and Development and in 1998 was appointed Vice President and Treasurer, assuming the duties of King who died in 1996. Barnett resigned at the end of 2004. Arrangement begins with tax and accountant files in chronological order, filed by working files in alphabetical order.
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Subseries 5.3: Other department records and working files, 1968-2007, undated, consists primarily of the working files of other staff members, along with some miscellaneous papers describing the functions of certain offices. Documentation of AFNA's efforts to raise funds privately is included in Series 7: Name and subject files, under the subset of files entitled "Contribution," "Funding," "Fundraising" and "United Way." The staff whose working files are included here are: Eric L. Box, Assistant Director in Charge of Student Affairs, circa mid-1970s-mid-1980s; Donald Dillard, Director of Research and Development, circa 2002-2003; Charles Ludwig, who in addition to serving as AFNA Board Secretary was also the organization's attorney; Rebecca Rose Metzberg, Student Coordinator and then Director of Student Affairs, circa 2000-2005; and Robert Rountree, who from early to mid-1980s dealt with the City of Philadelphia's Office of Employment and Training as AFNA's CETA coordinator and then Coordinator of Youth Employment Programs/Initiatives. The individual with the most extensive files was not a paid staff member but a longtime associate. Rev. Jason Jerome Cooper was a coordinator and director of the AFNA International Ecumenical Clergy Council and Board member. He was also pastor of the Berean Presbyterian Church in North Philadelphia and community leader who considered Evans his mentor. His files consist of correspondence and writings, not all related to AFNA but to organizations in which Evans was involved. Most of the original folders were retained in order to identify content since the many handwritten notes are difficult to decipher. Arrangement is alphabetical.
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Subseries 5.4: General office files, 1976-2006, undated, documents the daily operations of the Philadelphia office. Evans' appointment books, filing inventories and reference compilations comprise the bulk of material. All three include Evans' activities outside of AFNA, most of which are documented in the Samuel L. Evans Papers. Any material inserted into the appointment books, such as invitations, appointment cards and flyers, were removed and housed separately. Also included here and of note is the "real estate" folder regarding property in Chester County, Pennsylvania. According to an assessment appeal of 1996, the property served as a retreat for a student camp and nature study. The camp was never constructed as later papers describe the property as a vacant lot. Arrangement is alphabetical.
Series 6: Chronological files, 1975-2007, consists of the correspondence and other papers originally unfiled as well as items requiring restriction.
Series 7: Name and subject files, 1975-2007, undated, primarily document the individuals and organizations Evans contacted, seeking support for AFNA. A number of these names are represented in the Samuel L. Evans Papers as well, reflecting his involvement in politics and other civic initiatives. Also documented, in subsets of folders entitled "Litigation," are lawsuits, most of which Evans initiated on behalf of AFNA. Of note is the action Evans brought against one-time NAACP President J. Whyatt Mondesire for what Evans claimed to be disparaging remarks that caused AFNA to lose financial support. The case settled with Mondesire writing a letter of retraction. Also of note are the files pertaining to federal legislation entitled GEAR UP, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. The bill was introduced by Chaka Fattah, then a junior member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania. Designed to provide early education intervention for low income and disadvantaged students, the bill did not include any reference to AFNA in its original draft. The bill, which proposed $200 million in funding, was modified to incorporate programs operated by community-based organizations, such as AFNA. It appears AFNA's attempt to secure funding through this program got no further than the draft proposal included here. In addition to the "GEAR UP" files, other folders in this series with related documentation include "Specter, Arlen" and the "United States. Department of Education" Also see the letter to the editor dated August 23, 1999, entitled "Don't Reinvent the Wheel," written to remind readers of the similar services AFNA had been providing for nearly three decades. It is filed as a "Clipping" in Subseries 8.2: Other materials. There are also two "GEAR UP" folders in the Samuel L. Evans Papers, Series 3: Name and subject files. Arrangement is alphabetical.
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Pages 1-230
Pages 231-421
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p. 33
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page 1 missing
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Photocopies
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4 mailings
Series 8: Audiovisual and other materials, date span, undated, consists primarily of audio and visual recordings in various formats, as well as clippings, photographs, printed material and objects.
