Stanford R. Brookshire papers

The Stanford R. Brookshire Papers are divided into two subgroups: Mayoral Papers and Personal and Family Papers. Subgroup I, MAYORAL PAPERS (1960-1970), is divided into the following series:

Series 1, SUBJECT FILES (1960 1969) provides the most extensive documentation of Brookshire's administration of civic affairs. Organized according to Brookshire's system of subject classification, the files contain correspondence and related material on committees appointed by Brookshire, on City departments, on urban renewal and other city improvement projects, on special civic events, and on national organizations of city government officials. Of particular interest are files relating to federal funding for urban renewal projects, reflecting the efforts by both federal and municipal governments during the 1960s to eliminate poverty and blight in the inner city. Funding for Charlotte came about through such programs as Model Cities and the Brooklyn Area Plan for the redevelopment of downtown's slum area. Also reflected in this series are Charlotte's organized efforts to desegregate peacefully, particularly through the Mayor's Community Relations Committee, established by Brookshire in 1961 to reconcile complaints of discrimination in the community (see also Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee Records). Series 2, GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, (1961 1970) contains correspondence to and from Brookshire generally not relating to the administration of official city business, and including letters of congratulations, thanks, praise, criticism, and complaint. Also includes Brookshire's reelection campaign correspondence (1963, 1965, 1967) and letters to Brookshire relating to desegregation in Charlotte, in particular, to the Poor People's March in 1968 and the bombing of the homes of four African American civil right leaders in 1965. Series 3, SPEECHES AND STATEMENTS (1961 1969). Series 4, PRINTED MATERIAL (1963 1969), contains newspaper clippings, magazine articles, published reports, and scrapbooks. Series 5, PHOTOGRAPHS (1965, n.d). Subgroup II, PERSONAL PAPERS (1970 90), includes a printed family history (1979), speeches by Brookshire (1970 88), and Brookshire's obituary (1990).