Interracial, circa 1961-1970

Documents concerning the YWCA of the U.S.A.'s programs and initiatives fighting racism, student movement actions against racism, a study of interracial Y-Teen conferences, and additional documents concerning interracial policy, committees and education efforts. Through the YWCA of the U.S.A. One Imperative passed at the 1970 national convention, the YWCA of the U.S.A. made the elimination of racism their priority for the following triennium. Program packets, pamphlets and correspondence announce the imperative and its implementation. Additional documents include papers on racism and institutional racism the the cover and contents for the June, 1968 of "YWCA Magazine," an issue devoted to racism. The National Student YWCA and its student associations are one of the driving voices behind the elimination of racism and the adoption of the public affairs platforms against racism. The Student Action Audits evaluate are a method for associations to self-evaluate their progress on these platforms. Following the action audits are documents concerning two incidents of student YWCA of the U.S.A. members involved in demonstrations. The first statements from Sandra Hayden describe her involvement in a scene at a courthouse where several students were forcibly removed for refusing to sit in their segregated sections. The second incident report tells of Java Thompson's involvement in local demonstrations and her resulting expulsion from Southern University. Additional materials concerning the National Student YWCA program and activities against racism include suggested methods for recruiting minorities to college campuses and minutes and reports of meetings to discuss interracial concerns of the student YWCA's. The study of interracial Y-Teen conferences in the South examines the effect these experiences have on the girls over a five year period. The report notes that it uses a conference that remained segregated over the period as an approximate control group in the study. Additional documents concerning the work of the YWCA of the U.S.A. against racism and increasing integration in the organization include committee reports and notes, a telegram sent to the White House following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and additional papers exploring topics of race, racism and the experience of the African American woman in the United States.