C. W. Rice Family & Negro Labor News Collection
Collection
Identifier: MSS 0142
Scope and Contents
The C. W. Rice Family & Negro Labor News Collection contains Mr. Rice's personal and professional correspondence as well as some of his financial records and photographs. Some significant topics represented in these files are black employment and labor activities and local communist activities. Additionally, it contains the most complete run of the Negro Labor News newspaper known to exist. Materials are dated from 1919 to 1976 with the majority of the items from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Dates
- Majority of material found within 1934-1976
- 1919-1976
Creator
Access Restrictions
The original copies of the Negro Labor News cannot be used without the approval of an archivist. Microfilm copies of the newspaper are available and can be used without special permission.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish or reproduce materials from the C. W. Rice Family & Negro Labor News Collection must be obtained from the African American Library at the Gregory School or the appropriate copyright holder.
Biographical Note
C. W. Rice was born into a farming family in Tennessee in 1897. When he was seventeen, he visited an aunt in Texas and the state remained his home for the rest of his life. In 1917, after a brief stint at Samuel Houston College in Austin, Mr. Rice became a field agent for the Texas Department of Agriculture and quickly established over 400 local orgaizations for black farmers around the state. Two years later, in 1919, he accepted a job with the Texas Department of Labor where he gained additional familiarity with employment patterns and problems. These remained his life-long concerns. In 1925, Mr. Rice was a founder and first vice-president of the Texas Negro Business & Working Man's Association. He later became president of the organization and presided over its headquarters in Houston. Several years later, in 1931, he began the Negro Labor News, a weekly newspaper which he continued to publish in Houston for over three decades.
Mr. Rice, a devotee of Booker T. Washington, received early and continued support from conservative white businessmen and politicians. Well-to-do whites provided most of the operating money for the Texas Negro Business & Working Man's Association as well as the Negro Labor News. These whites found Mr. Rice's views congenial. Rice, for example, viewed challenges to the racial and the class status quo with suspicion. He believed that most labor unions were racist and radical. He also thought that there was a strong communist influence in the civil rights movement, both locally and nationally. While some black Houstonians agreed wholeheartedly with Rice, many others did not and vigorously opposed him. C. W. Rice was as controversial as much of the news he wrote about.
Mr. Rice, a devotee of Booker T. Washington, received early and continued support from conservative white businessmen and politicians. Well-to-do whites provided most of the operating money for the Texas Negro Business & Working Man's Association as well as the Negro Labor News. These whites found Mr. Rice's views congenial. Rice, for example, viewed challenges to the racial and the class status quo with suspicion. He believed that most labor unions were racist and radical. He also thought that there was a strong communist influence in the civil rights movement, both locally and nationally. While some black Houstonians agreed wholeheartedly with Rice, many others did not and vigorously opposed him. C. W. Rice was as controversial as much of the news he wrote about.
Extent
24 Linear Feet (4 doc boxes, 11 oversized boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into 5 series according to the type of information. Materials are arranged chronologically except the Subject Files which are arranged alphabetically by file title. The Financial Records series is further arranged in to two subseries: Daily Records and Ledgers which are arranged chronologically.
Series
- Subject Files
- Correspondence
- Financial Records
- Photographs
- Negro Labor News
Custodial History
These records were formerly housed at the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library as MSS 242 C.W. Rice Family & Negro Labor News Collection and were transferred to the African American
Library at the Gregory School, Houston Public Library in March 2019.
Acquisition Information
Donated by Lena B. Rice, 1983
Processing Information
Reprocessed by Sheena Wilson, 2020
- African American businesspeople Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- African Americans -- Texas -- Houston Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Houston, Tex. Subject Source: Lcnaf
- Labor unions -- Texas Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Race discrimination Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Rice, C. W. (Claudius William), 1897-1973
Creator
- Title
- MSS 0142 C. W. Rice Family & Negro Labor News Collection
- Subtitle
- An Inventory of Records at the African American Library at the Gregory School, Houston Public Library
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- 1/7/2020: Reprocessed collection to current standards
Repository Details
Part of the Gregory School Repository
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