Matthews Family Papers, MSS.3387

Abstract: The Matthews Family Papers contain letters written to and from members of the W. B. Matthews family in Atlanta and contains one recommendation letter from W. E. B. DuBois. A series of letters written by Joseph Cotter Jr. discuss race relations during World War IScope and Content Note: In 1904, W. E. B. Du Bois writes "To whom it may concern" on behalf of Mr. W. B. Matthews, recommending Matthews for any position in a public school system. Du Bois writes of his seven year acquaintance with Matthews and his family and speaks very highly of Matthews, both personally and professionally.The collection also contains letters written during WW I in which African American poet Joseph S. Cotter Jr. writes from Louisville, Kentucky, to Louise Matthews in Atlanta, Georgia, regarding "colored officers" and soldiers in the military; one letter from Louise Matthews to Cotter recounting her activities as a student at Atlanta University; a solicitation from The Crisis magazine; a letter from the National Urban League; and a New Year Card signed by Joseph S. Cotter. According to the donor the greeting card is dated circa 1931.Biographical/Historical Note: By 1906, W. B. Matthews was serving as principal of the Gate City Colored School, the first public school for African Americans in Atlanta, Georgia. According to Rage in the City: The Story of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot, Du Bois and Matthews both attended the First Congregational Church.W. E. B. Du Bois lived from 1868 to 1963 and was one of the most prominent leaders of the Civil Rights movement in the United States during the early twentieth century. He was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served as editor of The Crisis, its magazine, from 1910 to 1934. In 1904, at the time of the writing of the W. E. Burghardt Du Bois Letter, Du Bois was a Professor of Economics and History at the Atlanta University