Collections : [West Virginia and Regional History Center]

Typescript records of the Charleston, West Virginia branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which was founded in the summer of 1918 and first led by Mordecai Johnson, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Charleston. During the years covered by these records, attorney T. Gillis Nutter served as president. The bound volume includes primarily typed minutes for regular monthly meetings, executive committee meetings, and branch meetings, generally in chronological order. A few handwritten documents and printed pamphlets are also included. The documents shed light on the general state of civil rights locally and nationally between World War I and World War II, as well as local dramatic, musical and other cultural events, including visits from James Weldon Johnson and William Pickens and programs with the local organizations including the Hi-Y club, Alpha Delta chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Theta Psi chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, the local chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and other fraternal organizations. The records show how much the local chapter of the NAACP also served as a social and political center for the black community in the early 20th century. Additional subjects include: West Virginia court cases State v. Lattimar, Brown v. Board, and White v. White; the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill; and discrimination and segregation in buses, employment, and the New Deal Homestead communities. See Scope and Content Note for more information. See Historical Note for other resources about this chapter of the NAACP.

Regina Charon (1946-2004) was a civil rights lawyer who is best known for her work in unemployment law, sex discrimination law, and LGBT adoption law. The collection includes biographies about Regina Charon's life and life's work as a lawyer, focusing on civil rights. Topics include the 1977-1978 WVU Council for Women's Concerns, the Regina Charon Zealous Advocate Award, and the Regina Charon Fellowship for Law and the Public Interest. There are photocopies of the Jus Et Factum newsletter and photographs of Regina Charon's life from childhood through adulthood.

This collection contains the papers of Dr. Thomas William Gavett, collected and created while he was chairman of the West Virginia Human Rights Commission between 1961 and 1966. Subjects of interest include equal employment opportunities, discriminatory application practices, instances of racial discrimination throughout West Virginia, and actions taken by the WV HRC to combat racial discrimination.