SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Materials concerning his work on urban affairs, minority business, and other issues of interest to Black Americans during 1976.

QUANTITY
3.2 linear feet (ca. 6,400 pages)

DONOR
Gerald R. Ford (accession numbers 77-14, 78-22)

ACCESS
Open. Some items are 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
Gerald Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 Dale Harley Whitaker, December 1979
[s:\bin\findaid\fletcher, arthur - files.doc]

INTRODUCTION

Arthur Fletcher assumed the position of Deputy Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs in February, 1976. Prior to this appointment, Fletcher had gained national recognition through service in private and public sectors. His activity in the Republican Party earned him the position of State Vice-Chairman of the Kansas Republican State Committee, 1954-1956. From 1965 to 1966, he served as Director of the Washington Manpower Development Project in Pasco, Washington. Fletcher worked at the Hanford Atomic Energy facility in Richmond, Washington, from 1967-1969, as an Employee Relations Specialist. In 1969, he was appointed Special Assistant to the Governor of Washington. The following two years, Fletcher served as Assistant Secretary of Labor in Washington, DC. After leaving the Department of Labor, he was the Executive Director of the United Negro College Fund until 1973. He organized and became President of Arthur A. Fletcher and Associates, Inc., a personnel placement and management consultant firm in Washington, D.C. While President of this firm, Fletcher supported Ford's nomination for Vice President at the hearings of the House Judiciary Committee in 1973.

As Deputy Assistant to the President, Fletcher reported to the Executive Director for Domestic Affairs, James M. Cannon. His responsibilities entailed reviewing proposals, conferring with government and corporate leaders, and meeting with Congress and federal officials. Fletcher served during the last year of the Ford administration, which was also an election year, and his papers reflect his efforts in the reelection campaign. He did not have a predecessor and did not forward any documents to the White House Central Files.

Arriving in the White House during an election year, Fletcher spent much of his time participating in speaking engagements. He spoke throughout the nation discussing Ford's domestic policies. His papers reflect the wide audiences which solicited his appearance. During his speaking engagements, he conferred with community leaders and private citizens on national, local, and personal matters. Proposals were presented to him by persons seeking funds from various federal agencies for such interests as the elderly, housing and mass transit.

Comments between Fletcher and the White House staff on speaking engagements, urban issues and administrative proceedings are recorded throughout the papers. In suggestions made for the Ford- Carter Debates, Fletcher outlined key points of the busing and black unemployment controversies. The files include reports, memoranda, and news clippings focusing on the background of the crisis in New York City. In addition, there are communications between Fletcher and various small businesses. Small business viewed Fletcher as the liaison between their offices and the bureaucracy.

The black community kept the Deputy Assistant informed of ongoing activities. Fletcher frequently visited black universities and colleges to solicit advice and perceive problems. Educational, social, and political organizations had direct access to his office and received immediate attention. Fletcher's papers show efforts made by blacks in large corporations, small businesses and neighborhood groups to obtain assistance with and solutions to urban problems.

Related Materials (December 1979)
Related materials are scattered throughout the holdings of the Ford Library. See especially White House Central Files Categories BE 7 (Small Business) and HU 2 (Equality).

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Subject Series, 1976.  (Boxes 1-4, 1.7 linear feet)
This series consists of suggestions for the Ford-Carter Debates; proposals; memoranda; invitations to speak; speeches; letters of appreciation; agenda and brochures of conferences; reports on urban issues; and correspondence from minority businesses. Bicentennial publications and literature on such activities are abundant. The involvement of private industry in urban renewal policies is represented throughout the series. The General Correspondence files demonstrate the variety of issues referred to Fletcher.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

State Series, 1976. (Boxes 5-8, 1.5 linear feet)
Documents in this series focus on speaking engagements and literature relating to such events; talking points; proposals; telegrams; and general correspondence. The documents on the Association of Idaho Cities exemplify Fletcher's involvement at the state level. New York has the largest number of general topics as well as several specialized folders on particular events. Many state folders contain literature on the Republican Party. Most of the Wisconsin documents concern the National Conference of Mayors.

Arranged alphabetically by state.

View container list for this series

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Subject Series

• Agency for International Development
• American Bankers Association
• American Revolution Bicentennial Administration
• American Society for Personnel Administration
• Black American Racers, Inc.
• Black Colleges
• Chamber of Commerce
• Clearance Lists
• Community Services Administration
• Computer Print-Outs
• Council of 100
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Ebasco Services, Inc.
• Education
• Emergency Land Fund
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Federal Communications Commission
• Federal Energy Administration
• Federal Programs/Funds
• General Correspondence (1)-(4)
• General Revenue Sharing
• General Revenue Sharing Report - Office of Revenue Sharing Civil Rights Compliance Program
• Hearings on Municipal Bankruptcy Legislation
• Hearings on the Nomination of Gerald Ford as Vice President
• Housing

Box 2 - Subject Series

• Independent Clergy - Campaign Committee
• Intergovernmental Groups
• Interracial Council for Business Opportunity
• MATCH Institution
• Medical Malpractice Crisis
• Minority Contractors Association
• Minority Legislative Education Program
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People - Roy Wilkins Tribute
• National Association for Community Development
• National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education
• National Association of Black Manufacturers
• National Association of Broadcasters
• National Association of Home Builders
• National Association of Manufacturers
• National Association of Minority Contractors
• National Association of Real Estate Brokers
• National Bankers Association
• National Bar Association
• National Black Network
• National Black Republican Council
• National Black Veterans Organization, Inc.
• National Business League
• National Center for Community Action
• National Center for Housing Management
• National Conference of State Legislatures
• National Conference on the Cities
• National Constructors Association
• National Council of Negro Women, Inc.
• National Forest Products Association
• National Government and Legislative Relations Service (Dr. Maurice Dawkins)

