October 26, 2005,133 boxes, 55.0 cubic feet; Papers (ca 1908-1987, undated) of Kinston, NC physician and anti-communist lecturer, including correspondence, clippings, photocopies, and printed materials, relating to his collection on the history, membership, and activities of communist, socialist, anti-semitic, and radical organizations and movements, and their opponents in North Carolina, the United States, and internationally, including the Spartacist League, the Communist Party, USA, the John Birch Society, and the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade; transferred from the Hoover Collection on International Communism, 10/26/2005.
James Clarendon Peele was born in La Grange, North Carolina on August 17, 1911, the son of James Fletcher and Mary Vera (Wooten) Peele. He attended La Grange High School, then the University of North Carolina, where he received the A. B. degree in 1932. On May 21, 1933, Peele and the former Lois Lee Culler of Kernersville, Forsyth County, North Carolina, were married. He studied at UNC's medical school from 1933 through 1935 and received his medical degree in Otolaryngology in1937 from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Peele next received internships at Temple University Hospital, and later at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas, Texas. During World War II, he served from July 1942 to July 1946, as a Captain in the U. S. Army. Peele became a member of the American Board of Otolaryngology in 1942.
Besides continuing to study Otolaryngology and Broncho-Esophagology at various other academic hospitals during the next few years, Peele also retained a private practice from August 1946 to January 1948 in Goldsboro, North Carolina specializing in diseases of the ear, nose, and throat. He also studied related medical observations from 1948 to 1954 in the Department of Broncho-Esophagology at Temple University School of Medicine and Jefferson Medical College. In September of 1956, Peele took the Fomon Course in Rhino plastic Surgery at Manhattan General Hospital in New York, and received the Master of Medical Science, a post graduate Medical degree from Medico-Chirurgical College, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, on February 10, 1951.
Peele was also a member of Wayne County Medical Society, President of Lenoir County Medical Society, a member of North Carolina Medical Society, Chairman, Section on Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, and Vice-Counselor of the Second Medical District. Other professional memberships of Peele included the Southern Medical Association, Seaboard Medical Association of Virginia and North Carolina, American College of Surgeons, American Laryngologicical, Rheological, and Ontological Society, and Honorary of the Tidewater Ophthalmological and Otoaryngological Association, and the North Carolina Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat Society, of which he was also Vice President from 1954 to 1955 and President in 1956. Dr. Peele also served on the Board of Directors of Lenoir County Tuberculosis Association and on the Lenoir County Morehead Scholarship Committee and authored at least sixteen medical publications.
Peele was a member of Rotary International and a registered Democrat, though he sometimes voted as an Independent. He was a member and former President of the Baptist Brotherhood in his church, the First Baptist of Kinston, North Carolina, as well as a member of the Board of Deacons. Peele extended his professional skill into his hobby of laryngeal photography. He was also interested in collecting literature on communism and anti-communism. By 1965, slowed down by a chronic illness, Peele was forced to give up all of his hospital duties, reduce his research on communism and supplement income from his office medical practice with proceeds of a tobacco farm that he owned. In 1968 Peele gave to East Carolina University's Joyner Library his collection of monographs, serials, pamphlets, leaflets and ephemeral materials pertaining to pro-communist and anti-communist organizations. This would become The J. Edgar Hoover Collection on International Communism. This collection currently contains more than 5,000 titles, some of which are not available elsewhere.
Partial Source: Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, William S. Powell (Editor)
Series Description
Series 1 Correspondence
Among the correspondence are many letters from editors (including Galt Braxton) of The Daily Free Press, based in Kinston, NC, and Weekly Gazette, based in LaGrange, NC. Letters to the Kinston paper date from 1960-1974, while letters written to Weekly Gazette only run from 1973-1974. Another person that very often corresponded with Peele was Wilbur Jackson "Jack" Rider of Kinston, NC (1965-1967). Rider was well known for his similar, conservative views and was the editor and publisher of two weekly newspapers, The Lenoir County News and The Jones Journal for over twenty years. He also worked for and later became owner of radio stations in the Kinston area.
Many of Peele's letters are published in the papers he is writing to, and in many cases, he mentions this (as well as occasions when he is not published) in future letters to the editors. Various topics are covered, including those on a local, national and international scale. Most of Peele's letters revolve around Anti-Communist opinions related to politics, education, youth culture and Civil Rights.
