COLLECTION FINDING AID



J. STANLEY POTTINGER PAPERS, 1968 -1981

Director, Office of Civil Rights, Department of HEW;
Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice



CONTENTS

Summary Description | Biographical Information | Introduction | Series Descriptions | Container List

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Materials relating primarily to Pottinger’s work on civil rights matters in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (1970-1973), and the Department of Justice (1973-1977) during the Nixon and Ford administrations. The collection documents the investigation and enforcement of various civil rights issues, including: desegregation, busing, women’s rights, affirmative action, education, employment, government surveillance, Kent State, and Wounded Knee.

QUANTITY
 56.4 linear feet (ca. 112,000 pages)

DONOR
 The American Heritage Center (AHC) at the University of Wyoming, which had acquired the papers as a gift from Mr. Pottinger. When the AHC redefined its collecting scope, it donated the collection to the Ford Library with the support of Mr. Pottinger (accession number: 2006-NLF-030)

ACCESS
 Open with some items temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
 Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them.

Prepared by Valerie S. Hinojosa, November 2007
[s:\bin\findaid\pottinger, j. stanley - papers .doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION


J. Stanley Pottinger


February 13, 1940 - Born, Dayton, OH

1962 - Graduated, Harvard University

1965 - J.D., Harvard Law School

1965-1969 - General Counsel, Broad, Khourie, and Schulz, San Francisco, CA

1969 - Consultant, Department of Health, Education and Welfare

1969 - Regional Attorney, Department of Health, Education and Welfare

1970-1973 - Director, Office of Civil Rights, Department of Health, Education and Welfare

1973-1977 - Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice

1977 - Special Assistant to the Attorney General

1977-1981 - Attorney, Washington, D.C.

1981-1987 - Investment banking, New York City

1987 - Trustee, Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights

1987 - United Nations Association’s Advisory Committee for Multilateral Projects

1987 - Consultant, Rockefeller Foundation

1987 - Director, National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (NABCO)

1993 - President, Barnstorm Books

1995 - Author of several works of fiction

INTRODUCTION

J. Stanley Pottinger held two important Federal offices involved with civil rights enforcement during the Nixon and Ford administrations: Director of the Office of Civil Rights for the Department of Health Education and Welfare and the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Approximately one quarter of the collection documents Pottinger’s work with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (1970-1973). The majority of the materials relate to enforcing civil rights regulations and policies in education including such matters as desegregation, the Emergency School Assistance Program, busing, and affirmative action. Also included, perhaps by mistake, is a small portion of what was once a larger series of files created by Martin Gerry, the Deputy Director of the Office of Civil Rights under Pottinger’s successor, Peter Holmes. These files primarily pertain to the administration of HEW offices.

The bulk of the collection concerns Pottinger’s work as head of the Civil Rights Division for the Department of Justice (1973-1977). The division was responsible for enforcing federal statutes that prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, sex, disability, or national origin. The case files included in this collection cover the investigation and prosecution of various civil rights violations. Topics include discrimination in education, employment, housing, voting, healthcare and federally funded programs, rights of the mentally handicapped, sex discrimination, and prisoner’s rights. The collection also includes materials documenting Pottinger’s role as chief negotiator during the American Indian Movement standoff at the Pine Ridge Reservation town of Wounded Knee, investigations on the student protests and resulting fatalities at Kent State University and Jackson State University, the investigation of the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO), and the social unrest surrounding busing enforcement plans in Boston and other cities.

Several of the series in this collection are arranged by file numbers instead of alphabetically or chronologically. Apparently Pottinger’s staff assigned these numbers sequentially as they created new subject files. One must assume that the staff maintained some sort of index to file numbers to facilitate filing, but the collection does not include such an index. Therefore researchers will have to scan the entire listing of folders in the series or make use of the Library’s PRESNET database to locate folders on a specific topic.

Related Materials (November 2007)
Significant materials relating to the Equal Rights Amendment, sex discrimination and other women’s rights issues can be found in the files of Patricia Lindh and Jeanne Holm, as well as in the collections of the First Lady and her staff.

Key collections relating to desegregation, busing, and discrimination in education are in the files of David Lissy and Bobbie Greene Kilberg, and the papers of Robert Goldwin and Stanley Scott. The papers of Stanley Scott also contain numerous materials related to minority rights such as equal employment opportunity, race relations, voting rights, affirmative action, open housing and discrimination.

Important civil rights materials can be found in the files of Richard D. Parsons, the Associate Director of Justice, Crime, Civil Rights and Communications for the Domestic Council. These files contain records of Parson’s contributions to the formulation of domestic policy in the areas of affirmative action, busing, civil rights, American Indians, Puerto-Rican Americans, sex discrimination and voting rights.

The Scrapbooks and Speeches of Attorney General Edward H. Levi and the papers of Edward Hutchinson concern topics such as busing, electronic surveillance, voting rights, and affirmative action. White House Central Files Subject File category HU (Human Rights) contains materials pertaining to such topics as equality, education, employment, housing, voting, and women’s rights.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File, (1967) 1970-1973 (1976).  (Boxes 1-28, 11.2 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, agendas, notes, speech materials, staff meeting minutes, interviews, transcripts, and court records. These materials document Pottinger’s work as Director of HEW’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR). Most concerns the desegregation of local school districts and higher education systems throughout the country, the Emergency School Assistance Program (ESAP), sex discrimination, and the administration of the OCR.

