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Franklin Research Center - Teaching with Primary Sources

This guide contains modules for remote learning with primary sources held in the Rubenstein Library with collections from the John Hope Franklin Research Center

About Rencher Nicholas (R.N.) Harris

Rencher Nicholas Harris (1900-1965) was an African American civic leader during the period following the Brown decision of 1954 and the Civil Rights Movement. Harris was the first African American to serve on the Durham City Council (1953) and the Durham County Board of Education (1958).

Rencher Nicholas Harris Papers

The Rencher Nicholas Harris papers were acquired by the Rubenstein Library in 1966. This folder is labeled Committee on Human Affairs, 1956-1961. See pages 49-50 in the document below. The document is a proclamation from the Durham Committee of Negro Affairs, likely written in 1958. The Committee, now known as the Durham Committee for the Affairs of Black People, was formed in 1935 as a civic organization of influential African American men and women in the community to be a voice for issues affecting the black citizens of Durham.