Reverend Dr. James Hudson, Sr. Collection

Identity elements

Reference code

Meek-Eaton Archival Collection MS_0022

Name and location of repository

Level of description

Collection

Title

Reverend Dr. James Hudson, Sr. Collection

Date(s)

  • 1893 - 2000 (Creation)

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet

Name of creator

Biographical history

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

Dr. James L. Hudson was born in 1904 in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from the institution in 1926. After graduating, he was ordained as a minister and then enrolled in Colgate-Rochester School of religion, where he camed a divinity degree in 1931. Afterwards, he worked as a chaplain at Leland College in Louisiana until 1946. Later he was carned a doctoral degree from Boston College. Following this, he accepted a position as a chaplain and professor at Florida A&M University (FAMU). At FAMU he created the institution's Department of Religion and Philosophy and served as its first departmental chairperson. In Tallahassee, Hudson was a close friend with another Morchouse graduate, Rev Charles K. Steele, pastor of the city's Bethel Baptist Church. The two religious leaders worked on numerous civil rights campaigns including the 1956 Tallahassee Bus Boycott.
Hudson was also president of the Tallahassee Ministerial Alliance, a co-founder and active member of the Inter-Civic Council. Even after retiring from FAMU in 1973, Rev. Hudson remained active in civil rights and social justice initiatives. He died in 1980.

System of arrangement

The printed records in this collection are unique and valuable. They arrived at the center partially cataloged and accompanied by a 16-page document that listed much of the material.
Unfortunately, this original cataloging arrangement utilized a color-coding system where the majority of the records were tagged with round, multi-colored sticky dots and notes. In that the glue and adhesive from the sticky dots and notes damaged and harmed the records (caused different types of paper to fuse together, covered information and text, and caused fragile paper like onion-skin and aged news articles to tear and crumble) this collection was cataloged immediately.Unfortunately, the staff was unable to retuin the color-coded arrungement system. After the sticky dots and notes were removed, the items in the collection were sorted by material type.
Then, the materials were orgunized by subject matter and dates. Next, the records were placed in alphabetical order and transferred into acid-free file folders and storage boxes. A finding aid was created by typing a file folder level content listing of the boxes. Correlating box labels were typed and affixed to the exterior of boxes. The boxes were stored in the archival storage area.

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

All Rights Reserved.

Physical access

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

    Language and script notes

    Finding aids

    Acquisition and appraisal elements

    Custodial history

    Immediate source of acquisition

    Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

    Accruals

    Related materials elements

    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related archival materials

    Related descriptions

    Notes element

    Specialized notes

    Alternative identifier(s)

    Description control element

    Rules or conventions

    Sources used

    Access points

    Subject access points

    Place access points

    Name access points

    Genre access points

    Accession area