I dedicated this week mainly to processing and completed two more decades (1960’s to 1970’s) of O’Neal’s correspondence. Of note are several personal love letters written to O’Neal during the early 1960’s; memorandum from Charlie Cobb regarding the general survey of economic characteristics of Washington County, Mississippi to Jim Forman; and a letter from Gilbert Moses to O’Neal referencing a list of funding sources and foundations for the Free Southern Theater. Also included are communications from O’Neal’s parents considering his welfare as a college student and social activist and correspondence from the Ford Foundation advising O’Neal of the approval of a travel and study grant, which enabled O’Neal to complete a book on the role of Black Southern students in the Civil Rights Movement.
This is another great example of the Ford Foundation assisting black artists. I don't know if you saw this New York Times article discussing the Ford Foundation archives moving to the Rockefeller Archive Center. James Baldwin was able to complete his novel Another Country thanks to a Ford Foundation grant.
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