Rachel Davis DuBois Papers, ca. 1917-1974

Abstract

In 1941, DuBois founded the Intercultural Education Workshop, which in 1946 was incorporated as the Workshop for Cultural Democracy.  It remained in existence until about 1958.  In 1951, the State Department sent DuBois to West Germany to aid in post-war reconstruction.  When she returned, the Workshop focused its efforts on programs to train "leaders of leaders" on a nationwide basis.  After its dissolution, she was invited by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to lead a program to lessen race tensions in the South.  Her lifetime activities as teacher, author, lecturer, and organizational leader earned her many commendations and distinctions.  Papers include both personal papers and organizational records documenting much of DuBois's life and career, and are comprised of correspondence, minutes, reports, publications, and curricular materials.  In English.  Inventory available.  Related collections: Bureau for Intercultural Education; Stewart G. Cole.

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Provenance/Processing

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Biographical Sketch

In 1924, two events occurred that redirected the course of her life. First, she visited a Negro school in the South, where she met Dr. George Washington Carver and felt embarrassed by her lack of knowledge on the racial question; and second, she read an article by the black historian W.E.B. DuBois (no relation), in which he argued that resolution of the problem of war rested on the eliminating the problem of race. These two experiences awakened in her the realization of her life’s “concern,” the improvement of racial and ethnic group relations and the development of greater appreciation for the diverse cultural strains in making up American society.

In the fall of 1924, she began teaching at the Woodbury High School, Woodbury, New Jersey, where she remained until 1929. It was at Woodbury High School that she helped to develop the assembly-program technique for improving group relations. A series of assembly programs were held over the course of each school year, each one focusing on the “contributions” of particular ethnic or racial groups in American life. Follow-up activities or lessons were held in the classroom. Finding that the curricular materials in this area were lacking or inadequate, she contacted various individuals or organizations to obtain materials or information that could be incorporated into the Woodbury curriculum. This type of endeavor—the development of curricular units on the cultural traits or history of particular groups—would become a specialty of Rachel DuBois and her associates in the years to come.

In 1929, Rachel DuBois left southern New Jersey and moved to New York City, which was to become her home or headquarters for many years, until she returned to her home in southern New Jersey. Between 1929 and 1933, Dr. DuBois initiated, or participated in, a series of curriculum experiments in intercultural education in the schools of Washington D.C.; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Englewood,  New Jersey. At the same time, she continued her education at Columbia University Teachers College and at New York University, eventually receiving a doctorate in educational sociology from N.Y.U.

In January 1934, Dr. DuBois—with the sponsorship of a number of Columbia University faculty members—founded the Service Bureau for Education in Human Relations, a “clearing house’ agency designed to help teachers and school administrators in setting up programs in intercultural education. She was appointed “executive secretary” of this group. With financial assistance from the American Jewish Committee and the Works Progress Administration, this agency sponsored intercultural programs in fifteen schools in the New York metropolitan area (1934-1935). In January of 1937, the Service Bureau for Education in Human Relations was invited to become the “Commission on Intercultural Education” of the Progressive Education Association. This marriage with the P.E.A was short-lived, however, ending in September of 1938, after which the original organization was revived and rechristened the Service Bureau for Intercultural Education.

During 1938-1939, the Service Bureau worked in conjunction with the United States Department of the Interior, Office of Education, to do research for an award-winning series of radio programs entitled “Americans All-Immigrants All.” Dr. DuBois and Ruth Davis, also of the Service Bureau, served as consultants to the Office of Education on this project. During 1939-1940, the General Education Board, before deciding to make a commitment to the Bureau for financial support, conducted an evaluation of the activities of the Service Bureau. The report of the G.E.B was critical of an approach to intergroup relations that emphasized the contributions of individual groups. The philosophic and programmatic differences that emerged at this time led to the resignation of Dr. DuBois and other members of the Board of Directors (1939-1941) and the dismissal of others not in agreement with the dominant point of view.

In 1941, Dr. DuBois founded a new organization called the Intercultural Education Workshop to carry on her work. In 1946, this organization was incorporated and renamed the Workshop for Cultural Democracy. It remained in existence until ca. 1958. The Service Bureau—after Dr. DuBois’ departure—changed its name to Bureau for Intercultural Education, and remained in existence until ca. 1954.

After 1941, a greater effort was made my Dr. DuBois and her associates to involve adults and teachers in the programs of the Workshop. A “new social invention” called the “Neighborhood Home Festival” or “Group Conversation” technique was developed, which became the stock-in-trade of the Workshop. In brief, this technique called for the gathering together of 20 to 40 individuals of diverse backgrounds and the collective recall of childhood memories touching on such universal themes as the change of seasons, work, holidays, home customs, etc. The technique was used in a number of “tension areas” of New York City to promote more amicable relations between parents of different ethnic and racial groups. The story of one such program at Public School 165 was chronicled by Dr. DuBois in her book Neighbors in Action (1950).

During the fifties and sixties, Dr. DuBois continued her efforts to promote intergroup harmony and understanding. In 1951, she was sent by the State Department to Germany to aid in the post-war reconstruction. After her return, the Workshop for Cultural Democracy focused its efforts in devising programs to train “trainers of leaders” on a nationwide basis. It also became interested in depth psychology and group techniques for bringing about interpersonal understanding in culturally homogeneous settings. After the dissolution of the Workshop, Dr. DuBois was invited by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to lead a program to lessen tensions between whites and blacks in the South.

