Guide to the Dorothy Hunt and James Williams Urban League records, 1940-1975

(bulk 1941-1959)


Special Collections, James P. Adams Library.
Rhode Island College
600 Mount Pleasant Ave
Providence, RI, 02908
Tel: 401-456-8380
email:digitalcommons@ric.edu

Published in 2022

Collection Overview

Title: Dorothy Hunt and James Williams Urban League records
Date range: 1940-1975, (bulk 1941-1959)
Creator: Williams, James N. (James Nelson).
Extent: 1 cubic foot.
Abstract: Papers documenting some of the programs and activities of the Urban League of Rhode Island, Inc. from its inception to 1975. Correspondence and newspaper articles regarding Black nurses and artists in Rhode Island are included. The collection also includes literature regarding the Poll Tax in the United States.
Language of materials: English
Repository: Special Collections, James P. Adams Library.
Collection number: MSS-0008

Scope & content

The Dorothy Hunt and James Williams Urban League records document some of the programs and activities of the Urban League of Rhode Island, Inc. from its inception to 1975. The collection consists of three years of correspondence concerning an agreement with local hospitals in Rhode Island for inclusion of Black women in nurse training programs. The collection also includes some of the correspondence and yearly activities of the Urban League from 1955 to 1975. Additionally, the collection contains the 20th Annual Report of the Urban League which highlights their activities and names of officers and members of the Board of Directors from 1939 to 1958. The collection also includes newspaper clippings on race relations locally and nationally from 1942 to 1944, as well as literature regarding the Poll Tax in the United States and efforts for its abolishment.

Both Hunt and Williams were passionate about the advancement of Black nurses and artists in Rhode Island. Included are news clippings, ephemera, and correspondence regarding two art exhibits showcasing Black artists hosted by Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design.

Access Points

Subject Names Subject Organizations Subject Topics Geographical Names Occupations

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in the order it was received.

Biographical/Historical Note

Dorothy Hazard Witherby Hunt was born in Solvay, N.Y. on May 21, 1887 to Frederick R. Hazard and Dora G. (Sedgwick) Hazard. In 1923, she married S. Foster Hunt and moved to Rhode Island. In 1939, Hunt helped organize the Urban League of Rhode Island which she later served as president of for five years. After her death in 1970, she left $50,000 to the Urban League for the development of inter-racial relationships.

James N. Williams was born in Des Moines, Iowa on May 22, 1909. After receiving a B.A. in 1926 from Des Moines University, he attended school in New Jersey and New York City, eventually moving to Providence, RI in 1940 when he was appointed the Executive Director of the Urban League of Rhode Island, Inc. He held this position until his retirement in 1970. Williams also was a member of several professional and civic organizations including the National Association of Social Workers and its Rhode Island chapter. He was presented honorary degrees from Brown University, Providence College, and Rhode Island College, and was the recipient of many awards and citations for community service, remaining active in the community after his retirement and until his death in 1987.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: The collection is open for research.
Use of the materials: Rhode Island College Special Collections holds copyright to materials in this collection created by James N. Williams. The collection contains materials not created by Williams, which may be under copyright restrictions. Researchers are advised to contact Rhode Island College Special Collections for questions regarding permissions to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise publish material from this collection. Although Rhode Island College has physical ownership of the collection, it does not necessarily hold literary rights to all materials in this collection. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Alternate form: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Adams Library Special Collections at Rhode Island College.
Preferred citation: Dorothy Hunt and James Williams Urban League records, MSS-0008, Special Collections, James P. Adams Library, Rhode Island College.
Contact information: Special Collections, James P. Adams Library.
Rhode Island College
600 Mount Pleasant Ave
Providence, RI, 02908
Tel: 401-456-8380
email:digitalcommons@ric.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
Acquisition: The collection was donated in 1977 by James N. Williams and a donation agreement was signed at the time.
Processing information: The collection was inventoried by Michael Kohl, assistant librarian at Rhode Island College Special Collections, in 1977. The collection was rehoused, described, and the finding aid converted to current archival standards by Erica Florenz, Special Collections Assistant, under the supervision of Veronica Denison, Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, in 2022. At that time, materials related to Dorothy Hunt’s records of the Mayor’s Recreation Advisory Committee were separated from the collection and made into their own collection.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Finding aid prepared by Erica Florenz.
Encoding: This finding aid was encoded by Veronica L. Denison, 2022
Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material: Rhode Island College, Adams Library Special Collections also holds Dorothy Hunt records of Mayor's Advisory Committee on Recreation, MSS-0086.The Rhode Island Historical Society holds records relating to Dorothy Hunt’s family: MSS 483 sg 56, Witherby Family Papers.Phillips Memorial Library, Archives and Special Collections at Providence Collection holds the records of the Urban League: Urban League of Rhode Island collection.
Separated material: Publications were removed from the collection and added to the Adams Library Special Collections book collections. Please ask the Special Collections for further information.
Location/Existence of copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Adams Library Special Collections at Rhode Island College.
Other information:
    Works used in preparation of inventory:
    "Mrs. S.F. Hunt Dies; Urban League Leader," Providence Journal, July 4, 1970, p.11.
    “A Pioneer used tact, not threats,” Providence Evening Bulletin, June 1978, p. A-3.

