J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, UNC Charlotte
Inventory of the Frank O. Sherrill collection
MS0405
Table of Contents
- Summary Information
- Biographical/Historical note
- Scope and Contents note
- Arrangement note
- Administrative Information
- Related Materials
- Controlled Access Headings
- Collection Inventory
- Christian Inter-Racial Witness Association--Selective Patronage
- Petitions
- Letters received
- Undated Letters Received
- Newspaper Clippings
- Newspaper Clippings
Summary Information
- Repository
- J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, UNC Charlotte
- Creator
- Sherrill, Frank O., (Frank Odell), 1922-1983
- Title
- Frank O. Sherrill collection
- ID
- MS0405
- Date
- 1963
- Extent
- 15.0 Linear inches
- Language
- English
- Abstract
- Collection 405 is a small collection of documentary materials (newspaper clippings and letters) collected by Frank O. Sherrill during the campaign to desegregate public accommodations in Charlotte. Sherrill was the co-founder of the S&W Cafeteria chain, which became the target of African-Americans in the spring of 1963. This collection spans from March through July of 1963 and includes a telegram send by President John F. Kennedy, inviting Sherrill to the White House to attend a conference on racial desegregation.
Preferred Citation note
Frank O. Sherrill papers. J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Biographical/Historical note
Frank O. Sherrill, a Shelby, North Carolina native, co-founded the S&W Cafeterias in the 1920s, a chain of restaurants in North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, DC. The S&W chain had a reputation both for fine food as well as a pleasing, up-scale atmosphere, and by the 1970s had grown to twenty two cafeterias. Like so many other public facilities, the S&W Cafeterias excluded minorities until 1963, when African-Americans began asserting their civil rights and demanded an end to segregation. Petitions in May of 1963 and a newspaper article dated June 5 indicate that Sherrill initially resisted the movement toward desegregation, though he eventually bowed to pressure to desegregate. During those months of protest in the spring and summer of 1963, Sherrill accumulated a large quantity of newspaper clippings on the issue of desegregation as it affected him and his business. He also received letters from patrons (including those who had been his customers for many years) either to encourage him to resist desegregation or to encourage him to extend equal treatment to African-Americans. On May 29, 1963, Sherrill received a telegram from President John F. Kennedy, inviting him and other Southern business owners to come to the White House to attend a conference on desegregating public facilities. Articles dated June fourth and fifth describe the conference (“7 Charlotteans Meet with President Today” and “100 Businessmen, President Meet”). Another clipping (undated but soon after June 4, 1963) provides a picture of Sherrill and also includes insights into his stance on the issue. This article is found in folder 8 of this collection. By the end of June of 1963, Sherrill and S&W Cafeterias did open their doors to all customers regardless of race. [Sources: Frank O. Sherrill papers, UNC Charlotte Library, Mss 405 ; DePreist, Joe, “A Life on the Serving Line,” Charlotte Observer, Friday, December 29, 1995.]
Scope and Contents note
Collection 405 is a small collection of newspaper clippings and correspondence collected by Mr. Frank O. Sherrill during the American Civil Rights Movement in 1963. Sherrill was the owner and manager of the S&W Cafeteria chain, and was involved in the dispute surrounding the efforts of African-Americans in their drive to desegregate public facilities such as restaurants, cafeterias and lunch counters. This collection of papers spans from March through July of 1963 and in addition to clippings and letters, it also includes a telegram send by President John F. Kennedy, inviting Sherrill to the White House to attend a conference on racial integration. When Mr. Sherrill cut articles from their newspapers in 1963, several of those articles are missing the names of the newspapers from which they came. Other clippings reveal that at least some of them came from the Roanoke World News (of Roanoke VA), The Greensboro Daily News, the Charlotte Observer, the Durham Morning Herald, the Daily Advance (of Lynchburg, VA) and the US News & World Report.
