Oral History Interview with Clark Foreman, November 16, 1974. Interview B-0003. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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Abstract
This interview covers three separate conversations with Clark Foreman regarding his career in race relations, public service, and politics. His childhood in Georgia and his travels in Europe led to his work for the Commission on Interracial Cooperation in Atlanta with Will Alexander. His enduring reputation as a radical and rumored Communist began during his tenure with the Phelps-Stokes and Julius Rosenwald Funds. He acted out his growing commitment to integration and political equality while supervising New Deal projects for the Department of the Interior, the state parks, the interdepartmental committee on Negro affairs, and the power division of the Public Works Authority. This interview also addresses his attempts to provide more public housing for African Americans, and his opinion of leadership styles within the Interracial Commission and the Southern Conference for Human Welfare. He explains why the Southern Conference needed to endorse the Henry Wallace 1948 campaign, even though it was unsuccessful. He also compares the contributions of socialists and communists to the Southern Conference at state and national levels. Foreman lost jobs over false reports that he endorsed Communism or was too aggressive in his work. The interview concludes with comments by Clark and Mairi Foreman about his work with Black Mountain College, the Navy, and the National Citizens PAC, especially focusing on how his children developed radical views during those years.
Excerpts
Foreman witnessed a lynching while attending college in Georgia
Foreman read about the Atlanta Commission on Interracial Cooperation while in London
White and black Augusta leaders address the inequality of local public services
Foreman's growing concern for civil rights concerned his older colleagues
Phelps-Stokes Fund director disliked Foreman's political interests
The Interior Department integrates in the 1930s
Gettysburg park officials stop protesting their new black officer
New Deal programs made more jobs available to African Americans
Pamphlet on Southern politics written to support a candidate for Georgia senate
Foreman refuses to bar communists from the Southern Conference
Aggressiveness and commitment to the Bill of Rights guides Foreman
White citizens of Detroit and southern politicians worked together to get Foreman fired
Family support for pursuing political goals without running for political office
Comparing the Southern Regional Council and the Southern Conference
Foreman resigns from Black Mountain College in protest
Foreman defied segregation laws in his work and political activities.
Foreman's family dealt with criticism for supporting integration
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Subjects
Southern States--Economic conditions
Georgia--Race relations
Lynching--Georgia--History--20th century
Southern Conference for Human Welfare
Graham, Frank Porter, 1886-
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