Louis Adamic once called Rachel DuBois “a pioneer in intercultural education and relations.” The description seems fitting. Her activities as teacher, author, lecturer, group and organizational leader extend over a lifetime and have earned her many commendations and notable distinction.

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Scope and Content

SERIES I. PERSONAL MATERIALS
SERIES II. WRITINGS BY RACHEL DAVIS DUBOIS
SERIES III. INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION, TEACHERS’ COLLEGES
SERIES IV. INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION, PROJECTS
SERIES V. INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION, “AMERICANS ALL, IMMIGRANTS ALL
SERIES VI. ORGANIZATIONAL PAPERS
SERIES VII. RACE RELATIONS
SERIES VIII. RESOURCES
SERIES IX. DUPLICATE AND CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL

Records of the series WRITINGS BY RACHEL DAVIS DUBOIS span the years 1917-1973 and consist of six boxes of published and unpublished work by DuBois. Drafts and notes, correspondence relating to her writings, reviews, and publicity pamphlets are also included, as are some of her term papers, speeches and radio talks. Some of the writings in this series, documenting her views on the obstacles she encountered in her work, are unique and especially interesting.

Two boxes comprise the series INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION, TEACHERS’ COLLEGES. The records are arranged in chronological order and relate to DuBois’ education activities at teachers’ colleges in the period 1933-1973. Among the documents included are lecture notes and outlines, reading lists, term papers, correspondence and course criticisms.

The next series, INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION, PROJECTS, covers the fifty years from 1924 to 1974, during which Dr. DuBois taught in public schools, neighborhoods, and organizations such as labor unions. The documents clearly reflect her ideas about intercultural education, as well as the development of these in the course of time. The division within the series is based on a chronological order, reflecting her work with assembly programs (ca. 1920s-1930s), neighborhood home festivals and parrandas (home visits) (ca. 1940s-1050s), and group conversation (ca. 1950s-1970s). Besides teaching materials, many of the 72 folders include resources, announcements, correspondence, evaluations, and newspaper clippings.

The documents in series V, INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION, “AMERICANS ALL, IMMIGRANTS ALL,” deals with the series of radio programs that in 1938 and 1939 were prepared by the Service Bureau for Intercultural Education in conjunction with the Office of Education of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The first nine folders of the series, containing outlines and statements of purpose and methods as well as materials relating to cooperation with the Washington Office, provide a good introduction to the series. The remaining materials of the seven boxes include research files, documents pertaining to publicity, programs scripts, listener aids, and phonographic records.

The sixth series, ORGANIZATIONAL PAPERS, consists of five boxes containing a total of 54 folders. The records are again arranged in chronological fashion and cover the time period of 1934-1957. Included are not only the minutes, reports and other documents of the organizations in which Dr. DuBois was involved, but also classroom materials and manuals that were published by these organizations. Of particular research value are the documents relating to the evaluation that was undertaken by the General Education Board in 1939.

Dr. DuBois’ great and increasing interest in issues of race is reflected in the seventh series, RACE RELATIONS. The 21 folders span the years 1943-1973, but mostly relate to DuBois’ involvement in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the 1960s. The papers relating to her relationship with Dr. W.E.B. DuBois and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are not very extensive, but quite interesting and valuable. Most of this series consists of reports of projects DuBois started or was involved in, such as the “Ten Cities Project” of the S.C.L.C. and the Southern Rural Action Project.

Series VIII, RESOURCES, is the largest of the collection, and includes seven boxes of published and unpublished writings that DuBois received and collected during her life. In contrast to the other series of collection, most of this series is arranged by subject. In some cases the original arrangement and folder titles of Dr. DuBois were retained, but most of the materials of this series were divided in a new manner. The first ca. 40 folders hold magazine articles and newspaper clippings on books, ethnic and race relations, 24 different ethnic and racial groups, intercultural education, and more. The remainder of the series consists of newspapers, newsletters, magazines, reports, pamphlets, and writings by others. The latter subdivision covers the period 1922-1955 and contains some interesting unpublished and published material by Louis Adamic, Franz Boas, W.E.B. DuBois, and Bruno Lasker.

DUPLICATE AND CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL makes up the ninth and last series of the Rachel Davis DuBois collection.

The Rachel Davis DuBois collection constitutes a rich and valuable documentation of DuBois’ ideas and activities in her various fields of interest and concern. The full usage of the sources within this collection, as well as published monographs by DuBois in the IHRC “general” book collection (see appendix) will provide researchers with a complete and useful portrait of this “pioneer in intercultural education.” Much of the material is also a significant source for both ethnic and educational history. Finally, the papers show an exceptional diversity, cover an extensive time period, and are largely complete and in good physical condition.

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Container List

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Appendix

1. Rachel Davis DuBois, Build Together Americans: Adventures in Intercultural Education (New York, 1945).

 
2. Rachel Davis DuBois, Get Together Americans: Friendly Approached to Racial and Cultural Conflicts through the Neighborhood-Home Festival (New York, 1943).

 
3. Rachel David DuBois, Neighbors in Action: A Manual for Local Leaders in Intergroup Relations (New York, 1950).

 
4. Rachel David DuBois and New-Soong Li, The Art of Group Conversation (New York, 1963).

 
5. Rachel Davis DuBois and Emma Schweppe, The Jews in American Life (New York, 1935).

 
6. Alice Grace Chalip, “A Descriptive Study of the Group Conversation Method of Rachel Davis DuBois,” Master’s Thesis (Hayward, CA, 1974).

 
7. Ethel M. Duncan, Democracy’s Children (New York, 1945).

 

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