The collection includes certificates, event programs, newspaper clippings, and correspondence relating primarily to the career and civic leadership of James H. Buford with a few items about his parents and sister. The collection is arranged alphabetically by topic and dates from circa 1955 to 2020. A large part of the correspondence files contains congratulations upon announcements of Buford’s 2012 Citizen of the Year Award and his 2013 retirement from the Urban Lague of Metropolitan St. Louis. There are also letters relating to his various appointments on boards and commissions. There are three letters from White House during the Reagan Administration; one with a personal note signed by Elizabeth Dole (18 March 1981) and two signed by Ronald Reagan (23 July and14 August 1981). The only letter not addressed to Buford is an invitation sent to Helen Buford upon James’s 1997 Lifetime Achievement Award (18 Aug 1997) and includes the notecards she used for her remarks at the awards dinner. The biography folder includes biographies of Buford supplied to various people and organizations. It also contains Buford’s obituaries and posthumous tributes. Other biographical sources include the 1994 Slaughter’s Cleaners calendar featuring prominent St. Louis African Americans (Buford is February) and the “St. Louis Game Changer” series in a Jackie and Me program (Metro Theater Company, p.18). There are many certificates and proclamations awarded to Buford (B1/f.2, oversize). They date from 1978 to a posthumous proclamation in 2020. There are several certificates which commemorate Buford’s appointments to state boards and commissions in addition to certificates of appreciation and special awards from various organizations. There are two commemorative presidential inauguration invitations: 1997 Clinton/Gore, 2009 Obama/Biden (B1/f.16). It is unclear if Buford attended either event or worked with the campaigns. There are various files for local organizations, such as Better Together (B1/f.4) and miscellaneous event programs (B1/f.15). The few items relating to Buford’s family include a folder about his sister, Carol (B2/f.1) and scattered newspaper clippings.