Arrangement note
The first series in this collection consists of a single item—a document entitled “Selective Patronage,” issued by the Christian Inter-Racial Witness Association, on April 3, 1963. This document lists the businesses that the NAACP boycotted at the time and also provided demonstrators with information necessary to picket in such a way as to bring about the intended change. The second series contains petitions, dated May 15th and May 21st, signed by patrons who ‘appreciated S&W Cafeteria’s stand in not integrating.’ The third series contains the letters that Frank Sherrill received during the Civil Rights Movement, and is arranged chronologically (May 6 through July 3, 1963); though the nature of these letters includes opinions from both sides of the spectrum. This inventory includes a chronological list of the aforementioned newspaper clippings, which also lists their headlines. A cursory examination of these headlines reveals a steady change in public perception toward desegregation from May to June of 1963. The May twenty-third headlines reported “Mayor’s Committee Will Make Attempt to Halt Marches.” On the twenty-sixth the headlines announced “Negroes to Negotiate Rather than Demonstrate.” By the first of June the papers reported: “First Desegregation Step Gets Approval” and four days later the media informed the public that “Charges Will Be Dropped on 1,400 Demonstrators.” On the same day, another paper publicized the fact that “More Businesses in Durham Agree to Full Integration.” By the next day the public mood had cooled and one newspaper reported that “Negro Leaders Halt City Demonstrating: Suspension Called Pending Meet of Interracial Group on Saturday.” Two days later another paper announced that “17 Year Segregation Law Taken off Books.” When Mr. Sherrill cut these articles from their newspapers in 1963, several of those articles are missing the names of the newspapers from which they came. Other clippings reveal that at least some of them came from the Roanoke World News (of Roanoke VA), The Greensboro Daily News, the Charlotte Observer, the Durham Morning Herald, the Daily Advance (of Lynchburg, VA) and the US News & World Report.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, UNC Charlotte 2009
9201 University City Blvd.Charlotte, NC, 28223
704-687-1170
spec-coll@uncc.edu
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use note
Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Obtained from Rufus Dalton, in January of 2009.
Processing Information note
Processed by Robert A. McInnes
Related Materials
Related Archival Materials note
Harry Golden Papers, mss 20 ; Stan Brookshire Papers, mss 41 ; Frederick Douglass Alexander Papers, mss 91 ; W.G. Frye Papers, P191/4 ; Martin Boyer Papers, P94/16-30.
Controlled Access Headings
Geographic Name(s)
- North Carolina--Race relations--Sources
Personal Name(s)
- Sherrill, Frank O., (Frank Odell), 1922-1983
Subject(s)
- Civil rights--North Carolina--Charlotte
- Race discrimination--North Carolina
- Race relations
Collection Inventory
Christian Inter-Racial Witness Association--Selective Patronage |
Box 1 |
Folder 1 |
||
|
|
||||
Petitions May 1963 |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
May 15, 1963 1963 |
1 | 2 | ||
|
May 21, 1963 1963 |
1 | 2 | ||
|
|
||||
Letters received 1963 Mar 6-July 3 |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Susan Rothwell Mar. 6, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
R. Bruce Pate Mar. 28, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Christian Inter-Racial Witness Association Apr. 3, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mrs. Edward Shelton Holmes May 2, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Ellen Tripp May 2, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
W. H. Rogers May 2, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Charles Gordon Tate May 2, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Harry W. Moore May 3, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
J. Z. Green May 3, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Margaret L. Stubbs May 3, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
petition (2 pages) May 15, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mrs. H. P. McCollum May 15, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
James H. Register May 15, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Miss F. Louise Madella May 15, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Jack Riley May 16, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mrs. Raymond R. Sermon May 17, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Kendon Smith May 17, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mrs. E. B. King May 17, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
F. C. Moore May 17, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Elizabeth S. King May 18, 1963 |
1 | 2 | ||
|
Mrs. Porter Cox May 18, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
R. Clyde Foster May 18, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mr. & Mrs. John F. Troxler, Jr., and Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Troxler May 18, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
W. W. Shaffer May 18, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Earl Leonard May 18, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
James E. Brown May 18, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Bernard D. Sarachek, M.D. May 20, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
O. B. Holt May 20 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
M. Harvey Rubin, M.D. May 21, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mrs. W. E. Black, Sr. May 21, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Petition May 21, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
R.L.R. Bentz May 22, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mrs. Edmund Berkeley May 22, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mr. J. Edward Burnside May 24, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
R. E. Barrett May 24, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
S. Linton Smith May 24, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
John F. Kennedy telegram May 29, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Lewis Pifer June 5, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Ernest L. Howard June 6, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
J. G. Frost June 6, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Elva Harrison June 6, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
J. J. Holderness June 7, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mrs. Thomas Erwin Snelling June 7, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
H. E. Myers June 8, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Ella U. Latham June 9, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
John C. McIntosh June 8, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mrs. Preston B. Wilkes, Jr. June 9, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
