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Phyllis McClure Civil Rights in Education collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS2313

Scope and Contents

This collection contains articles, reports, clippings, newsletters, and other publications, as well as correspondence, notes, and tapes and transcripts of oral histories. The material documents McClure's work studying the implementation of Title I programs for disadvantaged children, often exposing the misuse of funds and arguing for better opportunities for poor and minority children. It dates from 1969 to 2010.

Dates

  • 1957 - 2010
  • Majority of material found within 1969 - 2010

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

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.

Biographical / Historical

Phyllis McClure (1938-2010) was a longtime civil rights activist and advocate for disadvantaged students in U.S. public schools. In her position at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund from 1969 through 1994, she was known for exposing the misuse of federal money under the Title I program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. She demonstrated that school districts were regularly using Title I funds, which were intended to improve education for impoverished students, for their own general expenses. Later in her career she was an advocate for the 2002 No Child Left Behind law.

McClure graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1960, received a master's degree in history from the University of California at Berkeley, served in the Peace Corps in Nigeria, and received a master's in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. She began her career working on federal desegregation efforts in the civil rights office of the Office of Education in 1964, and joined the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 1966.

Extent

2 Linear Feet (4 document boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Phyllis McClure (1938-2010) was a longtime civil rights activist and advocate for disadvantaged students in U.S. public schools. In her position at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund from 1969 through 1994, she was known for exposing the misuse of federal money under the Title I program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. She demonstrated that school districts were regularly using Title I funds, which were intended to improve education for impoverished students, for their own general expenses. Later in her career she was an advocate for the 2002 No Child Left Behind law. This collection contains her rticles, reports, clippings, newsletters, and other publications, as well as correspondence, notes, and tapes and transcripts of oral histories. It dates from 1969 to 2010.

Arrangement

Organized into two series: Articles and reports; and Subject files

Physical Location

Materials are stored off-site, and will require additional retrieval time. Please contact the Special Collections Research Center for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Cynthia G. Brown, 2012 (2012.084)

Related Materials

Source

Title
Guide to the Phyllis McClure Civil Rights in Education collection, 1969-2010
Status
Completed
Author
Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University
Date
2013
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University Repository

Contact:
2130 H Street NW
Washington 20052 United States of America