Peele's regular correspondence also largely focuses on his Anti-Communist agenda, voicing his opinion on a multitude of topics at local, national and international levels. Of particular interest is Peele's personal correspondence. Many of the personal matters and conversation he conveys is with like-minded friends who share the same political beliefs as him. We learn one important fact of Peele's life when in a letter during the late 1970s, he tells the respondent that since 1965, Peele has battled a chronic illness. Peele goes on to say that this illness caused him to give up all his hospital work as a physician, reduce his research on communism and supplement income from his office medical practice with proceeds of a tobacco farm that he owns.
Peele's medical-related correspondence also provides great insight into his opinions on a variety of matters, including the effect of tobacco and opinions on mental health issues. Peele was not convinced of the health risks of tobacco, and he wrote many letters stating so. One example is a letter to the Eastern Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association in Greenville, in which Peele tells them he is returning their Christmas Seals and removing his name from their mailing list because he does not believe the TV propaganda that "It's a matter of life and breath." (November 1970)
In the medical correspondence we also find Peele arranging many appointments for patients with other Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists, as well as voicing his opinion on the possible establishment of regional mental health centers in relation to current North Carolina legislation (April 1963). We can also find a letter describing specifics on a camera Peele is ordering for photography related to his practice (1948). He also communicates with Eastman Kodak Company regarding possible duplication of 16 mm Kodachrome film (1952). Other correspondence relates to his medical practice, and includes letters from the Lilly Research Laboratories, a financial request for his study of Ilotycin (an antibiotic) injections in the treatment of acute upper respiratory infections, Peele's visit and assistance at Eaton Laboratories (Norwich, NY) and multiple requests for copies of his professional medical papers (1955).
Communism
As with most of Peele's other papers, the topic of communism is covered by a variety of sub-topics in other correspondence as well. These include correspondence discussing Marxism, the Progressive Labor Movement (April 1965-June 1965), communism protest statistics (April 1965-June 1965), the Young Socialist Alliance (1969-1971), communism and charities (June 1968), communist activity in Mexico (January 1968), communist propaganda (January 1963-June 1963), and The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) (1969-1973).
Also covered in Peele's correspondence is discussion about House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) (May 1968), communist psychological warfare and other related tactics (January 1966-June 1966), Communist Party of The Soviet Union (CPSU), Nikita Khrushchev, Mikhail Suslov (September December 1964), U.S.S.R. (January 1965- March 1965), Czechoslovakia (July 1965- September 1965), Fidel Castro and other communist organizations (January 1966). Other topics include Cuba (1971, 1975), Red China (1963-1971), the Bolshevik Invasion (January 1972-June 1972), opinions of The United Nations (1973), letters to Liberty Amendment Committee of the USA, as well as remarks on Communist China and the visit of Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev to the United States (May 1973-June 1973). Similar correspondence concerns espionage network of Communist China, opposition to trade with communist countries (July 1973-August 1973), a letter to Chiang Kai-shek, President of China, thanking him for fighting communism in his country (acknowledged by the President's aid, January 1960). Peele also sent a letter to Chang Kai-shek, complimenting him on his speech "The Doom of Communism" (March 1963).
In addition, are letters to various senators regarding the Taft-Hartley Act (February1966), The Panama Canal (May-June 1973), U.S. spending, Internal Security Act (January 1965- March 1965), communism protest statistics (April 1965-June 1965), Marxism (April 1965-June 1965), letters regarding HUAC (April 1968), Trotskyite Socialist Workers Party (1973), The McCarran Act, The Kellog-Briand Pact, Yugoslavia and the U.S.S.R. (July 1963- December 1963), Vietnam and Cuba regarding Nixon, Cambodia (1970), Fidel Castro (1966), Nationalist China (1971), trade with Cuba (1975), letters to Aleksei Romanoff (January 1976- April 1976), a letter to Nathaniel Weyl on CPUSA (November 1965) and The John Birch Society (October- December 1965, January-April 1976). Along with communism, Peele also donated much of his correspondence to J. Edgar Hoover, the first, and long-time Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Though the two men corresponded often, they never actually met in person. One letter written by Hoover's secretary in February 1972, officially gives Peele the authority to name the collection of books and manuscripts.
Communism in North Carolina
Peele also exchanged much correspondence with individuals known to be involved in the communist movement in North Carolina. Some of them later quit and rebuked the party, but those involved were heavily researched and studied by Peele for years. He would later meet and become friends with some of them. The primary group consisted of Leonard Patterson, Paul Crouch, Olive Tilford Dargan and Grace Lumpkin. Much more on these individuals can be found in the "North Carolina Printed Materials" series and the "Other Papers of J.C. Peele" series.
