COLLECTION FINDING AID



STANLEY SCOTT PAPERS, (1969) 1971-1977

Assistant to the Director of Communications
Special Assistant to the President for Minority Affairs



CONTENTS

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

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Materials relating to Scott's work in the White House Office of Communications (1971-1973) and as the White House liaison with minorities (1973-1975). The bulk of the collection dates from the Nixon administration, but significant materials from the first year of the Ford administration also appear. Some files concern such issues as minority business, civil rights, and equal employment opportunity. Others relate to White House contacts with the Congressional Black Caucus, the role of African-Americans in the Republican Party, and the role of Mr. Scott and other Black appointees in the two administrations.

QUANTITY
 19.6 linear feet (ca. 39,200 pages)

DONOR
 Bettye L. Scott (accession numbers 98-22 and 98-36)

ACCESS
 Open. Some items may be 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
 Bettye L. Scott donated to the United States of America her copyrights in all of her husband's unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by William McNitt, September 2001
[s:\bin\findaid\scott, stan - papers.doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION


Stanley S. Scott


July 2, 1933 - Born, Bolivar, TN

1951-1953 - Attended University of Kansas

1954-1956 - Served in U.S. Army in Korea

1959 - B.S. (Journalism), Lincoln University, Jefferson City, MO

1960-1961 - Editor-General Manager, The Memphis World, Memphis, TN

1961-1964 - General assignment news reporter, copy editor and editorial writer, Atlanta Daily World, Atlanta, GA

December 23, 1962 - Married to Bettye Lovejoy. They had three children: Kenneth Earl Scott, Susan Lovejoy Scott, and Stanley Southall Scott.

1964-1966 - First full-time Black general assignment news reporter, United Press International, New York City

1966-1967 - Assistant Director of Public Relations, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, New York headquarters

1967-1971 - Radio newsman, Westinghouse Broadcasting Corporation (the 24-hour all-news station, WINS), New York City

1971-1973 - Assistant to the Director of Communications for the Executive Branch, The White House

1973-1975 - Special Assistant to the President for Minority Affairs, The White House

1975-1977 - Assistant Administrator for Africa, Agency for International Development

1977-1988 - Philip Morris, Inc. - eventually became Vice President for Corporate Affairs

1988-1991 - Owned Crescent Distributing in New Orleans, a distributor for the Miller Brewing Company

April 20, 1992 - Died, New Orleans, LA

INTRODUCTION

Stanley S. Scott was an experienced journalist and public relations specialist when he joined the Nixon White House staff in June 1971. As an assistant to Director of Communications Herbert Klein, Scott worked on White House liaison with the minority newspapers, TV stations, and radio stations. He helped to publicize administration initiatives of special interest to African-Americans and was involved in the effort to gain the support of Black voters for President Nixon in the 1972 campaign. In many of his projects, Scott worked closely with Robert J. Brown, then serving as the Assistant to the President for Minority Affairs.

Brown left the White House staff at the beginning of President Nixon's second term in 1973, so the President appointed Stan Scott to take over Brown's duties. In his new position, Scott handled all aspects of liaison with Black Americans and Black organizations. His duties included corresponding with individuals and organizations, speaking at national and local meetings, and arranging White House briefings.

The Office of Minority Affairs was part of the Office of Public Liaison, which handled White House liaison with interest groups. William J. Baroody, Jr. headed the Office of Public Liaison. Stan Scott's assistant in the Office of Minority Affairs was John C. Calhoun.

After the transition to the Ford administration, Scott was especially active in bringing together groups of Black leaders to meet with the new President. He remained in the Ford White House until October 1975 when he left to become Assistant Administrator for Africa at the Agency for International Development. Calhoun succeeded him as Assistant to the President for Minority Affairs.

The Scott Papers document his work in both White House positions, but contain only a small amount of material from his work with the Agency for International Development. His materials from the Office of Communications focus on relations with minority press and media outlets, especially his interactions with Black newspaper publishers. Also included are reports on an administration-wide communications review and a minority news dissemination plan for Cabinet departments.

Even while he was working in the Office of Communications, however, Scott's interests and activities ranged well beyond his media role. The collection contains significant files on such topics as minority business, minority contracts, Federal support for Black colleges, and attempts to appeal to Black voters in the 1972 election.

The collection contains numerous documents addressed to or written by Robert J. Brown, including some that date from before Scott joined the White House staff. It is unclear whether Brown turned these materials over to Scott in a batch upon his departure from the White House staff or just sent them piecemeal as Scott needed to see them.

Scott's folders dating from the period during which he served as Assistant to the President for Minority Affairs (1973-1975) are much broader in scope. As the highest-ranking Black official in the White House, he received contacts from many organizations and individuals seeking assistance, information, or meetings with government officials. Major topics include the administration's response to a drought in Africa, appointment of Blacks to positions in the administration, White House interactions with the Congressional Black Caucus and other Black organizations, Federal civil rights activities, equal employment opportunity, and minority business programs.

The small file on the Agency for International Development focuses on Scott's appointment and swearing-in and contains only a few scattered items on his work for that agency.

