The papers relate to the John R. Stockham family and are comprised primarily of Stockham’s correspondence relating to segregation; newsletters and newspaper clippings; and diplomas and certificates. A few items also relate to Dorothy and Anne Stockham. The papers are arranged alphabetically by topic/type of document and span from 1935 to 2006 with the following large gaps: 1943-1946; 1954-1962; 1967-1991; and 1993-2005. John R. Stockham was a staunch opponent of segregation and of the premise “separate but equal.” As a student at The Ohio State University in Columbus, he worked for desegregation against groups such as the University Anti-Negro Guild (f.9). Stockham served on the Committee on the Bill of Rights of the St. Louis Bar Association when vocational education in the St. Louis Public Schools was deemed unequal. He advocated to end segregation at the University of Missouri and took a keen interest in House Bill 484, which appropriated state funds for Lincoln University to purchase land and construct a law school building in St. Louis. In May 1948, the Bar Association of St. Louis urged Governor Donnelly to veto this measure (f.3). Stockham worked to integrate the all-white Bar Association of St. Louis. On April 13, 1948, he requested a statement from the Bar Association’s Executive Committee in answer to the blunt question: “would a negro applicant for membership in the association…be denied membership…solely because of his race?” In May, the Bar Association amended its constitution and by-laws, which did not mention race (f.2). On May 14th, Sidney Redmond wrote to Stockham telling him that he had requested an application from the Bar Association of St. Louis. From May to September, several letters between Redmond and Stockham reveal a strategy to integrate the Bar Association and mention other members who assisted and sponsored Redmond’s application (enclosed in f.3, August 6, 1948). On January 25, 1949, after Redmond’s application was denied, 300 Shop Stewards passed a resolution “condemning the Bar Association for their unAmerican act…" (f.4). Stockham’s correspondence for 1949 and 1950 is comprised of copies of letters received by three African American male students inquiring about admission to Lincoln University, the University of Missouri—Rolla, and the University of Missouri—Columbia. The letters from the University of Missouri all used the same message: "The laws of Missouri provide that Negro persons residing in the state may receive higher education at Lincoln University and require that the Board of Curators provide in that institution education up to the standards provided by the University of Missouri. Your application for enrollment should, therefore, be presented to Lincoln University at Jefferson City." Other items in the papers include Stockham’s diplomas and certificates; newspaper clippings (photocopies) and pages from the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce newsletter about Stockham; printed briefs from Tallman Company v. Latal (1953); and an article on labor law by Stockham, which appeared in the Washington University Law Quarterly (1956, no.2). There are newspaper articles relating to both Dorothy and Anne Stockham and a certificate commemorating Dorothy’s war service sent to the Stockham family after her death.