MenuInventory of the Stephen C. Harward Papers, 1949-1975 and undated, bulk 1963-1975
Abstract
Stephen Cannada Harward served on the Durham City School Board for 12 years in the 1960s and 1970s. During this time, the Durham city and county school districts were desegregated following a series of court mandates beginning in 1963.
The collection contains memos, bulletins, reports, evaluations, minutes, agendas, educational and administrative guides and handbooks, court documents, financial statements and budgets, correspondence, clippings, printed materials, and maps pertaining to the activity of the Durham City School Board. The papers span the years 1949-1975 and document the daily workings of the Durham City School Board chiefly between the years 1963 and 1975, with a special focus on the process of desegregation during that time. It contains no personal papers of Stephen C. Harward.
Descriptive Summary
- Repository
- David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
- Creator
- Harward, S. C. (Stephen C.)
- Title
- Stephen C. Harward Papers, 1949-1975 and undated, bulk 1963-1975
- Language of Material
- English
- Extent
- 10.5 Linear Feet, Circa 4000 Items
- Location
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Collection Overview
The Stephen C. Harward Papers span the years 1949-1975, with the bulk of the material dating from 1963-1975. The collection contains approximately 300 files stemming from the activities of the Durham City School Board (North Carolina), including audit reports, budgets, financial records, agendas, external and internal evaluations, teachers' manuals, and education policy materials, as well as court and other documents related to the redistricting and desegregation of the Durham city schools. Beyond the daily workings of the Durham City School Board and the Durham city school system are also materials documenting the use of funds stemming from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), which was later renamed and revised as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and materials related to concerns about student discipline and unrest during the late 1960s. The collection is divided into six series: Desegregation and Redistricting, Financial Papers, Handbooks, Legal Papers, Reports, and Subject Files.
The Desegregation and Redistricting Series collects materials related to the different attempts to desegregate the Durham city schools in response to court mandates. It documents the legal struggle deriving from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund suits of 1959 and 1960, the latter of which continued through the 1970s in response to the outcomes of other suits, particularly Green v. School Board of New Kent County (1968) and Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education (1969), both of which demanded the abandonment of "freedom-of-choice" integration plans in favor of geographical zoning plans, and Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971). Following the latter, the Durham City School Board was given a mandate by the court in 1975 to eliminate racially identifiable schools in the district, using any means necessary to ensure that the balance of black to white students at any school varied no less than 10% from the overall racial balance of the school group. Along with the legal papers, the series documents the move to desegregate the Durham city schools with memos and internal school board documents, clippings, correspondence from parents, maps, proposals (in both draft and completed form), and a printed booklet about desegregation. It also deals with the related attempts to merge the city and county school districts into a single unit, finally accomplished in 1992. The Financial Papers Series houses budgets, financial statements, accounting materials, and other papers documenting the financial workings of the Durham city schools and school board. Those interested in these finances should also consult the extensive audit reports in the Reports Series. The Handbooks Series documents educational and administrative practices and concerns of the time with teachers' manuals and handbooks, student and administrative handbooks, policy statements, school directories, and bound print materials on educational topics. The small Legal Papers Series contains the legal files not related to the desegregation suits, including court papers, bills passed, and easements on school properties. The Reports Series collects audit reports, external and internal evaluations of schools and school programs, and results of studies and surveys. These documents contain detailed information related to the ESEA funds and their usage (in the audit reports and several narrative evaluations). Finally, the Subject Files Series contains topical files documenting different projects, programs, initiatives, and issues addressed by the Durham City School Board. It also documents the regular functioning of the school board in the extensive files of meeting minutes, agendas, and information bulletins.
Administrative Information
Collections are on the move for the renovation of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Contact Rubenstein Library staff before visiting. Read More »
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Contents of the Collection
Browse List of Series
Collapse All
Expand AllHouses materials related to the desegregation of the Durham, N.C. city schools, proposed redistricting, and the repeated failed attempts to consolidate the city and county administrative units into a single school district (accomplished in 1992). Formats include memos and internal school board documents, clippings, correspondence from parents, legal files and briefs, study and survey reports, maps, proposals (in both draft and completed form), and a printed booklet. The extensive court files mostly pertain to the NAACP suit of Wheeler, Spaulding, and Thompson v. the Durham City and County School Boards, begun in 1960 and continuing on through 1975; they are of particular interest in documenting the various court mandates and school board proposals for desegregation plans. The later court papers (from 1974 and 1975) contain useful summaries of the process of desegregation, as well as progress reports and statistics gathered by the school board and submitted to the court. Researchers interested in the attempted merger of the city and county schools may wish to consult the files on the bond issues of 1967-1973 in the Subject Files Series, which contain some related materials. Those interested in federal financial support for desegregation may also wish to consult the files on the Emergency School Aid Act of 1972.
Arranged in alphabetical order by folder title.
[Some items removed to Oversize Materials.]
Financial Papers Series, 1961-1975
Primarily budgets and financial statements of the Durham city school system, but also information on accounting, wages, employee insurance, and real estate appraisals. Researchers interested in the finances of the city school district should also consult the audit reports located in the Reports Series.
