Reverend James W. Morrison Collection
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of the papers of the Reverend James W. Morrison. It includes both his writings and documents collected by him in the course of his ministerial career. Documents include financial documents, minutes, newspaper clippings, agendas, and reports. The collection includes his literary writings: sermons, essays, manuscripts, prayers, papers and class work from divinity school. In addition, there are two audio cassette tapes with recordings of worship services in which Dr. Morrison preached.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material into eleven series, then chronologically within each series, where applicable. The series are: Audio Recordings; Books; Correspondence; Financial Documents; Legal Documents; Lists; Literary Productions; Maps; Minutes; Printed Material; and Proceedings.
This collection will be of interest to researchers of the history of African-American churches in the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ, the Civil Rights Movement of the mid- to late-20th century, as well as the role and experience of African-American members of the clergy (3:13-3:14, 3:16, 4:5-4:6, 4:8-4:13, 7:8, 7:25). Many of Reverend Morrison's writings, including his sermons and essays, deal with the plight of African-Americans in general, as well as the state of African-American churches and their congregations (3:3, 7:26, 7:56-7:58, 7:60).
The largest series in the collection, Literary Productions, includes many of Reverend Morrison's sermons, as well as essays, prayers, and his work as a student at the Hartford Theological Seminary Foundation in Connecticut (7:1-7:2, 7:5-7:7, 7:11-13, 7:16-7:19, 7:22-7:24, 7:30-7:55, 7:62). The sermons deal with a wide range of matters both spiritual and secular; many of his sermons directly address the lives and troubles of African-Americans, especially issues involving the state of civil rights in the United States, as well as the status of African-Americans in American society.
Printed Material is also a large series. It contains materials written by others and collected by Reverend Morrison. It includes editorials, newspaper clippings, handbooks, religious programs, and newsletters. Many of the articles address not only issues pertaining to the Civil Rights Movement, but also the state of spirituality in American society (10:2, 10:5, 10:16-10:17, 10:20, 10:22). There is also material about church administration (10:6-10:10, 10:15).
In addition, the collection has a number of documents specifically about the trial of the Wilmington 10, resulting appeals, and the controversy surrounding the trial (2:1, 3:8-3:10, 10:18).
Dates
- Creation: 1946 - 1997
Creator
Language of Materials
Material in English
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
The nature of the Archives and Special Collections of Belk Library means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of Belk Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research of otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Biographical / Historical
Note: The numbers cited in parenthesis refer the researchers to the Series#: Folder# in which that name/topic will be found (example: 1:5)
Early Years and Education:
* James Woodrow Morrison was born in Pinehurst, NC, on June 26, 1918. He was the youngest of nine children; his parents were Levi and Mary Baldwin Morrison. He was raised in Pinehurst (10:21)
* During World War II, he served in the United States Army in the South Pacific theatre. He was discharged from the Army in 1946 (10:21)
* Following his return from the war, he received his high school diploma from Friendship Junior College secondary division in 1948, serving as Class Vice-President (7:4, 10:24)
*He attended and graduated from Rock Hill Junior College, and then completed his undergraduate degree from Johnson C. Smith University in 1952, graduating cum laude (7:4, 10:21)
*In 1961, he earned a Master of Divinity from the Hartford Theological Seminary Foundation in Hartford, Connecticut (7:4, 10:21)
*Reverend Morrison was awarded an honorary doctorate from Union Christian Bible Institute in Durham, NC, in 1990 in recognition of his commitment to the ministry (10:21)
Family:
*In 1940, Reverend Morrison married Lorenza Fuller, who died in 1988. They had two children, a daughter, Patricia Morrison Sneed, and a son, James Reginald Morrison (7:4, 10:21)
*In August 1989, Reverend Morrison married Mary B. Smith. There are three stepchildren: step-daughter Patsy Smith Morgan; step-daughter Sheila Smith McKoy; and step-son Christopher D. Smith (10:21)
Ministry:
*Reverend Morrison began his ministry serving as a pastor in the Congregational Christian denomination at Red Hill Christian Church in Clayton, NC, from 1949 to 1954 and First Congregational Christian Church in Troy, NC, from 1950 to 1958, as well as Children's Chapel in Graham, NC, from 1954 to 1965 (7:4, 10:21)
