Walter White to Charles Chesnutt, 13 March 1931
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE
69 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
(AT FOURTEENTH STREET)
TELEPHONE: ALGONQUIN 4-65481
March 13th 1931
My dear Mr. Chesnutt:
I am mighty sorry to learn from your letter of March 11th that you can't be present at the Mansfield Theatre on the 22nd when the Spingarn Medal2 will be presented to Mr. Harrison3.
Thank you very much for your personal good wishes and I hope I am going to have your fine support for without the support of my friends I shall be unable to do the great job which is before me.
Ever sincerely, Walter Secretary. Mr. Charles W. Chesnutt 1646 Union Trust Building Cleveland, Ohio WW:CTFCorrespondent: Walter Francis White (1893–1955) was a civil rights activist and writer. He began working at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1918, at its New York City headquarters, as assistant to James Weldon Johnson, the Association's first Black Executive Secretary. He investigated lynchings and riots, sometimes passing for White, and he became Executive Secretary in 1930. He helped desegregate the armed forces after WWII and under his leadership the NAACP established its Legal Defense Fund. He nominally remained executive secretary until his death in 1955.
1. For readability, the remainder of the letterhead is not transcribed in the body of the letter but is included in this footnote as unformatted text. The letterhead can be seen in its entirety in the accompanying image of the letter. The text of the remainder of the letterhead is as follows: "NATIONAL OFFICERS PRESIDENT J. E. SPINGARN VICE-PRESIDENTS HON. ARTHUR CAPPER BISHOP JOHN A. GREGG REV. JOHN HAYNES HOLMES JAMES WELDON JOHNSON ARTHUR B. SPINGARN OSWALD GARRISON VILLARD EXECUTIVE OFFICERS WALTER WHITE ACTING SECRETARY DR. W. E. B. DUBOIS EDITOR OF THE CRISIS ROBERT W. BAGNALL DIRECTOR OF BRANCHES WILLIAM PICKENS FIELD SECRETARY DAISY E. LAMPKIN REGIONAL FIELD SECRETARY HERBERT J. SELIGMANN DIRECTOR OF PUBLICITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman MARY WHITE OVINGTON New York Baltimore Carl Murphy Boston Joseph Prince Loud Charleston, W. Va. T. G. Nutter Chicago Jane Addams Clarence Darrow Cleveland Hon. Harry E. Davis Detroit Hon. Ira W. Jayne Hon. Frank Murphy Indianapolis F. B. Ransom Los Angeles Dr. H. Claude Hudson Memphis R. R. Church New Haven George W. Crawford New Orleans Dr. George W. Lucas New York Lillian A. Alexander Rev. Hutchens C. Bishop Dr. W. E. B. DuBois Rev. John Haynes Holmes James Weldon Johnson Florence Kelley Hon. Herbert H. Lehman Ella Rush Murray John E. Nail Arthur B. Spingarn J. E. Spingarn Charles H. Studin William English Walling Dr. Louis T. Wright Northampton, Mass. Dr. William Allan Neilson Philadelphia Isadore Martin Richmond Maggie L. Walker Springfield Rev. G. R. Waller Topeka Hon. Arthur Capper Washington Nannie H. Burroughs Hon. James A. Cobb Prof. George William Cook Charles Edward Russell NATIONAL LEGAL COMMITTEE Chairman Arthur B. Spingarn Chicago Clarence Darrow Cambridge, Mass. Felix Frankfurter Charleston, W. Va. T. G. Nutter New York James Marshall Herbert K. Stockton Charles H. Studin WILLIAM T. ANDREWS Special Legal Assistant ENDORSED BY THE NATIONAL INFORMATION BUREAU. 215 FOURTH AVENUE, NEW YORK TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL CONFERENCE — Pittsburgh Pa. — June 30 - July 5, 1931."[back]
2. The highest honor of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the Spingarn Medal and it is awarded annually, since 1915, for the highest achievement of a living African American in the preceding year. Joel Spingarn, a professor of literature and one of the NAACP founders, was elected board chairman of the NAACP in 1915 and served as president 1929–1939. Charles Chesnutt was a recipient of this award in 1928.[back]
3. Richard Berry Harrison (1864–1935) was a distinguished playwright and recipient of the 1930 Spingarn Medal following the success of The Green Pastures (1930).[back]