Correspondence with Lumpkin, a writer, is included during occasions in which she is visiting Peele (August 1965, July 1967, March 1969). Peele and Lumpkin also conversed about her books and writings. Other dates in Peele's correspondence include (November-December 1969, February 1972, January-April 1976.) Peele's correspondence related to his relationship with Olive Dargan, writer and poet can also be found in the papers. Dates include (December 1966, October 1967, January-February 1968, December 1968, January 1971, August 1980-1981).
Correspondence related to Paul Crouch consists of letters related to the investigation of communist activities and testimony by Crouch (1949, 1956) and other letters concerning him (September 1-10 1965). Additional letters from Peele related to Crouch include letters to Immigration and Naturalization Services regarding Crouch and Leonard Patterson (June 1967, December 1969, January 1971, August 1972).
Letters regarding Leonard Patterson, a black American Communist, are also present among Peele's correspondence. These include letters written to Patterson regarding his eventual escape from the Communist Party (February 1966), letters to Immigration and Naturalization Services (June 1967) and other related communication (July-August 1967-1969). Peele also corresponded with Fred Erwin Beal during April 1968, and some during January 1971. Beal was a union organizer for the National Textile Workers' Union, leader of The Gastonia Strikes of 1929 and played a large role in the spreading of Communism into North Carolina.
J. Edgar Hoover Correspondence (January 1970) includes a letter from J. Edgar Hoover to Peele, in which they both complimented each other on their work toward fighting communism. A letter also states the purpose of establishing The Hoover Collection, primarily for research on the communist movement in North Carolina, and that it would be reserved for use by ECU Political Science majors only. This restriction would later be dropped. Other, earlier letters (January 1960) between Hoover and Peele include those requesting copies of FBI reports produced by Hoover for dissemination (December 1959). One letter states the inclusion of 5900 requested child molestation deterrence posters (one example included) to be distributed by Peele to schools and other institutions. A few days later, another letter mentions an enclosure of 8000. Many other letters to and from Hoover can be found between 1968-1971.
Correspondence with political leaders is quite prevalent in Peele's letters as well. Of particular interest is a letter to Peele claiming that various Congressmen are trying to "purge" Jimmy Hoffa (April 1960.) The National Defense Education Act is discussed with Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson (May 1959) and support for Barry Goldwater from the North Carolina Republicans can be found in another letter (August 1960). In addition, Peele questions a State Department Official regarding pressure put on a New York hotel to accept Fidel Castro as a guest (November 1960) and offers many thank you letters to political figures for supporting the Landrum-Griffin Labor Bill (August 1959). Many of Peele's letters also focus on further distribution of books and magazines speaking out against communism and for The Speaker Ban Law (May 1968). Also present are letters to various representatives concerning The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), and letters to various senators regarding Peele's dislike for increasing the number of communist consulates (1967). Peele also sends many letters to Senators regarding The Panama Canal, including letters to and from politicians representing North Carolina and other states (September 1967).
Letters to Dwight D. Eisenhower opposing the Social Security System, as well as opposition to any Summit Meeting with the Russians (March 1960) can also be found. Discussions of military strategies and propaganda are included in letters to Senator Thomas J. Dodd and Senator James Eastland (October-1965-December 1965). Letters (September 1964) to Senator Strom Thurmond discussing his service to the nation, as well as the Charleston News and Courier are also present. Also present are letters requesting the resignation of Henry Kissinger (July 1975- August 1975) and requests of publications from Senator James O. Eastland (1965).
Much of Peele's correspondence is with Senator Jesse Helms. In 1960, Helms joined the Raleigh-based Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC) as the Executive Vice-President, Vice Chairman of the Board, and Assistant Chief Executive Officer. Helms' daily CBC editorials on WRAL-TV, given at the end of each night's local news broadcast in Raleigh, made him a household name as a conservative commentator throughout eastern North Carolina. He went on to serve 48 years as a Senator representing North Carolina. Topics discussed between Peele and Helms include the WRAL television news show, attacks from the Communist Party against Helms (1978), Helm's debt incurred and subsequent request for donations (1983-1986) and legislation to repeal the ten percent withholding on interest and dividend income (March 1983).
Peele also corresponded with then-Vice President Richard Nixon via Nixon's aide (May 1960). In addition, there are many letters between President Nixon and Peele on topics such as foreign policy, protesting Nixon's visit to China and a copy of a letter from Nixon to Dr. Leo Jenkins of East Carolina College related to campus unrest by students (1969-1971). Also included is correspondence (1964) to James Rush regarding U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, as well as letters to the Secretary of State Rusk concerning The Speaker Ban Law (1966). Also, of interest is a letter (on behalf of the Lenoir Country Medical Society) to Texas Senator Lyndon Johnson regarding opinions of his new social programs and the cost of them, including a response from Johnson with comments (1958). Correspondence with President Lyndon Johnson includes topics of trade with communist countries (October 1966), J. Edgar Hoover (December 1964), The Vietnam War (February 1965) and communism in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in which Peele tells Johnson that he "trusts he will prosecute the Communist Party, USA as vigorously as he proposed to prosecute the Ku Klux Klan." (March 1965).
