Patricia Derian Papers

The Patricia Derian papers contain primarily records of Derian’s activities from 1964 to 1976; the two largest groups document MAP and the Democratic Party. Among the types of materials included are correspondence, minutes, logs, reports, publications, legal materials, scrapbooks, artifacts and audio tapes.

The first group of records is the Mississippi Action for Progress (MAP) series. It consists of materials relating to Derian’s tenure as the OEO oversight person within MAP and includes reports, correspondence and news clippings relating to MAP and the Head Start program in Mississippi from 1965 to 1967, including MAP’s rival, the Child Development Group of Mississippi (CGDM). The MAP series includes periodic reports submitted by Derian (probably to the OEO) describing internal problems and conditions at MAP as well as a few alleged incidents of racial harassment of Head Start workers. The correspondence files include memos and letters to and from various individuals such as Owen Cooper, chairman of the MAP Board of Directors, Walter Smith and Helen Bass Williams, Directors of MAP, as well as Patricia Derian and OEO officials.

The second group of materials, the Democratic Party series, contains items relating to Derian’s involvement with the Loyalist Democrats of Mississippi and her work as a member of the Democratic National Committee from 1968 to 1976. Included are materials relating to the formation of the Loyalist party, its successful credentials challenge at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the 1972 Democratic National Convention, the election campaigns of 1968 and 1972 in Mississippi, and the Loyalist attempts (1971 and 1973) to strip Mississippi’s U.S. senators and congressmen of their seniority privileges in the Democratic congressional caucus. Also documented is the Regulars’ subsequent legal action against the national Democratic Party, seeking recognition as the legitimate Democratic party in Mississippi. Materials relating to attempts at unity between Mississippi’s two Democratic factions between 1971 and 1976 are also found in this series. Persons documented in the series include Patricia Derian, Hodding Carter III, Aaron Henry, Charles Evers, and William Waller.

The third series concerns materials relating to the Civic Communications Corporation (CCC) and its endeavor to acquire a federal license to operate TV station WLBT in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1969, the Federal Court of Appeals had denied license renewal to Lamar Life Broadcasting for its racial policies. The series includes correspondence, clippings, CCC’s license application and Federal Communications Commission documents from 1964 to 1972. Patricia Derian was a stockholder and secretary of the corporation.

The fourth series in the collection concerns the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi. Patricia Derian was a founding member of the organization and served on its board of directors. The series includes correspondence, newsletters, minutes, and other materials concerning the organization’s various activities.

The fifth group of materials is the Mississippi Council on Human Relations series. Materials include correspondence, newsletters and other materials relating to the group’s activities.

The sixth series, Southern Regional Council, comprises the records of another humanitarian group that Patricia Derian was active in. It includes newsletters, correspondence, grant proposals, reports on annual meetings and various other subjects. There are also some publications.

The seventh series, Miscellaneous activities and materials, consists of items documenting other organizations, projects and events in which Derian participated or had an interest. Some of the categories and issues include the Jackson State College shootings of 1970; the Laurel, Mississippi, pulpwood workers strike, 1971-1973; the Parchman prison reform project; the Delta Ministry; Jackson Area Head Start; the Mississippi tornado disaster of 1971; Jackson, Mississippi, housing issues; Operation Shoestring; and, the Jackson Sanitation Workers Union. Also included are materials from Derian’s Mississippians for Public Education scrapbook. For preservation purposes, the newsletters, correspondence, and other materials from the scrapbook are now housed in folders. A small group of photographs are related to the shootings at Jackson State College, 1970, and Mississippians for Public Education billboards.

The last series, Audio tapes, contains twelve audio cassette tapes made between 1970 and 1973 of Derian phone conversations with Democratic Party officials and others regarding party and Mississippi topics. The cassettes also contain news broadcasts regarding the Jackson State College shootings and the Democratic Party, a speech and press conference regarding elections, and an Evers gubernatorial campaign meeting. There is also a reel-to-reel audio tape of an interview with Vice-President Hubert Humphrey by journalist Gene Gibbons during the 1968 election campaign.