Helen Edmonds papers, 1951-1994

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Summary

Creator:
Edmonds, Helen G. (Helen Grey), 1911-1995
Abstract:
Collection contains primarily correspondence and printed materials, including speeches, clippings, and photocopies. Two large sections of materials concern Edmonds' interests and activities as a member of the Republican Party and her work as an alternate delegate to the U.N. General Assembly, 1970. Some materials relate to her work with the National Peace Corps Advisory Council, to educational exchange, consultations in Europe and Israel, and other work experiences in an international context. Papers representing her duties as a college professor are limited.
Extent:
4.4 Linear Feet
circa 4,000 Items
Language:
English.
Collection ID:
RL.00352

Background

Scope and content:

Collection contains primarily correspondence and printed materials, including speeches, clippings, and photocopies. Two large sections of materials concern Edmonds' interests and activities as a member of the Republican Party and her work as an alternate delegate to the U.N. General Assembly, 1970. Some materials relate to her work with the National Peace Corps Advisory Council, to educational exchange, consultations in Europe and Israel, and other work experiences in an international context. Papers representing her duties as a college professor are limited.

Biographical / historical:

Helen Edmonds was a historian, scholar, and civic leader. She was the first African American woman to earn a doctorate from Ohio State University, the first to become a graduate school dean, and the first to second the nomination of a United States presidential candidate.

Born in Lawrenceville, VA, Edmonds received her bachelor’s degree in history from Morgan State College in 1933. She went on to receive an M.A. in History at Ohio State University in 1938, followed by a Ph.D. from that same institution in 1946. Edmond's dissertation was published in 1951 as her first book, The Negro and Fusion Politics in North Carolina, 1894-1901. Edmonds also published numerous articles in scholarly journals on politics in the South. Her second book, Black Faces in High Places, was published in 1971.

In 1941 Edmonds joined the faculty of North Carolina College, now North Carolina Central University, where she remained until her retirement in 1977. During her tenure at NCCU, Edmonds taught U.S. and European diplomatic history, served as chair of the department of history, Dean of the Graduate School, and University Distinguished Professor. After her retirement from the teaching faculty in 1977, she became a member of the Board of Trustees.

Edmonds was appointed by the U.S. Department of State as a Leader-Specialist in International Education Exchange in 1954. Through this post she helped develop educational exchanges for U.S. faculty and students in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and France. She also served as a visiting instructor in numerous institutions in the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), the Free University of Berlin, the University of Stockholm, Ohio State University, and the University of Liberia.

An active Republican, Edmonds seconded the nomination of President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco in 1956. During the second term of the Eisenhower Administration she traveled throughout Africa promoting American ideals and values in colonies that were soon-to-be independent nations. In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon appointed Edmonds as an alternate delegate to the United Nations General Assembly where she chaired the Human Rights Committee.

Edmonds also held important leadership roles in civic organizations such as the United Negro College Fund, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense Fund, the United Research and Development Corporation, the National Council of Negro Women, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She was the fifth president of the African American women's service organization, the Links.

In 1986 Edmonds was named a Distinguished Woman of North Carolina. Three years later the North Carolina Central University social science and history building was renamed in her honor. Edmonds died in Durham, North Carolina on May 9, 1995.

Chronology
Date Event
1911 Dec. 3
Born in Lawrenceville, Va.
1933
Graduated from Morgan State University
1938
Earned Master's Degree from Ohio State University
1941-1977
Professor at North Carolina Central University
1995
Died in Durham, North Carolina
Acquisition information:
The Helen Edmonds Papers were donated to the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library on November 9, 1981.
Processing information:

Processed by: Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Staff

Completed ca. 1981

Encoded by Stephen Douglas Miller

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in the Helen Edmonds papers have not been transferred to Duke University. For further information, see the section on copyright in the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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