Other political correspondence contains a letter to Wisconsin Senator Robert P. Knowles concerning Paul Crouch, a communist activist, and others to multiple Representatives concerning H.R. 3727 (Doctors Eldercare, March 1965.) In addition are letters concerning federal aid to schools in other states, including many writings back and forth to Senator Sam Ervin, Jr. (1960). Other topics of discussion between Peele and Ervin include, thanking him for defeating the Civil Rights Bill (1960), Medicare Bill (July1965), Consular Treaties (1965), the Federal Education Bill (February 1960), the Subversive Activities Control (1968), abortion rights and the Watergate Hearings (October 1973).
Other correspondence present includes letters sent to Thad Eure, North Carolina Secretary of State, concerning Paul Crouch, Communist China, as well as letters to various members of Congress regarding HUAC and the Medical Restraint of Trade Act (January1967). In addition, is a letter to North Carolina Representative Alton Lennon regarding the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (1966), as well as several letters between Peele and Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd concerning the Civil Rights Bill, Federal Education Bill and other regulations of the time (1960). Peele also writes several letters to various senators, thanking them for voting to un-seat New York Senator Adam Clayton Powell (1967) and discusses U.S. trade with communist countries (1966).
Another regular correspondent with Peele is North Carolina Representative L.H. Fountain, with many letters regarding Peele's opposition to The Forand Bill (1960) as well as any other related legislation to promote the socialization of medicine or any other law which he believes will be costly to taxpayers (1959). In addition, Peele also writes Fountain regarding the Medicare Bill and all current social security law (1960). Other correspondence with North Carolina politicians includes letters to Senator Robert Morgan with discussions on KGB spies and to Senator John P. East, at which Peele complains of not getting an answer to past letters related to FBI intelligence and enforcing the influx of communism. Another response letter from Senator Morgan is also present (1976), as well as correspondence with Representative Walter B. Jones, Sr., including topics such as The Panama Canal (1971).
Education
The topic of education is a large part of Peele's correspondence as well. Much of this is between himself and Wendell Smiley, longtime Head Librarian at East Carolina Teachers College (ECTC), Greenville, North Carolina, where Peele's "Hoover Collection" was donated. Much of this material, focuses on details of getting Peele's material to the library and making it available (initially only to ECC Political Science graduation students) Also, Peele's donations were publicized by such medical organizations as the Association of American Psychiatrists and Surgeons, Incorporated (1959).
Peele corresponds with many other ECTC staff, including a letter to John Decatur Messick, President of ECTC from 1947–1959. Included is a letter (1958) to President Messick regarding the recently televised presentation of Earle LeBaron, a professor in the Social Studies Department at ECTC. The presentation by LeBaron focused on the existence of communist and pro-integration views by E.J. Carter and other staff at ECTC. Another letter (1958) goes into great details about his opinion of the political climate on the ECTC campus. In the exchange, Messick also offers deep insight into what he perceives as the ideology among those on campus regarding the topic of integration at the time (1958-1959). One other letter from LeBaron to Peele is written on letterhead of an organization titled "Pitt County Defenders of States' Rights." Also present are letters sent from Peele to various senators on the topic of the Voter Registration Bill, and a letter to Galt Braxton concerning a protest by the students of UNC-Chapel Hill against the Speaker Ban Law (1965). Further discussions in this correspondence includes the Committee on Textbooks in North Carolina and the support of the "Operation Textbook" project (1958-1959). Other local and regional correspondence includes several letters from Peele to the Head of the Board of Education in Kinston, NC thanking him for the chance to speak to the organization (1958), a letter to ECTC concerning the John Birch Society (April 1966) and correspondence with William Friday, Head of the UNC System, concerning campus disruption by students (September 1970).
Education-related correspondence on a national level consists of Peele's opposition to the nomination of Dr. Ralph Bunche for the Harvard Board of Overseers (1959), letters of opposition to the National Student Association, the Student Mobilization Committee, The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and sex education (1969). In addition, are letters questioning ties between The Socialist Party and the National Education Association and communist activity on college and university campuses (1970-1971, undated). Civil Rights Civil Rights is also a main topic in Peele's correspondence. General correspondence (1969) on the topic can be found along with discussions regarding The Black Panther Party (1969, 1971), Martin Luther King Jr. (1954-1965), the Black Power movement and the NAACP (1964). Also included are letters describing a homosexual ball in California (1965), police brutality (1965-1966), the right to bear arms (1968, 1973) and Peele's views on black activist Angela Davis (1976).