Subseries 8.1: Audiovisual material, 1968-2006, undated, documents a number of events as well as what appear to be promotional and documentary coverage that aired on local TV. Formats consist of ¼" audiotapes and audiocassettes, as well as U-matic, VHS, 16mm film, mini-DV and 2" quadruplex videotape for a total of 264 items. Arrangement is in chronological order of event or recording date, regardless of format.
¼" audiotapes (8)
¼" audiotapes (5)
¼" audiotapes (6)
¼" audiotapes (7)
¼" audiotapes (10)
¼" audiotapes (2)
¼" audiotape (1)
¼" audiotape (1)
Audiocassette (1)
¼" audiotapes (5)
¼" audiotape (1). Includes list of speakers
¼" audiotapes (2)
Audiocassette (1)
Audiocassettes (5)
Audiocassettes (2)
Audiocassettes (4)
Audiocassette (1)
Audiocassettes (3)
16mm film
2" quadruplex videotape (1)
Audiocassettes (2)
Audiocassettes (3)
Audiocassettes (9)
Audiocassettes (1)
Audiocassette (1)
Audiocassettes (2)
Audiocassettes (4)
Audiocassettes (4)
Audiocassette (1)
Audiocassettes (3)
Audiocassette (1)
Audiocassette (1)
Audiocassette (1)
Audiocassettes (2)
2" quadruplex videotape (1)
16mm film
U-matic (1)
U-matic (1)
U-matic (1)
VHS
VHS
¼" audiotape (1)
U-matic (1)
U-matic (3)
Umatic (2)
U-matic
Umatics (7)
U-matic (2)
U-matic (1)
U-matic (1)
16mm film
U-matics (2)
U-matics (3)
U-matics (3)
U-matics (3)
VHs (1)
U-matics (3)
U-matic (1)
VHs (6)
VHs (6)
VHs (4)
VHs (3)
VHs (4)
VHs (7)
VHS, master (3)
VHS, master (2)
VHS, master (5)
VHs (4)
VHs (2)
VHs (1)
VHs (1)
VHs (2)
Microcassette (1)
Mini-DV (1)
part 1). Mini-DV (2)
VHs (2)
Mini-DV (1)
Mini-DV (1)
Mini-DV (1)
Mini-DV (4)
Mini-DV (2)
Mini-DV (1)
Mini-DV (2)
Mini-DV (2)
Mini-DV (2)
Mini-DV (1)
Mini-DV (1)
Mini-DV (1)
Mini-DV (2)
Mini-DV (1)
¼" audiotape (1)
¼" audiotapes (2)
2" quadruplex videotape (1)
¼" audiotape, 2-sided recording (1)
U-matic (5)
VHs (2)
¼" audiotape (1)
16mm film (1)
¼" audiotape (1)
Audiocassette (1)
Audiocassettes, commercial copies (5)
microcassette (1)
Subseries 8.2: Other material, date span, contains clippings, photographs, posters, other printed material and printing material (negatives and plates) and the plaque presented to Evans as recipient of the 1976 AFNA Distinguished American Award. Also included are objects and one piece of artwork, all of which depict the rhinoceros, whose image is incorporated into the AFNA log.
The printing plates were used for documents/reports published during the early years of AFNA. The earliest set likely pertains to a document used to solicit funds for the first biennial convention. It is unclear if most of the plates created in 1971 were for one or more publications describing AFNA's medical career program. The specific dates of each set reflect what was noted on the envelopes and grid papers used to frame the negatives. The one plate whose document is clearly identified and dated is the press release of July 7, 1971. Its announcement of an $85,000 contract awarded by the federal government, however, appears to conflict with later accounts that note an award nearly one and one-half times that amount. Most of the printing plates have corresponding negatives, which are included in each folder. A fourth set of plates and negatives, circa 1971, pertains to operational activities, including a flow chart of accounting systems, an operations timetable and an organizational chart of the medical careers plan.
Additional clippings fill the scrapbooks documenting the 1970 Black Unity Football Classic included in Subseries 1.2: Second Biennial Convention and other initiatives. The promotional posters of the football classic and play, "The Afro-Philadelphian," are also recorded in that subseries. Arrangement is alphabetical.
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18 pages