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Papers and Documents, 1954-1971

Manuscript Collection 232

• Information about Frank N. Gordon
• Information about the Collection
• Contents of the Collection

INFORMATION ABOUT FRANK N. GORDON

Frank Newton Gordon was Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Arkansas Conference on Human Relations, which brought disparate social groups (black/white, rich/poor, Jewish/Christian) together to work for the equality of all in society.  Born in Portland, Oregon, on December 28, 1924, Gordon received his B.S. in engineering from Iowa State College in 1946 and an M.A. from the University of Arkansas in 1948.  He married Jean Thomas, daughter of Herbert Thomas; Herbert Thomas was a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas and an officer in the First Pyramid Life Insurance Company in Little Rock.  Gordon would eventually be vice-president of that same company.

Both Frank and Jean Gordon were very active in social causes, Jean Gordon being a member of the Women's Emergency Committee that did much to save Little Rock schools during the crises of the 1960s.  Frank Gordon was a member of the Steering Committee of the Conference on Religion and Human Relations and was Chairman of the Community Problems Committee of the First Pyramid Life Insurance Company in Little Rock.  He later belonged to the Arkansas board of Common Cause.
 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLLECTION

The collection consists of Gordon's materials from the Arkansas Conference on Human Relations (founded in 1954), a descendant of the Southern Regional Council of Atlanta, founded a decade earlier. Gordon's papers from such related groups as the Greater Little Rock Conference on Religion and Human Relations and the Greater Little Rock Conference on Religion and Race are included, as are pertinent materials dealing with desegregation, economics, civil rights, and racial and religious tolerance.

Frank N. Gordon of Little Rock, Arkansas, donated his papers to Special Collections on September 17, 1975.

Prepared by Janet G. Tucker, Special Collections Division, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville, Arkansas in February 1988.

Series 1.  Arkansas Council on Human Relations

This series pertains to the Arkansas Council on Human Relations (ACHR), which came into being in 1954 as a federation of community groups in Arkansas.  Elijah Coleman was Executive Director of the ACHR, and Frank Gordon was Chairman of the Finance Committee.  The various groups that constituted the ACHR sought to encourage bi-racial dialogue in an effort to promote civil rights and racial equality.  The state office of the ACHR provided technical and moral support to local councils, which were often the only organized advocates of racial equality and the only voice of the poor and disenfranchised.  The ACHR was incorporated into the Little Rock Urban League by 1975.

The series consists of a history of the ACHR, a record of meetings and election results, reports and financial data, publicity materials, and correspondence.

Box 1

     1.  Correspondence, 1963-74.
     2.  History and organization, c. 1973.
     3.  Meetings, 1965-74.
     4. Annual reports, 1970-73.
     5. Municipal reports, 1970-73.
     6. Financial materials, 1970-73.
     7. Publicity materials, 1970-71.
 

Series 2.  Little Rock Organizations Concerning Religion, Race, and Human Relations

The Greater Little Rock Conference on Religion and Human Relations (CORAHR) and the Greater Little Rock Conference on Religion and Race (CORR), promoted racial and religious tolerance
in the 1960s in Little Rock  The two groups were related, the Greater Little Rock Conference on Religion and Race being an offshoot of the CORAHR, and Frank Gordon played an active role in both.

Subseries 1.  Greater Little Rock Conference on Religion and Human Relations.

Box 1 (cont'd)

     8.  Correspondence, 1963-68.
     9. History and statement of purpose, c. 1963.
    10. Meetings, 1964.
 
Subseries 2. Greater Little Rock Conference on Religion and Race.
 
Box 1 (cont'd)

     11.  Correspondence, 1964-68.
     12.  Desegregation policy on schools and housing, 1966.
     13.  Symposium, meetings, 1965-69.

Subseries 3.  The Urban League of Greater Little Rock.

Box 1 (cont'd)

    14.  Proposal, recommendation for action, 1968.
    15.  "A Survey of the Social and Economic Conditions of Greater Little Rock," c. 1960s.

Series 3.  Civil Rights and School Desegregation
 
The materials contained in this series concern the integration of public schools in Little Rock and central Arkansas during the 1950s and 1960s.  Statistical data on greater Little Rock is included, along with a nationwide salary survey of school districts and material on civil rights at the University of Arkansas in 1968.

Box 1 (cont'd)

    16. Civil rights in Arkansas during the 1960s.
    17. Little Rock school desegregation, 1963-74.
    18. Central Arkansas, schools, 1957-65.
    19.  Little Rock socio-economic statistics, 1961-64.
    20. "Student Power and Civil Rights at the University of Arkansas, 1968.
    21. The Petal Paper, Sept, 1963; Mar 1964, Apr 1964, Jan 1969.
    22.  Clippings on discrimination and integration, 1964-70.
    23. Pamphlets, 1963-68.
    24. Newsletters, 1968.
    25. Magazine articles, 1962-73.