Religion
Peele's correspondence also deals with religious matters as well. Included is a letter confirming his verbal resignation from the Board of Deacons of the First Baptist Church of Kinston (1960) and letters from Peele protesting the North Carolina State Baptist Convention regarding the integration of Wake Forest College. In addition, is correspondence related to Billy Graham (1972), the president of the National Council of Churches (August 1976- October 1976) and The Church League of America (1978).
War
The subject of war is also discussed in many instances. Among the correspondence are topics of military strategies and propaganda (1965), students opinions on war (July-December), Peace Movement for Vietnam (1968), nuclear weapons (1969), military strategy, tactical plans, Vietnam War (1969), Prisoners of War, Cambodia (1971), Vietnam (1972), genocide in Cambodia, violations of human rights in communist Vietnam (1976), correspondence asking Peele for donations, as well as the possibility of nuclear war (1982). Also of interest are discussions between Peele and John J. Tolson, Lt. General , Head of Command at Fort Bragg, NC and Sgt. William E. Wolak, Counterintelligence Office, Camp Lejeune, NC (1970).
Labor
Topics include letters to the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company regarding their purchase of tobacco from Yugoslavia (1965), letters addressing the veto of the "Common Situs Picketing Bill"(1965), unions (1968), The Gastonia, North Carolina Strike of 1929 (1968-1969, 1972), the Durham Workers Action Movement, OSHA and the Progressive Workers Committee (1974).
Popular Culture and Social Issues
Popular culture and social issues are also addressed in Peele's correspondence. Peele exchanged communication with the National Council for Civic Responsibility (1964), wrote sponsors of The Johnny Cash Show complaining of an appearance by Pete Seegar. Peele also wrote sponsors and production companies thanking them for conservative and family-oriented television shows such as The Waltons. Also included is a letter from actor Jack Webb (star of the show "Dragnet") thanking Peele for his support (1970). In addition, Peele also corresponded with the R.J. Reynolds Company (1969), the "Movement to Restore Decency" (1969-1970) and was very vocal on the negative effects of Rock and Roll music and sex education (1971).
Series 2 Printed Materials
General Anti-Communism and Pro-Communism Material Contains notes on the Socialist Revolution, Vladimir Lenin, the Young Socialist Alliance, Marxism, Nikita Khrushchev, Joseph Stalin, Billy Graham and Hollywood (1968). In addition, there are newspaper articles on international communism (1957-1969), publications on subversive activities (1948-1986), pamphlets from Christian groups concerning communist activities (1964-1966), publications concerning religion and international communism (1963-1976) and pamphlets on anti-communism (1957-1965).
Also included in this series are publications by organizations promoting constitutional rights (1972-1977), anti-communist publications (1961-1976), publications on subversive organizations (1947-1964), Fidel Castro, Cuban independence, The Federation of Cuban Women (1964-1970), "left wing" publications (1970-1971), Department of Justice records (1964), Communist Party, U.S.A. (1936-1937, 1962-1972), The John Birch Society; 1961-1971) and the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship (1965).
National and Foreign Policy
These printed materials feature publications on Fidel Castro, Stokely Carmichael, guerrilla warfare, Cuban independence, Guinea and a publication by The Federation of Cuban Women. Additional materials concern international affairs in Rhodesia, China and the USSR, with mention of the United Nations (1963-1979), current foreign policy and news from China (1971- 1973), publications on China, Japanese terror and propaganda by the China Information Service (1938-1939).