Related Materials (September 2001)
The Domestic Council files of Arthur Fletcher, Deputy Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs, document his work on urban affairs, minority business, and other issues of special interest to Black Americans during 1976. The files of Richard Parsons and Norman Ross, two other African-Americans on the Domestic Council staff, concern topics ranging from voting rights and school desegregation to natural resources and immigration. The campaign records of the President Ford Committee, President Ford's campaign committee for the 1976 election, contain extensive materials on efforts to appeal to Black voters. See especially the files of Robert Keyes and the Black Desk in the People for Ford division.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Subject File, (1969) 1971-1976.  (Boxes 1-25, 9.7 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, reports, briefing papers, lists, speeches, travel vouchers, press releases, and clippings. A large portion of the materials concern Scott's work as Assistant to the President for Minority Affairs (1973-1975), although a significant amount dates from his work in the Office of Communications (1971-1973) and a small amount from his work with the Agency for International Development (1975-1977). Major topics include issues of special interest to African-Americans, the role of Blacks in the Republican Party, White House contacts with Black organizations, and the role of Black appointees in the administration.

Arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically thereunder.

View container list for this series

Speech File, (1969) 1971-1975.  (Boxes 25-27, 0.7 linear feet)
Copies of speeches delivered by Scott, along with about eight speeches by Robert J. Brown (Scott's predecessor as Assistant to the President for Minority Affairs) and one by John Calhoun (Scott's assistant). For most speeches only the final version of the speech appears, but occasionally the file includes drafts.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Outgoing Memoranda Chronological File, 1971-1975.  (Boxes 27-28, 0.75 linear feet)
Carbon copies of memoranda written by Scott to other White House staff members or agency officials.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Outgoing Correspondence Chronological File, 1971-1975.  (Boxes 29-31, 1.05 linear feet)
Carbon copies of letters written by Scott. Occasionally the incoming letter is attached. The files for 1971 and 1972 include some letters drafted by Scott but signed by Herbert G. Klein, White House Director of Communications.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Incoming Correspondence File, 1971-1975.  (Boxes 31-42, 4.4 linear feet)
Letters and some White House memoranda received by Scott. This series does not contain all letters received by Scott - many are also filed in the Subject File. Much of the correspondence in this series is routine in nature, but it often touches on the same topics as those appearing in the Subject File.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Referrals to Agencies, 1974-1975.  (Boxes 42-44, 0.7 linear feet)
Letters received by Scott from individuals or small businesses asking for information or assistance. He referred these letters to government agencies to either respond directly or draft a response for his use. Many of the letter writers requested assistance in dealing with problems faced by themselves, family members, or small businesses that they owned.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

White House Press Releases, 1973-1975.  (Boxes 44-47, 1.3 linear feet)
Copies of selected press releases issued by the White House Press Office. Included are presidential speeches, transcripts of press conferences and the Press Secretary's press briefings, and other information released by the White House.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Newspaper Clippings, (1959) 1972-1977. (Boxes 47-49, 1.0 linear feet)
Newspaper clippings, mainly focusing on Stan Scott's activities and the issues of interest to him and his office.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Audiovisual Materials, 1971-1975. 
Primarily photographic materials related to Scott's work as Special Assistant to the President for Minority Affairs during the Nixon and Ford administrations. Subjects include a Minority Businessmen's Conference held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in April 1972; Scott's trip to Liberia in April 1974; and various White House meetings and events. This series also contains audio recordings, including Stanley Scott interviews as well as President Richard Nixon's remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast on January 31, 1974.

Arranged in parallel to the textual materials.

View container list for this series

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Subject File

Box 2 - Subject File

Box 3 - Subject File

Box 4 - Subject File

Box 5 - Subject File

Box 6 - Subject File

Box 7 - Subject File

Box 8 - Subject File

Box 9 - Subject File

Box 10 - Subject File

Box 11 - Subject File

Box 12 - Subject File

Box 13 - Subject File

Box 14 - Subject File

Box 15 - Subject File

Box 16 - Subject File

Box 17 - Subject File

Box 18 - Subject File

Box 19 - Subject File

Box 20 - Subject File

Box 21 - Subject File

Box 22 - Subject File

Box 23 - Subject File

Box 24 - Subject File

Box 25 - Subject File

Box 25 (Continued) - Speech File

Box 26 - Speech File

Box 27 - Speech File

Box 27 (Continued) - Outgoing Memoranda Chronological File

Box 28 - Outgoing Memoranda Chronological File

Box 29 - Outgoing Correspondence Chronological File

Box 30 - Outgoing Correspondence Chronological File

Box 31 - Outgoing Correspondence Chronological File

Box 31 (Continued) - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 32 - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 33 - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 34 - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 35 - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 36 - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 37 - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 38 - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 39 - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 40 - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 41 - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 42 - Incoming Correspondence File

Box 42 (Continued) - Referrals to Agencies

Box 43 - Referrals to Agencies

Box 44 - Referrals to Agencies

Box 44 (Continued) - White House Press Releases

Box 45 - White House Press Releases

Box 46 - White House Press Releases

Box 47 - White House Press Releases

Box 47 (Continued) - Newspaper Clippings

Box 48 - Newspaper Clippings

Box 49 - Newspaper Clippings