Arranged alphabetically, then chronologically by date.
Comprises educational manuals; handbooks for students, teachers, and administrators; food service guides; school law reference books; and other books and pamphlets treating topics related to education.
Arranged alphabetically, then chronologically by date.
Legal Papers Series, 1971-1975
This series contains the legal papers related to Durham city schools and the Durham City School Board not subsumed under the Desegregation and Redistricting Series (which houses all of the court documents and legal papers from the NAACP desegregation suits). This includes bills proposed and passed, easements on school properties, and court papers from a suit ( Ronald Kelly et als v. Lew W. Hannnen et als) made regarding the refusal of Durham High School to allow distribution of the off-campus publication Uprising on campus.
Arranged alphabetically.
Reports Series, 1959-1975
The majority of the series is made up of annual audit reports of the Durham city school system (including correspondence from the firm conducting the audits), but narrative evaluations and quantitative survey and study results are also included. There are also files from individual school evaluations made in 1965, and files of analyses of these evaluations.
Arranged alphabetically, then chronologically. The one exception to this is the extensive group of audit reports, which are arranged alphabetically by type (audit reports), then date, then report title. This preserves the original organization of the reports in the collection.
Topical files Harward kept related to the workings of the school board. Includes proposals, meeting records, correspondence, some financial records (particularly those related to school food service), policy statements, clippings, and pamphlets. Of particular interest for documenting the ongoing workings of and issues faced by the Durham City School Board are the extensive files of meeting agendas, minutes, and information bulletins. Those interested in the attempts to merge the city and county school districts will find relevant information in the folders on the bond issues of various years, as well as the more extensive materials contained in the Desgregation and Redistricting Series.
Arranged alphabetically, then chronologically by date.
Oversize Materials
Historical Note
Chronology List
| Date | Event(s) |
|---|---|
| 1922 | Stephen Cannada Harward born |
| 1960 | Actions Wheeler v. Durham City Board of Education and Spaulding v. Durham City Board of Education filed for disestablishment of separate segregated school systems in the Durham city school system |
| 1963 | Action Thompson v. Durham County Board of Education filed for desegregation of Durham County Administrative School Unit Wheeler, Spaulding, and Thompson suits consolidated Federal court ordered Durham city schools to adopt freedom-of-choice desegregation plan |
| 1963-1975 | Harward served on Durham City School Board |
| 1965 | Elementary and Secondary Education Act passed as part of President Johnson's "War on Poverty" Durham County schools began desegregation under freedom-of-choice plan |
| 1966 | Court approved Durham City School Board freedom-of-choice plan |
| 1969 | Following Green v. School Board of New Kent County and Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education decisions, the Federal Court of Appeals directed the abandonment of freedom-of-choice plan and the implementation of a geographic zoning plan for desegregation of Durham County schools |
| 1970 | The corresponding mandate was made for Durham city schools |
| 1971 | Proposed merger of Durham city and county school systems rejected by two-thirds majority |
| 1972-1974 | Harward served as Duke University Treasurer |
| 1992 | Durham city and county school districts merged into Durham Public School district |
| 1993 | Death of Harward |
Subject Headings
- Harward, S. C. (Stephen C.), 1922-1993.
- School districts--North Carolina--Evaluation.
- School improvement programs--United States.
- Federal aid to education--United States.
- Student movements--United States--History--20th century.
- Segregation in education--Law and legislation--United States.
- Discrimination in education--Law and legislation--United States.
- School integration--North Carolina--Durham.
- Education--Southern States.
- Schools--Centralization--North Carolina--Durham County.
- School districts--North Carolina--Durham County.
- Public schools--North Carolina--Durham--Finance.
- Public schools--North Carolina--Durham--History.
- Public schools--North Carolina--Durham--Business management--Auditing.
- Public schools--North Carolina--Durham.
- Public schools--North Carolina--Durham--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
- Urban schools--North Carolina--Durham.
- Education--North Carolina--Durham.
- Durham (N.C.)--Race relations.
- Durham (N.C.)--History.
Related Material
Those interested in the history of the Durham City School Board and the desegregation of Durham schools may wish to consult the Nicholas Rencher Harris Papers and the Women-in-Action for the Prevention of Violence and Its Causes, Inc., Durham Chapter, Records, also housed at the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Nicholas Rencher Harris (1900-1965) was an African-American businessman and civic leader in Durham and served on the Durham Board of Education during the late 1950s and early 1960s; that collection also houses materials related to school desegregation in Durham. The Durham chapter of Women-in-Action for the Prevention of Violence and Its Causes was founded by Elna Spaulding in 1968, and the organization was involved in the struggle for school integration in the 1970s. These collections, both cataloged separately from the Stephen C. Harward Papers, are searchable by title in the Duke University Libraries online catalog.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Stephen C. Harward Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
Provenance
The Stephen C. Harward Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 2003.
Processing Information
Processed by Alexander Ruch, May 2007
Encoded by Alexander Ruch
Completed May 2007
Accession 2003-0129 is described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and local Style Guide.