Also included are publications related to Chinese trade relations, the Maoist Regime, Japan, Lin Piao, the Free China Relief Association (1938-1939, 1971-1977), materials discussing The Potsdam Agreement, The German-Bolshevik Conspiracy, political warfare, WWII-related documents from Germany and Poland. In addition are publications documenting The Great White War, Proclamation of the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler and the German-Polish crisis. Also present are leaflets on UNICEF (September 1966), Danzig (September 1970-1971), Movement to Restore Decency (1969-1970), National Council for Civic Responsibility (1964), Czechoslovakia, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), J. Edger Hoover (1949-1974), the National Council for Civic Responsibility (1964) and the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship (1964-1965). Social Issues and Youth Culture topics include publications on folk singer Pete Seeger (1957-1959) and Lutherans (1965), revolution symbols (1970), the communist influence of marijuana and rock music artists, including the Beatles, the Doors, Jefferson Airplane and Scott McKenzie (1969-1970). Also represented are printed materials discussing teenage pregnancy, abortion and drugs (1964-1976), health information on fluoridation and the Food and Drug Administration (1971-1987). Other materials concentrate on socialized medicine, state's rights, urban renewal (April 1963), religious groups, missionary work, labor (1970), military and war (1966-1982), Angela Davis (1968-1976), Thurgood Marshall (1965-1975) and other race related issues. Also present are publications by and/or on Joseph Stalin and The Soviet Union (1961-1967), politics (1953-1977), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1969-1979), the military (1968-1969), crime (1973-1980), espionage (1948-1979) and Vietnam (1968-1971).
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and J. Edgar Hoover
These subject files consist of publications, remarks and FBI Reports by J. Edgar Hoover on religion, communism, crime, fighter planes, Khrushchev, Soviet spies, parole and probation, police brutality, freemasonry (1959-1965), UNICEF, The New Left, Nihilism, prevention of violence (1966-1968), the FBI National Academy, the Ku Klux Klan, The Civil Rights Act of 1964, finger printing, The Communist Party, Al Capone, La Cosa Nostra (The "Mafia") and the crime control act of 1970.
North Carolina
These items consist of newspaper articles related to Lenoir County Schools, LaGrange Academy, and Chapel Hill, NC, Carolina Power and Light, Duke Power, Carolina Power and Light Company rate increases, the cost of electricity in NC, Charlotte, NC, Raleigh, NC, Cary, NC and Grainger High School. Also included are articles on and by Ella May Wiggins, Fielding Burke and Olivia T. Dargon, who discuss the topics of strikes, women's literature and unions in North Carolina. Other articles that can be found document information on Winston Churchill, Zionism, Bolshevism, Rhodesia, The Havana Conference, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lenin, Playboy, The Oppenheimer Story, guerrilla warfare, HUAC, The Defense Committee, George McNamara, The New Mobilization Committee and China. In addition, are articles present discussing censorship, student riots, labor and civil rights movement activities involving Angela Davis, the KKK, The Southern Conference Education Fund, The Wilmington Ten, The Charlotte Three and the Woolworth Sit-In.
Also present are notes containing information on Paul Crouch, the Gastonia Strike, Socialist Revolution, Young Socialist Alliance, a Democratic Party of North Carolina Packet (1988), Democratic Party fund raising letters and pamphlets (1976-1989), geographical and topographic Maps of NC and an electoral college map. Publications are also present which focus on socialized medicine, The Southern Conference Education Fund, state's rights revolution, peace symbols, trade, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, United Nations, UNICEF and communist activity on college and university campuses.
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) The HUAC materials include details on Hearings before a Subcommittee on Appropriations for the U.S. House of Representatives, 85th Congress (1963-1972), publications and photos by and of J. Edgar Hoover (1960-1973), reports and articles from the FBI (1960-1964, 1974), interview of Hoover (1964) and various other reports and articles from the FBI (1963-1973).
Civil Rights/Racial Issues
Specific topics include the Civil Rights Movement (1965), Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968), the Ku Klux Klan, The Black Panther Party, Angela Davis, the Southern Conference Education Fund, the Wilmington Ten, the Charlotte Three, NAACP, Congress of Racial Equality, Mae Mallory, United Negro College Fund, Fort Hood and the Fort Hood Three Defense (1968-1969), as well as a flyer for a rally in Raleigh, NC led by the National Alliance Against Racists. Also included are materials documenting segregation, Stokely Carmichael, Cuba and Africa, a letter by Harry Belafonte, flyer promoting the Ku Klux Klan in Greenville, NC, school desegregation in Charlotte, NC (1959-1971), civil rights hearings of U.S. vs. Murray Stanley, U.S. vs. Samuel Nichols, U.S. vs. Michael Ryan and U.S. vs. Samuel D. Singleton. In addition are documents related to the right to bear arms, gun control, the women's movement, rights of free speech and property rights. Also includes some gun rights material.
Labor and Unions Includes printed materials documenting trade, labor, unions, trade unionism and the Progressive Labor Party.
Vietnam War and Other Wars
Topics of materials include the Vietnam War, Harry S. Truman, North Korea, bacteriological warfare, National Assembly, Viet Minh, the Cooper-Church Amendment, and Frazier Woolard, and the Invasion of Laos (1968-1971, undated). Also present are materials related to WWII-era Germany and Poland, Great White War, Proclamation of the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, the German-Polish crisis (1939-1940) and a booklet on Preventing World War III by the Society for the Prevention of World War III, Inc. (1964).
