PAULEY, FRANCES FREEBORN, 1905-2003.
Frances Freeborn Pauley papers > Georgia Council on Human Relations records

Scope and Content Note

Series 5 documents Frances Pauley's involvement with the Georgia Council on Human Relations. She served as director of the Council from 1960-1967. The Georgia Committee on Interracial Cooperation was founded in 1919 with the aim of working towards better understanding between the races. Renamed the Georgia Council on Human Relations in 1956, the biracial organization's stated goal was to "establish human dignity for all citizens as a part of the Georgia 'way of life.' basic in our effort is the development of understanding and the recognition that the pursuit of happiness requires equal opportunities in all areas of life."

The Council was a private, non-profit organization with headquarters in Atlanta, and local councils in Savannah, Columbus, Macon, Augusta, Rome, Brunswick and Albany. The Council provided an opportunity for discussion and consultation between blacks and whites, informed Georgians on potential conflicts in race relations, and served as a mediator in times of tension and crisis. The Council held forums, conferences, institutes, workshops and adult education classes with interracial groups to stimulate interracial cooperation in communities throughout Georgia. After chapters were established, the Council broadened its scope to include community needs and problems in general (i.e. health, senior citizens and juvenile delinquency) which in turn generated interagency cooperation with various other groups.

In addition to assisting and organizing local groups, the Council published a quarterly and monthly newsletter, offered workshops on such current problems as employment opportunities, school desegregation and voting rights. The state headquarters served as a center of research and information on human relations problems and supplied information, materials and speakers to school, church and community groups. The staff acted as conciliators in special crisis situations throughout the state of Georgia.

Series 5 contains administrative records, educational materials, papers relating to the Council's community outreach activities, promotional materials, and collected materials. Materials relating to the Council's administrative activities include historical sketches, mission statements, bylaws, minutes, correspondence, quarterly and annual reports, annual meeting reports, financial records, contact lists, and other items. One notable body of correspondence consists of letters from residents of Albany, Georgia, in response to the Council's efforts to mediate the 1962 desegregation conflict in Albany, Georgia (also known as the Albany Movement). While a small portion of the mail is favorable, much of it is what might be termed 'hate mail,' aimed at the 'outside agitators' many in Albany believed the Council to be.

The educational activities of the Council are documented by programs, reports, printed material and other items concerning various conferences on human relations issues: the Race Relations Institute held at Fisk University (1957), the White House conference, "To Fulfill These Rights," (1966), and a conference on the Georgia Child's Access to Materials Pertaining to American Negroes (1967).

The Council's community action activities are reflected in materials relating to the welfare system and other human relations concerns. These include the results of a survey of welfare recipients conducted by the Council, printed material relating to the Georgia welfare rights center, welfare regulations, a report on welfare rights, and other materials.

Promotional materials include press releases, a newsletter, position statements, brochures and flyers reflecting the activities of the Council. There is also a small group of collected printed materials relating to allied organizations, including chapter councils in Rome and Augusta, and the Greater Atlanta Council on Human Relations.