Accession Number: 101
The Council of the Southern Mountains Records
Papers: 1970-1989
100 linear feet
Online Catalog Record (BANC)

Overview & Series Description
History
Series I - Administrative Records
Series II - Correspondence
        ABB - DES | DIL - HAG | HAL - KDA | KEE - MYN | NED - SMI | SMI - ZEI
Series III - Organizations
        Commissions | CSEJs | Related Organizations | Affiliated Organizations | Subject | Funding Agencies
Series IV - Mining Records
Series V - Bookstore Records
Series VI - Mountain Life & Work Production
Series VII - Newspaper Clippings
Series VIII - Publications
Series IX - Speeches and Writings
Series X - Maps
Series XI - Artwork & Folklore
Series XII - Photographs
Series XIII - Audio
Series XIV - Video
Series XV - Blueprints & Posters
Series XVI - Artifacts

Overview of the Collection

The Records of the Council of the Southern Mountains, 1970-1989, were given to the Southern Appalachian Archives of Berea College via a resolution of the Council’s Board of Commissioners April 24, 1970, and later by deed of gift on June 11, 1990. The accumulated 218 cubic feet were received in several installments from 1984 to 1995. These records accounted for the nineteen years of Council history from 1970 to 1989. Several boxes of pre-1970s material were presorted out of this collection and will merge into the Records of the Council of the Southern Mountains,1913-1970, at a later date.

Arrangement and description of these records was accomplished over two years' time by several student assistants and project archivist, Laura Anne Heller. The collection was opened for research in 2006. This collection was made possible by a National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) grant.

There are no restrictions on use by researchers other than federal copyright restrictions, and on the personnel files due to sensitive personal information held therein.

Records of the Council of the Southern Mountains, 1970-1989, Exhibition:
Please view an exhibition website designed to complement the collection and finding aid. It focuses on the 1970-1989 years of the Council of the Southern Mountains. You will find a timeline, photographs, brief summaries of some key activities in CSM history, and a list of resources.

Series Description
268 Manuscript Boxes

This series consists of history, officer lists, annual conferences, minutes, proposals, reports, financial records, budget papers, and personnel records.

This series includes correspondence between CSM staff, members, and others. It is arranged alphabetically by author of correspondence.

This series includes organizational papers for the commissions, Citizens for Social and Economic Justice (CSEJ) groups, affiliated organizations, related organizations, subject, and funding agencies. Each subseries is arranged alphabetically by organization’s name.

This series includes documents pertaining to hearings and legal matters of miners and their families with which CSM was involved or researching. Papers pertaining to mine inspections, fatal accidents, explosions, and discrimination cases are organized alphabetically by coal companies.

This series includes records pertaining to the Council of the Southern Mountains Bookstore, also called the Appalachian Book and Record Shop. Papers pertaining to the CSM Mobile Bookstore are also included. Subscription index cards, log books, and film canisters are also included.

This series consists of records pertaining to the production of Mountain Life & Work, including meeting minutes, rough drafts of articles, proposals, subscriptions, and advertising. Some correspondence pertaining to ML&W may be found in the Correspondence series instead.

This series consists of newspaper clippings arranged alphabetically by subject. Many clippings were used as material for Mountain Life & Work articles.

This series includes publications CSM staff kept in the office, referenced, or provided to members. Arranged alphabetically by publisher.

This series includes speeches, articles, essays, poetry, and writings from various individuals. Some writings were submissions for Mountain Life & Work. Arranged alphabetically by author.

This series includes maps of the Appalachian region, including maps of states, counties, hand-drawn maps, and directions to locations. Arranged alphabetically by state.

This series consists of artwork found in the collection’s files, including sketches, drawings, and children’s art. Folklore includes musical scores, song lyrics, and a play program. Arranged alphabetically by creator, in two sections: artwork and folklore.

This series includes photographs arranged alphabetically by subject while maintaining most of the original descriptive order. Some photographers are identified. Many photos were used in Mountain Life & Work. Photographic subjects include: Bookstore, ML&W Staff, CSM Staff and People, CSM Annual Conferences, Education, Folk, Health, Military and Mining, Other Organizations, Rallies and Strikes, Coal Companies, Scenery and Tourism, Unidentified People, Urban Appalachians, Textiles, and Tennessee Valley Authority. Not all people in photos are identified, so any help in this area is appreciated. Not all photos have an identified photographer, but the photographer's name is listed on the back of the photo when identified. Some negatives exist for some photos in the collection. They are stored separately from the photos.

This series includes meeting minutes, annual conferences, interviews, and the Scotia Hearings on reels and cassettes. Reels have been digitized onto CDs for listening purposes. Cassettes are arranged chronologically, and listening copies are available in Boxes 262-264.

This series consists of two videos, one of which is a news broadcast of strikers in Lexington. The other video is a "test" video.

This series consists of blueprints, land surveys, and posters. Subjects include a Buffalo Creek Massacre poster, land surveys of Buffalo Creek, land surveys for Citizens Coal Company, and various mining maps and posters.

This series consists of artifacts such as a slides box, buttons, camera lens, CSM address stamp, Citizens Coal Company stamp, address book, guestbook, membership cards, and bumper stickers. Slides originally found in slides box are stored with negatives.