Religion
Many topics on religion are represented as well. These include Christians and Jews (1963-1972), publications regarding International Jewish Conspiracy, National Council of Churches (1966-1975), Anti-Semitism (1972-1973), National Council of Churches and the Nation of Islam. Also included are publications by the Christian Freedom Foundation, Jewish Society of America, Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation, Russian Orthodox Church, Slavic Gospel Association (1958-1967), articles by the World Council of Churches on South Africa (1972), Slavic Gospel Association (1975-1977), The Catholic Church and publications from The Baptist Challenge discussing prayer in schools, extremism, and the Prince of Peace Memorial (1964-1966).
Washington D.C. and Politics
Topics included are letters from Mr. Peele requesting copies of articles and other information on Mrs. Paul Crouch (1972), investigation of communist activities and testimony of Paul Crouch (1949, 1956-1958), hearing on Government Operations and Congressional Records (1953, 1961, 1971), list of Citations and Depository Libraries, Congressional Record, Publications Index and Supplement (1938-1954, 1961, 1969-1972, 1978). Also present are files regarding Congressional Record and Un-American Activities in California (1935, 1951), foreign policy and related news (1971-1973), Herald of Freedom and Congressional Record (1971, 1973), anti-communist publications (1958-1975), publications concerning Christian and Communist views (1963-1977, 1985), articles on politics and race (1964-1968), articles on Communism and political issues, including Vietnam and Jim Garrison (1949-1985), articles by the National Council of Churches and New Masses (1935, 1961-1975, 1981-1985), articles by the FBI related to world-wide Communism (1920-1985) and other religious publications (1957-1985).
Education
Topics consist of housing (1969-1970), related newspaper clippings (1970-1980), political issues (1961-1973), Speaker Ban Law and speaker ban actions taken at colleges and universities (1965-1968), communist activity at college and universities published by the Southern Conference Education Fund and the National Education Association, publications by National Education Association School Desegregation (1959-1971) and publications by the National Council of Churches (1966).
Series 3 Other Papers
Medical
Printed Materials Included in this series are materials related to Dr. Peele's medical practice. These consist of medical pamphlets, newsletters and medical journal articles (many by Peele) on Otolaryngology, including those published in American Council of Otolaryngology. Also included are notes on Peele's opinions on tobacco health risks and fluoride issues.
Handwritten Notes
Handwritten Notes contain Peele's thoughts and documentation while visiting "Old" Almond NC, describe the journey and the place that Olive Dargan grew up (1973), including references to Log House, Burnett House and Turkey Creek, and tracts of property purchased from M.E. Dargan. Also present are notes on Olive Dargan, discussion of longtime Almond resident, J.C. Freeman, as well as interviews about Dargan given by Freeman and Crawford Woodard (1971), and communist references notes including Paul Crouch and the Gastonia Strike. Also included are notes referencing discussions with Leonard Patterson, Jack Rider and Nathan Brisker (1967).
Other Printed Materials
Other printed materials in this series consist of clippings on Dargan, book reviews, material related to family research of Dargan, including land deeds for Swain County, NC (1915, 1920), clippings, book reviews on Dargan and Fielding Burke (pseudonym), short work lists, and book reviews and articles on Lumpkin and Dargan. Also present are clippings on Dargan, King and Queen Co, VA, research related to Lumpkin, publication of resolutions created at a 1959 meeting of The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), book reviews and information on the Gastonia Strike, various articles on North Carolina poets and on both Lumpkin and Dargan. Further information includes King and Queen County, VA, research, publication on The Roane Family of Virginia, clippings and articles on Dargan and Lumpkin, Swain County, NC, deed involving Dargan (1934), genealogy references, information on Olive T. Dargan, information on other North Carolina authors and poets and U.S. Census-related publications (1980).
J.C. Peele Personal Papers
J.C. Peele Personal Papers consist of personal and professional items related to Peele's life and medical career. Among the personal items are Christmas cards and postcards, including a foldout postcard featuring television station WRAL in Raleigh, addressed to Peele and signed by then-president of WRAL, A. J. Fletcher. Also included are Peele's fraternity card, report cards from UNC-Chapel Hill and Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, as well as a publication documenting a class reunion for the class of 1932 at UNC-Chapel Hill. In addition, are several drawings given to him from children, research on the Peele family name, a biography and a newspaper clipping about his father's death. Of particular note are clippings and documents pertaining to a 1976 legal discrimination case against Peele, which he eventually lost. Kinston-related items consist of a 1963 newsletter produced by The Caswell Center, a mental health facility, as well as a 1971program for the dedication of the new Lenoir Memorial Hospital. The Caswell newsletter mentions John F. Kennedy as "our martyred president" and describes the current North Carolina state retirement rules system. Also present are payroll deduction cards for the Hospital Saving Association of North Carolina, Inc.
