This is the smallest series in the collection, containing only four pages from the book by Alan Paton. The four pages include the title page, the verso, a page that offers numerous quotes praising the book, and page 175 of the text (1:1).

The Correspondence series is one of the smaller in the collection, filled with rich primary resources documenting particular aspects of the Civil Rights Movement and William H. Maness’ involvement with the Southern Regional Council. Of particular historical interest is a memorandum that discusses in detail the events that surrounded the trip that hundreds of integrationists made via train from Washington, DC to Atlanta, GA and other racially troubled areas in Alabama. Specifically, the memorandum mentions events that took place leading up to and during the march from Selma, AL to Montgomery, AL during March of 1965 (2:2).

Another letter of interest is written to Dr. Leslie W. Dunbar of the Field Foundation from William H. Maness in May of 1966. This particular Correspondence discusses racial problems and incidents that took place in Jacksonville, FL as well as the issues that surrounded William H. Maness’ run for the state senate (2:3). An example of a racial incident that William H. Maness mentioned in his letter to Dr. Dunbar stated, “In the last six months, there have been two or three incidents of Negro children burning to death while left unattended at home, yet the community shows no visible signs of concern” (2:3).

Furthermore, this series contains an original signature of Langston Hughes, included in a short letter to William H. Maness in 1967 (2:4). Moreover, there are two documents that include a personal statement by Langston Hughes, as well as additional biographical information about him (2:4).

In addition to everything mentioned thus far about the contents of this series, information about African American students attending the University of Florida and the case involving Mr. Wendall P. Holmes is also included in the Correspondence series (2:6, 2:7).

Another small series in this collection contains a booklet in which a reading List containing a compilation of “safe books about Negros” that are available for children to read (3:1). Individuals who had both an academic background as well as a community service background contributed to this reading List. This booklet was published by The Department of Racial and Cultural Relations and the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA in the year 1957 (3:1).

The Literary Productions series is one of the larger and more complex in the collection. It contains materials that include essays, unpublished manuscripts, poetry, reports, and research notes. Primarily, most of the materials discuss racism in the United States, specifically what African Americans faced. Most of the titles of the unpublished manuscripts shed light on what each one discusses. The titles include: ; ; ; ; and (4:3, 4:4). The last title is the only one written by William H. Maness (4:4).

In addition to the unpublished manuscripts and essays, this series includes numerous poems written by William H. Maness (4:5, 4:7). The poems primarily include religious and racial connotations (4:5). Also, this series contains two poems written by Langston Hughes (4:6).

Of particular historical interest are the reports in this series which primarily document various racial problems and violent incidents both in Jacksonville, FL and Memphis, TN during the mid 1960s (4:8, 4:9). Specifically, the report that is from the Southern Regional Council addresses the “Easter Week outbreak in Jacksonville of racial violence…” and offers a detailed account of the events that took place surrounding the violent acts in 1964 (4:8). Additionally, another report from the Southern Regional Council in March of 1968 documents in detail the events surrounding the sanitation workers’ strike in Memphis, TN on February 12, 1968 (4:9).

Furthermore, this series contains research notes written by Benjamin R. Epstein that outlines in detail the events that took place during the visits to Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham, AL in March of 1965 (4:10).

This is by far the largest series in the collection containing a wide range of Printed Materials including booklets, magazines, newspaper clippings, postcards, and much more. Similar to the titles of the unpublished manuscripts and essays, the titles of the booklets in this series do a nice job of stating what the information in the booklet is about. The titles of the booklets include ; ; ; (containing the “I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.); ; ; and . Specifically, the booklet titled was written by William H. Maness and the booklet titled includes biographical information and photographs of William H. Maness (5:2, 5:8).

Of particular historical interest are a group of newsletters, primarily from the Southern Regional Council (5:35, 5:36). Most of the newsletters highlight the racial problems and events in various cities and states in the South during the 1960s. These newsletters document where the Southern Regional Council stood on the issue of racism, as well as other social issues. For example, one newsletter states “The continued existence and increasing awareness of racism in this country has the most profound importance in our dealings with the nations of the world” (5:35). Each newsletter is fairly detailed in explaining and documenting issues and events that the Southern Regional Council was involved with during the 1960s.

This series also includes a large number of periodicals and magazines (5:10-5:33). Some of the titles that are heavily represented include ; ; ; ; and .

The postcards in this series pertain directly to notable African Americans in U.S. history. Each card has an image of the individual, as well as a short write-up including biographical information and contributions they have made to society (5:47-5:66). All the postcards are arranged alphabetically by the individual’s last name.