Finding aid for the John Frazier Papers
Title:
John Frazier Papers
Repository:
Western Reserve Historical Society
Phone: 216-721-5722
http://www.wrhs.org
Creator:
Frazier, John
Dates:
1962-1974
Quantity:
1.20 linear feet (3 containers)
Abstract:
 John Frazier (born 1941) is a civil rights worker and Unitarian-Universalist minister. In 1969 he became the first pastor of the newly-formed Humanist Fellowship of Liberation in Cleveland, Ohio. The collection consists of correspondence, financial records, sermons, speeches, school records, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous papers, relating to Frazier's civil rights activities, his seminary years, racial issues in the Unitarian-Universalist church, and the Humanist Fellowship of Liberation.
Identification:
MS 3593
Location:
closed stacks
Language:
The records are in English

Biography of John Frazier

John Frazier (born 1941), an African American Unitarian Universalist minister, was born in Mississippi. During the early 1960s, he was active in the civil rights movement and served as assistant to the state National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Field Directors, Medger and Charles Evers. Frazier left Mississippi to attend the seminary at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, and Manchester College in Oxford, England. He was ordained in July 1969. His ordination coincided with the founding of the Humanist Fellowship of Liberation by dissident members of the First Unitarian Society in Cleveland, Ohio, and Frazier came to Cleveland to serve as minister of the newly formed congregation.

Scope and Content

The John Frazier Papers, 1962-1974 and undated, consist of correspondence, financial records, sermons, speeches, school records, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous papers, relating to Frazier's civil rights activities, his seminary years, racial issues in the Unitarian-Universalist church, and the Humanist Fellowship of Liberation.

This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of Cleveland, Ohio, and the Unitarian Universalist church there in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the Humanist Fellowship of Liberation. The collection reflects Frazier's involvement in civil rights activities during his seminary years, the racial issues which divided the Unitarian Universalist church, and his role in the establishment and development of the Humanist Fellowship of Liberation in Cleveland, Ohio. Those studying the history of the African American community in Cleveland, Ohio, will find this collection particularly useful.

Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged by document type and then chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material: Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 3592 Humanist Fellowship of Liberation Records.


Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

African American Unitarian Universalists -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
African American churches -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
African American clergy -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Churches -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Civil rights workers -- United States.
Clergy -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
First Unitarian Church (Cleveland, Ohio)
Frazier, John, 1941-
Humanist Fellowship of Liberation (Cleveland, Ohio)
Race relations -- Religious aspects.
Religion and race.
Unitarian Church -- Ohio.
Unitarian churches -- Clergy.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3593 John Frazier Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Reverend John Frazier in 1973.

Processing Information

Processed by Sandra Berman in 1975.


Detailed Description of The Collection



John Frazier Papers, 1962-1974; undated

Box 1 / Folder 1-5
Correspondence, 1965-1972




Box 2 / Folder 1
Biographical sketches, 1968




Box 2 / Folder 2
Sermons and writings of John Frazier, 1966-1968




Box 2 / Folder 3
Miscellaneous sermons and writings, 1962-1968




Box 2 / Folder 4
General records of course work for Religion and Society done by John Frazier, 1966




Box 2 / Folder 5
General records of course work for Pastoral Counseling and Psychiatry done by John Frazier, 1967-1972




Box 2 / Folder 6
General school records of John Frazier, 1965-1968




Box 2 / Folder 7
General school records of courses taught by John Frazier, undated




Box 2 / Folder 8
Financial records of John Frazier, 1965-1970




Box 3 / Folder 1
Miscellaneous notes and writings, undated




Box 3 / Folder 2
Miscellaneous publications, reports, fliers, and questionnaires, 1963-1974




Box 3 / Folder 3
Student notebook of John Frazier, 1933




Box 3 / Folder 4
Orders of worship, publications, and programs, 1962-1970




Box 3 / Folder 5
Newsletters and periodicals, 1965-1970




Box 3 / Folder 6
Newspaper clippings, 1967-1972




Box 3 / Folder 7
Greeting cards, dates vary