Photographic images
Photographic images include positive images, negative images and slides, of which some are undated and unidentified. Some images that are identified include a photo of Peele with East Carolina College President Dr. Leo Jenkins and Peele accompanied by Olive Dargan, Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Freeman and Crawford Woodward on trips to the birthplace of Dargan in Almond, NC (circa 1970s). Some place names which are identified include Turkey Creek, Nantahala River Tunnel, Nantahala Mountain, Freeman's Hotel and Little Tennessee River. There are also unidentified photographic prints (circa 1930s) of the places where Dargan grew up. In addition, are a smaller number of images representing trips taken by Peele and Grace Lumpkin to areas where her ancestors lived, particularly in the Newington, VA, King and Queen County area. (1977, undated).
Personal Papers of Leonard Patterson
Leonard Patterson was one of the more better-known individuals involved in the communist movement in North Carolina. Some of the members later quit and rebuked the party, but those involved were heavily researched and studied by Peele for years. He would later meet and become friends with some of them. The primary group consisted of Leonard Patterson, Paul Crouch, Olive Tilford Dargan and Grace Lumpkin. For more on Patterson, see Peele's correspondence related to communism in North Carolina.
Patterson's papers (mostly photocopies, but some original documents) feature signed documents agreeing to testify as a witness for The Department of Justice in various legal trials. One legal case involved Knut Eimnar Heikkinen (1951). Also present is correspondence with the Veterans Administration related to dental treatment given to Patterson (1955), letters naming persons who joined the Communist Party with Patterson while working in steel mills, coal mines and the Westinghouse Electrical Corporation near Pittsburgh, and a list of members of the National Negro Commission of the Communist Party USA in 1933. In addition, the papers contain a list of hearings in which Patterson testified (1954), correspondence with a state attorney in Louisville involving a case in which a white family used dynamite on a black family's residence in a predominantly white neighborhood and a letter regarding Paul Crouch's activities (1954) and revealing identities of people that were in the Communist Party, including Jimmy Green. There is also evidence of further communist activity and more correspondence with the federal government, including information relating to Patterson's testimony against Paul Crouch (1953-1954). Also found in the papers are clippings documenting communist activity in the United States (1950), Patterson's unsigned copies of agreements to testify on the Communist Party (1951), details on Patterson from the Veterans Administration (1953), information on Jimmy Green and Ben Davidson, also known as D. Benjamin, and a subpoena for Patterson to testify in the previously mentioned immigration case of Knut Eimnar Heikkinen (1951).
Series 4 Audio-Visual Materials
Included in the audio-visual materials are vinyl records labeled by Peele as "records on sale at Southern Baptist Convention book store" and a 45 rpm record featuring two songs, one entitled "Joanne Little." The record was produced and sold to raise money for the Joan Little Defense Fund. Joan (pronounced Jo Ann) Little, an African American woman, was jailed in Beaufort County, NC, in 1974 for breaking and entering and during her stay there she was charged with murdering a white prison guard. She claimed self-defense and was acquited of murder. In addition are a few larger vinyl records published by the American Recording Society and the Children's Record Guild. These two labels were the first commercially significant record clubs in the world and attracted nearly one million followers at their peak. They accomplished this by combining concepts of mass marketing, recording technology, education, folk music, contemporary composition and Cold War politics. Also present are audio tapes documenting interviews of Leonard Patterson conducted by The John Birch Society (1965, 1967), an interview of Grace Lumpkin done by Kenneth E. Toombs (1971) and several reel-to-reel audio tapes of lectures from the Philadelphia School for Anti-Communism, held at the Adelphia Hotel in 1960 (detailed list included).
Series 5 Ephemera
Ephemera includes several pro communism organization calendars (1971-1978), several circa 1920s-1974 pro communism stamps, broadsides and decals. Also included is a large map showing the electoral college system of the United States for the 1968 presidential election and plaques (1942-1992) representing medical and military honors awarded to Peele.
Gift of Dr. J. C. Peele, M.D.
Encoded by Lindsay Flood, April 1, 2008
Container List by Leah Turner June 2017
Description by Dale Sauter 2017
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
The J. Edgar Hoover Collection on International Communism, Special Collection, Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC