The Clarence Lee Harris Papers date from approximately 1916 to 1997 and contain scrapbooks, clippings, correspondence, manuscripts, memorabilia, a photograph and printed materials. The materials relate to Harris' experiences of and opinions about the 1960 Woolworth sit-ins and his close tracking of civil rights and race-related topics in the United States for the next three decades.
The core of the collection is the ten scrapbooks Harris assembled, which contain materials dating from 1957 to 1990. The scrapbooks include newspaper and magazine articles, Harris' account of the sit-ins, his opinions about the effects of the sit-ins, and his comments on articles and books released about the sit-ins. Harris' correspondence includes letters to the editor and other correspondence regarding: an oral history interview; the disposition of the lunch counter seats involved in the sit-ins; finding a repository for Harris' collection; and Harris' desire to publish his life story. The manuscripts in this collection include Harris' draft recollections and opinions of the sit-ins and his notes, disagreements and reviews of work published by other authors about the sit-ins.
Items from this collection included in this project are selected news clippings from area newspapers concerning the 1960s sit-ins and other aspects of Greensboro race relations, along with Harris’s manuscripts containing his own recollections and opinions.
For more information on this collection, please consult the
collection finding aid.