Terri Shaw Freedom Summer Collection

Collection

Identifier: M326

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of materials that document the Civil Rights Movement and Freedom Summer in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The eight items in the collection are arranged chronologically.

Dates

Creation: 1964-1999

Creator

Shaw, Terri Charlotte, 1940- (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Noncirculating; available for research.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Biographical / Historical

Charlotte (Terri) Shaw was born in Washington, D.C., on July 23, 1940, to Richard and Kathleen Shaw. Terri and her sister, Dinah, grew up in Bay Village, Ohio, and Guatemala City, Guatemala. Shaw received her undergraduate education at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where she served as reporter and editor for the school's weekly newspaper, the Antioch Record. She graduated with a B.A. in philosophy in 1963.

In the summer of 1964, Shaw was one of hundreds of northern volunteers who made the decision to come to Mississippi to participate in the Freedom Summer project. She was assigned to Hattiesburg, where she did communications and public relations work. Concerned with the status of race relations and significantly affected by the events of the summer, Shaw said, "We left Hattiesburg with a constant ache in our hearts for the fact that such a trivial thing as race could lacerate the spirit of every American citizen, leaving wounds that will not heal for many years." Shaw went on to earn an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University in 1965. Since 1970, she has worked as an editor for the Washington Post, focusing primarily on Latin American news stories. Before joining the staff of the Post, Shaw had previously worked for the Buffalo Courier-Express in Buffalo, New York, and the New York City Bureau of the Associated Press. Shaw has two daughters, Natasha Stovall and Maria Shaw, who was adopted in Nicaragua. She currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Extent

1 Folder : MC1/D8

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Typescript and articles recounting her experiences as a volunteer in the COFO office in Hattiesburg during Freedom Summer 1964.

Arrangement

The first item is a program for a Free Southern Theatre production of "In White America," performed during the summer of 1964. A digitized version of this item is available.

The second item is a copy of Shaw's application for the Summer Project, dated June 15, 1964.

The third item is an article by Nicholas Von Hoffman from the June 19, 1964, issue of the Chicago Daily News entitled "Rights 'Trainees' Have Problems."

The fourth item is a copy of a letter to the editor of the Kalamazoo, Michigan Gazette written on August 1, 1964, by Dr. Joseph Ellin, a Hattiesburg Freedom School teacher. A digitized version of this letter is accessible from the digital digital images for the Ellin (Joseph and Nancy) Freedom Summer Collection.

The fifth item is a 34-page rough transcript of an article submitted to The Antiochian, the alumni publication of Antioch College. The article was written by Terri Shaw, and it recounts her experiences as a Freedom Summer volunteer in Hattiesburg.

The sixth item is the November 1964, issue of The Antiochian which contains two articles by Shaw, one about her experiences during Freedom Summer, and one analyzing the outcome of Freedom Summer on life in Mississippi.

The seventh item is a copy of an article Shaw wrote for the January 2, 1990, edition of the Washington Post entitled "SNCC Veterans, Remembering the Battle; Civil Rights Activists, When the Future was Forged."

The eighth item is the May 9, 1999, issue of the Washington Post Magazine which contains an article about the now defunct Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission.

Provenance

Materials in this collection were donated by Terri Shaw between April and June, 1999.

Existence and Location of Copies

For Digitized Materials from this collection, see: External Documents link at bottom of page.

Related Materials

Ellin (Joseph and Nancy) Freedom Summer Collection, M323

Randall (Herbert) Freedom Summer Photographs, M351

Kwanguvu (Umoja) Freedom Summer Collection, M366