Box 3 - Subject Series

• National Governors' Conference
• National Urban Affairs Council
• National Urban Coalition
• National Urban League
• Opportunities Industrialization Center - Government Relations Service
• Office of Minority Business Enterprise (1)-(3)
• Parametic, Inc.
• President Ford Committee
• President's Council on Physical Fitness
• President's Issue Book
• Presidential Trips
• Provident Medical Center
• Questions and Answers
• Reels and Reality Film Company, Inc.
• Republican National Convention
• Resources, Inc. (Arthur McZier)
• Sears Tower Meetings
• Small Business Administration
• Society for Victorious Living
• Speeches by Arthur Fletcher

Box 4 - Subject Series

• Speaking Engagements
• Speaking Engagements
  - Horizons Festival '76, Washington, DC, 6/25-27, 1976
  - Howard University, Washington, DC, 5/21/76 (1)-(2)
  - International Association of Human Rights Agencies, Wilmington, DE, 11/13/76
  - Letters of Appreciation
• STIA Systems and Associates (Mr. Stone)
• Stroock, Stroock and Lavan
• Swearing-In Ceremony (Mr. Fletcher's)
• Testimony on the Domestic Council
• Travel Requests and Vouchers
• Travel Requests and Vouchers - Request for Travel
• Travel Requests and Vouchers - Travel Schedules
• Travel Requests and Vouchers - Travel Vouchers (1)-(2)
• United Negro College Fund
• United State Commission on Civil Rights
• United States Conference of Mayors
• Urban Issues
• Urban Policy
• Wallace and Wallace Southeastern Refinery
• Watts Manufacturing Company
• Watts Manufacturing Company - Fact Sheets
• White House Memoranda (1)-(2)

Box 5 - State Series

• Alabama
• California (1)-(2)
• California - Aire Cardinal Project, Los Angeles, 9/19/76
• California - Executive Seminar Center, Berkeley, 5/5/76
• California - Grove Shafter Freeway, Oakland County, 4/16/76
• California - Los Angeles Federal Executive Board, Los Angeles, 10/7/76
• California - Marcus Foster Institute, Concord, 6/3/76
• Colorado - Denver, 7/29/76
• Connecticut
• Connecticut - Annual Conference on the State NAACP, Hartford, 10/23/76
• Florida
• Georgia
• Georgia - Southeastern Association of Community Services, Columbus, 8/25/76
• Idaho (1)-(2)
• Idaho - Association of Idaho Cities, Coeur d' Alene, 6/28/76
• Illinois (1)-(3)
• Illinois - Cook County Bar Association, Chicago, 6/5/76
• Indiana
• Indiana - Indianapolis, 7/13/76
• Iowa
• Iowa - Blacks in Criminal Justice, Des Moines, 8/24/76

Box 6 - State Series

• Iowa - Chamber of Commerce, Des Moines, 2/26/76
• Iowa - Des Moines, 4/5/76
• Iowa - Des Moines Human Rights Commission, Des Moines, 2/26/76
• Kansas (1)-(3)
• Kansas - Black Republican Council of Kansas, Topeka, 4/10/76
• Kansas - Equal Employment Opportunity Conference, Topeka, 10/28/76
• Kansas - Kansas Urban League, Wichita, 4/14/76
• Kansas - National Association for Community Development, Topeka, 2/19-21/76
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Massachusetts - National Urban League, Boston, 8/3/76
• Massachusetts - Northeast Work and Welfare Conference, Boston, 3/4/76
• Massachusetts - WVZ-TV, Boston, 10/22/76
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Mississippi - National Business League Annual Awards Banquet, Jackson, 5/22/76

Box 7 - State Series

• Missouri
• Missouri - National Conference on Urban Economic Development, Kansas City, 6/4/76
• New Jersey (1)-(2)
• New Jersey - Johnson and Johnson, New Brunswick, 3/5/76
• New Jersey - New Jersey Black Republican Council, Saddle Brook, 5/2/76
• New York (1)-(7)
• New York - Black Athletes Hall of Fame, New York City, 3/31/76
• New York - Black Dimensions, Channel 13, Rochester, 9/14/76
• New York - Black Heritage Association Bicentennial Forum, New York City, 9/27/76 (1)-(2)
• New York - Erie County Republican Leadership Seminar, Buffalo, 5/15/76
• New York - Life Office Management Association, Tarrytown, 5/20/76

Box 8 - State Series

• North Carolina (1)-(2)
• North Carolina - Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, 4/22/76
• North Carolina - Livingstone College, Salisbury, 9/24/76
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania - Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America, Philadelphia, 8/31/76
• South Carolina
• South Carolina - Community Holding Corporation, Sumter, 10/16/76
• South Carolina - Southeastern Association of Community Services, Myrtle Beach, 8/25/76
• Tennessee
• Tennessee - Nashville Urban League, Nashville, 10/1/76
• Texas
• Texas - Fred Patterson Awards, Beaumont, 9/9/76
• Texas - National Association of Black Journalists, Houston, 10/2/76
• Texas - National Bar Association, Houston, 8/4/76
• Virginia
• Virginia - Bristol, 9/3/76
• Washington
• Washington - National Association of Minority Contractors, Seattle, 7/2/76
• Wisconsin
• Wisconsin - National Conference of Mayors, Milwaukee, 6/29-30/75 (1)-(2)