Inventory

Box 1, Folder 1 Photographs of Dorothy Hunt
 1943, 1949
Box 1, Folder 2 Obituary of Dorothy Hunt
 1970 July 4
Box 1, Folder 3 Providence Urban League Annual Reports
 1940-1949
Box 1, Folder 4 Providence Urban League Annual Reports
 1950-1959
Box 1, Folder 5 Providence Urban League Annual Reports
 1960-1966
Box 1, Folder 6 Providence Urban League assorted papers: budget requests, correspondence, Board of Directors meeting minutes, statement of income and expenses, foster care and adoption services for minority groups
 1954-1956
Box 1, Folder 7 Providence Urban League assorted papers: bulletin, Board of Directors list of officers and members, Board of Directors meeting minutes, statement of income and expenses
 1959
Box 1, Folder 8 Providence Urban League “A Decade of Dynamic Democracy!” play written and directed by Charles W. Pine, member of the Board of Directors
 1950
Box 1, Folder 9 “Urban League Service to Industry”: plan lays out how to improve Black citizen’s status as wage-earners and expand opportunities for all American workers.
 1958
Box 1, Folder 10 Correspondence regarding Black nurses
 1943-1944
Box 1, Folder 11 Correspondence regarding Black nurses
 1944
Box 1, Folder 12 Correspondence regarding Black nurses
 1945
Box 1, Folder 13 Providence Urban League General Welfare Committee
 1945
Box 1, Folder 14 Black Art exhibit sponsored by Brown University
 1942
Box 1, Folder 15 Black Art exhibit sponsored by RISD
 1946
Box 1, Folder 16 Newspaper clippings regarding Providence Urban League
 1941-1944
Box 1, Folder 17 Newspaper clippings regarding Providence Urban League
 1941-1959
Box 1, Folder 18 Newspaper clippings regarding Black individuals
 1941-1944
Box 2, Folder 1 Pamphlets and articles: Urban League and NAACP newspaper clippings from the Providence Chronicle, Interracial News Services issues, Dr. George W. Carver newspaper clipping from the Providence Journal Evening Bulletin, Channels Vol. XXI, No. 6, Workers Defense Bulletin, President’s Committee on Fair Employment Practice advance release, “The World From London” by Maurice Cranston, “Philadelphia’s Stitch in Time” by Avis D. Carlson, The Saturday Review of Literature articles regarding Black Americans. “France Forever” by the Fighting French Committee in the U.S.
 1942-1944
Box 2, Folder 2 Pamphlets and articles: “They Did Not Sing” by E. Stanley Jones; “Every Tenth American Is a Negro”, by Walter Hoving; “Citizens of Negro Blood”, Collier’s for October 4, 1944
 1942-1944
Box 2, Folder 3 Recreation pamphlets
 1943-1947
Box 2, Folder 4 Recreation newspaper clippings
 1945-1946
Box 2, Folder 5 Recreation newspaper clippings and correspondence
 1947
Box 2, Folder 6 City Planning reports
 circa 1943-1946
Box 2, Folder 7 Providence Community Fund Annual Report
 1946
Box 2, Folder 8 Providence Council of Social Agencies
 1945
Box 2, Folder 9 National Urban League pamphlet
 1944
Box 2, Folder 10 Providence Urban League bulletin
 1946
Box 2, Folder 11 Providence Urban League Board of Directors
 1947-1949
Box 2, Folder 12 Providence Urban League Annual Dinner
 1946-1947
Box 2, Folder 13 Pamphlets and Articles regarding Black individuals
 1942-1943
Box 2, Folder 14 Literature on Poll Tax: contains important publications regarding the fight to abolish the poll tax in the United States including Supreme Court decisions and legislative amendments with writings from the American Associations of University Women, Editorial Research Reports and Southern Conference for Human Welfare
 1942
Box 2, Folder 15 Various pamphlets on “Race” including: Odell Waller, 24-year old sharecropper: doomed!, Workers’ Defense League
 circa 1940-1946