* He was Secretary to the Convention of the South from 1951 to 1958 and was also Treasurer of the Lincoln Convention 1954 to 1958 (7:4)
*Reverend Morrison was the first Associate Conference Minister for the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ, serving in this capacity from 1965 to 1979, being elected to this office after having served in various leadership positions in the general conference (7:4, 10:21)
*In the 1970s, Reverend Morrison was involved with the Black Church Development Commission and the North Carolina Commission on the Black Church (3:3, 3:5-3:10, 3:18-3:20, 4:1-4:4, 4:7, 4:15-4:21, 5:1, 6:1, 7:21, 7:25, 7:27-7:29, 7:58, 7:61, 9:2-9:7, 10:1, 10:3-10:4)
*After he retired from being Associate Conference Minister, Rev. Morrison pastored Tabernacle United Church of Christ in Suffolk, VA, from 1979 to 1982 (7:4, 10:21)
*From 1982 to 1989, Reverend Morrison pastored Poplar Springs United Church of Christ (now Poplar Springs Christian Church) in Raleigh, NC (7:4, 10:14, 10:20, 10:21)
*After retiring from Poplar Springs, he served as Interim Pastor at several UCC churches including Maple Temple United Church of Christ and Macedonia United Church of Christ in Raleigh, as well as First United Church of Christ in Franklinton, NC (3:14-3:15, 4:8, 10:21)
Other Activities:
*Reverend Morrison was a civil rights activist; he was President of the Suffolk, VA, Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 1981-1982 (3:2, 3:11, 7:59)
*Reverend Morrison was an advocate of life-long education, and served on the Alamance County School Board. He was also on the Board of Advisors for Elon College (10:21)
*He was an active member of the Raleigh/Wake Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, the Johnson C. Smith Alumnae Association, and the Raleigh Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity (10:21)
*He was a 33rd degree Mason affiliated with the St. Andrew's Masonic Lodge no. 172 in Burlington, NC (10:21)
Later Years:
*In 1997, he attended Wake Technical College to take a computer course in order to prepare to write his memoirs and to compile his sermons (10:21)
*Reverend Morrison died on November 15, 1997, at the age of 79, at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh, NC. The cause of death was prostate cancer (10:21)
Biographical Sources:
Mss.Coll.#46-3:2, 7:4,10:21, 10:24
Extent
3 linear feet (3 archival boxes)
Abstract
This collection consists of the papers of the Reverend James W. Morrison, the first Associate Conference Minister for the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ.. It includes both his writings and documents collected by him in the course of his ministerial career. Documents include financial documents, minutes, newspaper clippings, agendas, and reports. The collection includes his literary writings: sermons, essays, manuscripts, prayers, papers and class work from divinity school. The collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material into eleven series, then chronologically within each series, where applicable. The series are: Audio Recordings; Books; Correspondence; Financial Documents; Legal Documents; Lists; Literary Productions; Maps; Minutes; Printed Material; and Proceedings. This collection will be of interest to researchers of the history of African-American churches in the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ, the Civil Rights Movement of the mid- to late-20th century, as well as the role and experience of African-American members of the clergy.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by type of materials into eleven series, then chronologically within each series, where applicable. The series are: Audio Recordings; Books; Correspondence; Financial Documents; Legal Documents; Lists; Literary Productions; Maps; Minutes; Printed Material; and Proceedings.
Physical Location
The collection is located in Belk Library Archives Satellite Shelving at Elon University. Please contact the Archivist and Special Collections Librarian for further details about the location.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift. June 2014.
Accession Number
2014.11.1
Processing Information
Processed by Randall Bowman, July 2014-March 2015
Encoded by Randall Bowman, March 2015
- Title
- Inventory of the Reverend James W. Morrison Collection, 1946 - 1997 Mss.Coll.046
- Author
- Processed by: Randall Bowman; machine-readable finding aid created by: Randall Bowman
- Date
- © 2015
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Was Prepared Using Dacs
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Description is in English
Repository Details
Part of the Belk Library Archives & Special Collections Repository