George H. Beall, Jr. June 10, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Louis Prosterman, DDS June 10, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
James A. Jones June 18, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mrs. R. H. Driscoll June 18, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
W. H. Hover? June 19, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Irvin Elligan June 19, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mrs. Clyde M. Scott June 20, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
J.A. Hutchinson June 20, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Anonymous June 20, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Mr. & Mrs. Gies McClinton June 20, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
“True Americans” June 21, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Fred M. Davis July 3, 1963 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
|
||||
Undated Letters Received undated |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Mrs. James Burson |
1 | 4 | ||
|
Lou Dobson |
1 | 4 | ||
|
|
||||
Newspaper Clippings 1963 May 1-June 10 |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
“Militant Truth” May 1, 1963 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
“Hundreds of Students Here Given Releases to Schools” May 22, 1963 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
“More Demonstrators Arrested.” May 22, 1963 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
"Protest Here" May 22, 1963 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
“All Drug Stores in City Integrate Lunch Counters” May 23, 1963 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
“Your Support of the Mayfair Cafeteria and Boy Morris is Urgently Requested!” May 23, 1963 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
“Silent March is Staged by Negroes” May 23, 1963 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
“8 Hotels, Motels Will Desegregate” May 23, 1963 (?) |
1 | 5 | ||
|
“Mayor’s Committee Will Make Attempt to Halt Marches” May 23, 1963 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
“Mayor Names Committee of 10 On Race Problems” May 23, 1963 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
“Grabarek Given Thanks Warning by Negros” May 23, 1963 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
“Top NAACP Leader Talks at Mass Rally in Durham… May 24, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
‘This is a Time for Good Faith’ May 24, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Council to Close Dump on June 1” May 24, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Decision On Dump Believed to Lessen Danger of March” May 24, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Interim Committee At Work: Subgroups to Begin Discussions Today.” May 25, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Mayor Asks Committee to End Racial Rallies in Downtown Areas.” May 25, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Negroes March Again” May 25, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Greensboro Negroes gain Conduct March” May 25, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Negroes to Negotiate Rather than Demonstrate” May 26, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Open Letter to Greensboro Businessmen” May 26, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Desegregation Goals to be Revised Here; ‘Sit-in’ Arrest Made” May 28, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Possible Solution to Racial Issues Now Indicated: Protest Costs Mount” May 29, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
"Interim Committee Has New Reports, Schedules Meetings” May 29, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“A Definitive Ruling is Needed” May 29, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Bi-Racial Group Named” May 29, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Man is Beaten During March in High Point” May 29, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Restaurant Owners Reporting Progress” May 30, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Negro Impatience Prodding Kennedy” May 30, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Bobby Unveils New Rights Proposals” May 30, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“JFK, Governors Discuss Negro Rights Over Lunch.” May 30, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“Negro’s Battle for Equality Not Confined to Deep South” May 30, 1963 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
“First Desegregation Step Gets Approval” June 1, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“Of Race, Rights and Reason” June 3, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“7 Charlotteans Meet with President Today” June 4, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“100 Businessmen, President Meet” June 5, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“Committee Seeking Advice” June 5, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“Young Negroes Demonstrate” June 5, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“Charges Will Be Dropped On 1,400 Demonstrators” June 5, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“More Businesses In Durham Agree to Full Integration” June 5, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“Negroes Fail at S&W, One Arrested at Krystal” June 5, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“Action Set to Assure Equality: Hiring Policies to be Probed” June 5, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“More Racial Bars Fall in Durham” June 5, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“Negroes Declare Demonstrations will Continue: Prosecution of Paraders is Pledged” June 5, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
Negro Leaders Halt City Demonstrating: Suspension Called Pending Meet of Interracial Group on Saturday” June 6, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“Citizens Unit Seeks Advice: Racial Peace Meeting Set” June 6, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“Community Leaders Are Called Together for Meeting Today” June 7, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“278 Arrested in Demonstration Here” June 7, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“7 More Businesses Drop Race Barriers” June 7, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“17 Year Segregation Law Taken off Books” June 8, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“Mayor Schenck Deserves Support” June 10, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
“The Only Hope” June 10, 1963 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
|
||||
Newspaper Clippings undated |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
“Kennedy Appeals to Southerners” |
1 | 8 | ||
|
“The Negro and the tax burden,” by McLellan Smith. |
1 | 8 | ||
|
“Passion to Rule Reason: Force to be Asked Against South” |
1 | 8 | ||
|
“Segregation Must End, Rally Told” |
1 | 8 | ||
|
“Total Desegregation Students’ Goal” |
1 | 8 | ||
|
“Ten City Area Restaurants Open Facilities to Negroes” undated |
1 | 8 | ||
|
“Ten Restaurants Drop Racial Bars” undated |
1 | 8 | ||
|
|
||||