Arranged sequentially by file numbers assigned by his staff with unnumbered folders at the beginning of the sequence.

View container list for this series

Martin Gerry’s Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File, (1970) 1973-1975.  (Boxes 29-32, 1.6 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, statistics, internship applications, copies and transcripts of speeches and testimonies given by Martin Gerry and Peter Holmes. Gerry served as Deputy Director of HEW’s Office of Civil Rights and Holmes was his boss. These materials appear to be only a fragment of what was once a larger sequence as the folders only cover the letters S-W. The surviving materials focus less on the civil rights issues of the times, and more on the administration of the Office of Civil Rights (management, training, interns, team building.)

Arranged alphabetically.

View container list for this series

Department of Justice Subject File, (1967) 1973-1977 (1979).  (Boxes 33-114, 32.8 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, drafts of letters and speeches, reports, agendas, notes, telegrams, press clippings, court record documents, transcripts of hearings, speeches, and press releases. This series documents Pottinger’s work as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division. Topics include Wounded Knee, Spanish Speaking Americans Task Force, Kent State, sex discrimination, busing, and voting rights.

Arranged sequentially by file numbers assigned by Pottinger’s staff.

View container list for this series

Department of Justice Speech File, 1973-1977.  (Boxes 115-122, 3.2 linear feet)
Notes, memoranda, speech drafts, speech and interview transcripts, travel itinerary, photographs, phone logs, clippings, press releases, agendas, and correspondence. Documents focus on speech writing process and circumstances surrounding numerous speeches, testimony, interviews, articles and press conferences given by Pottinger on a wide range of civil rights issues. Some speeches also appear in his Department of Justice Subject File.

Arranged chronologically by date of the speech.

View container list for this series

Department of Justice Administrative File, 1973-1980.  (Boxes 123-128, 2.4 linear feet)
Telephone logs, section management materials, press clippings and accolades. Also included are copies of a number of speeches given by Attorney General Edward Levi, as well as telephone logs dating after the end of Pottinger’s appointment as Assistant Attorney General.

Arranged alphabetically.

View container list for this series

Department of Justice Chronological File, 1973-1977.  (Boxes 129-133, 2.0 linear feet)
Copies of outgoing letters and memoranda written by Pottinger. Topics range from civil rights issues and cases being investigated to administrative and personal correspondence.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Federal Bureau of Investigation Chronological File, 1975-1978.  (Box 134, 0.4 linear feet)
Incoming and outgoing correspondence, memoranda, and clippings files. This series documents investigations of surveillance of radical groups and surreptitious entries made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, especially under the Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO).

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Clippings File, 1973-1977. (Boxes 135-141, 2.8 linear feet)
Newspaper clippings concerning various civil rights issues receiving media attention at the time, including sex discrimination, education, busing, the FBI Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO), and CIA intelligence programs.

Arranged sequentially by file numbers assigned by Pottinger’s staff.

View container list for this series

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 2 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 3 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 4 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 5 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 6 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 7 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 8 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 9 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 10 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 11 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 12 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 13 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 14 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 15 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 16 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 17 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 18 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 19 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 20 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 21 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 22 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 23 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 24 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 25 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 26 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 27 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 28 - Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 29 - Martin Gerry's Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 30 - Martin Gerry's Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 31 - Martin Gerry's Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 32 - Martin Gerry's Department of Health, Education and Welfare Subject File

Box 33 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 34 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 35 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 36 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 37 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 38 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 39 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 40 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 41 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 42 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 43 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 44 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 45 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 46 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 47 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 48 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 49 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 50 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 51 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 52 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 53 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 54 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 55 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 56 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 57 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 58 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 59 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 60 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 61 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 62 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 63 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 64 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 65 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 66 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 67 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 68 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 69 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 70 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 71 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 72 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 73 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 74 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 75 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 76 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 77 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 78 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 79 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 80 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 81 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 82 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 83 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 84 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 85 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 86 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 87 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 88 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 89 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 90 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 91 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 92 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 93 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 94 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 95 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 96 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 97 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 98 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 99 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 100 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 101 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 102 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 103 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 104 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 105 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 106 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 107 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 108 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 109 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 110 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 111 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 112 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 113 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 114 - Department of Justice Subject File

Box 115 - Department of Justice Speech File

Box 116 - Department of Justice Speech File

Box 117 - Department of Justice Speech File

Box 118 - Department of Justice Speech File

Box 119 - Department of Justice Speech File

Box 120 - Department of Justice Speech File

Box 121 - Department of Justice Speech File

Box 122 - Department of Justice Speech File

Box 123 - Department of Justice Administrative File

Box 124 - Department of Justice Administrative File

Box 125 - Department of Justice Administrative File

Box 126 - Department of Justice Administrative File

Box 127 - Department of Justice Administrative File

Box 128 - Department of Justice Administrative File

Box 129 - Department of Justice Chronological File

Box 130 - Department of Justice Chronological File

Box 131 - Department of Justice Chronological File

Box 132 - Department of Justice Chronological File

Box 133 - Department of Justice Chronological File

Box 134 - Federal Bureau of Investigation Chronological File

Box 135 - Clippings File

Box 136 - Clippings File

Box 137 - Clippings File

Box 138 - Clippings File

Box 139 - Clippings File

Box 140 - Clippings File

Box 141 - Clippings File