Guide to the Hugh Pearson papers, 1950-2007

(bulk 1990-2004)

John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2014

Collection Overview

Title:	Hugh Pearson papers
Date range:	1950-2007, (bulk 1990-2004)
Creator:	Pearson, Hugh
Extent:	10.5 Linear feet
Abstract:	The materials collected and partly organized by Hugh Pearson consist of correspondence to and from Hugh Pearson, Pearson's writings, including manuscripts; writings by other authors or correspondents, research files, financial files, legal files, personal files, notebooks, clippings, publications, media, photographs, books and restricted files. The papers are dated from 1950 to 2007, but the bulk of the materials are dated from 1990 to 2004.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	Ms.2011.006

Scope & content

The Hugh Pearson papers have been organized into the following 13 series:

Series 1. Correspondence consists of letters written by Hugh Pearson to various individuals, friends, family members, and in some instances the staff where his children attended school. It has been divided into three subseries: Subseries A. Outgoing, Subseries B. Incoming, and Subseries C. Miscellaneous. In the majority of the letters, Pearson writes about his relationship with his partner Nancy Ross and his children. The correspondence includes a sizeable number of letters to the editors of the New York Times. Incoming correspondence to Pearson includes writings by friends, family members, and Nancy Ross, as well as numerous greeting cards such as birthday greetings and other occasional cards. This series also includes correspondence that is untitled and letters to and from people other than Pearson.

Series 2. Writings contains articles written by Pearson for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal,the Washington Post, Newsday, the Village Voice, and Rolling Stone Magazine. Also included are a collection of book reviews, essays, article queries and letters to various editors.

Series 3. Writings by others incorporates writings about Pearson, including book reviews of Shadow of the Panther, and writings by Huey Newton, Bob Dole, and Clarence Thomas. There are also articles on various topics written for the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Village Voice, and other publications.

Series 4. Manuscripts include Deliver Me from Evil, Shadow of the Panther, and a draft copy of Under the Knife. This series also includes chapter summaries, sample chapters, and various proposals.

Series 5. Publications includes copies of the Brown Alumni Monthly, the New Yorker, the San Francisco Chronicle, Center News, the Free Press, and numerous other publications.

Series 6. Research files has been organized into two subseries. Subseries A. Files contains research Pearson created in preparation for the writing of his books. Some of the research file topics include the Black Panther Party, Dr. Joseph H. Griffin, Harlem Hospital, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Huey Newton. Subseries B. Books contains two boxes of books owned by Pearson and annotated by him. In each box the books are arranged alphabetically by the author's last name. A complete list of the books owned by Pearson is in Box 5, Folder 72. Only the books annotated by Pearson were kept with his papers.

Series 7. Financial files consist of various bills, student loan information and forms, receipts, and royalty statements. Some of the financial files are restricted until 2055.

Series 8. Legal files contains publishing agreements, book contracts, employment agreements, and tenant agreements. Some of the legal files are restricted until 2055.

Series 9. Personal files includes biographical information about Mr. Pearson, obituaries, and assorted resumes. This file also contains loose scrap notes along with some maps.

Series 10. Notebooks contains Hugh Pearson's personal notebooks on various topics written while he was working for the New York Times, the New Yorker, and the Wall Street Journal.

Series 11. Clippings includes numerous clippings written for Newsweek, the New Yorker, the Washington Post, and many other magazines and newspapers. The majority of these writings by Pearson and others concern themselves with the subject of African Americans, the Black Panthers, Civil Rights, Rodney King, and Jews in America.

Series 12. Media includes cassettes, VHS tapes, floppy discs, and CD-ROMs. Some of the media files are restricted until 2055.

Series 13. Photographs includes black and white photographs, color photographs and photographic negatives of Hugh Pearson, his children, Nancy Ross, family members, Huey Newton, and scenic locations. Most of the photographs are not dated and the people and places in them are not identified.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Pearson, Hugh

Subject Organizations

• Brown University. Class of 1979.

Subject Topics

• African American journalists--New York--Archives
• Jews, American
• Journalists--New York--Archives

Occupations

• Authors
• Journalists

Document Types

• Articles
• Clippings
• Letters (Correspondence)
• Manuscripts
• Photographs

Subject Topics

• Race, Ethnicity and Gender

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into 13 series:

• Series 1. Correspondence
• Series 2. Writings
• Series 3. Writings by others
• Series 4. Manuscripts
• Series 5. Publications
• Series 6. Research files
• Series 7. Financial files
• Series 8. Legal files
• Series 9. Personal files
• Series 10. Notebooks
• Series 11. Clippings
• Series 12. Media
• Series 13. Photographs

Biographical note

Huey “Hugh” Lawrence Pearson, Jr. was born September 25, 1957 to Huey and Edith Pearson in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Hugh's sisters are Carol Pearson Stocchi, Jennifer Pearson, and Julie Pearson. During his boyhood Hugh was an avid reader. While in high school, he won the National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Award in Writing. He later wrote that as a teenager, the book The Best and the Brightest by David Halberstam, about the decisions leading the United States into the Vietnam War, convinced him of the need to study harder so that he could attend an Ivy League school. After graduation from Wayne High School in Fort Wayne in 1975, he entered Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he majored in biomedical ethics and wrote for the student newspaper. He graduated in 1979. He entered Meharry Medical College, but after two years of study decided against a medical career.

His adventurous spirit led him to endeavors that included the study of urban planning at the New School for Social Research in New York City and positions in urban development. However, he realized that his calling was writing. His first professional piece was published in New York's Newsday. In 1989, following a freelance career, Hugh moved to San Francisco, where he became an editor and writer for the Pacific News Service, a columnist for the San Francisco Weekly, and a commentator on KPFA radio in Berkeley. In the summer of 1989 the shooting of Black Panther Huey Newton in Oakland, California, rekindled a boyhood interest in Newton, leading to Pearson's first book The Shadow of the Panther: Huey Newton and the Price of Black Power in America. Published in 1994, the book was featured on the cover of the New York Times Book Review. Its success led to his appearance on the C-SPAN program "Booknotes" on August 21, 1994.

Pearson later took a positon on the editiorial staff of the Wall Street Journal. He remained in that position, writing about urban affairs, for two years. He then briefly became a columnist for the Village Voice. Pearson then resumed freelance writing and authored two additional books. Under the Knife: How a Wealthy Negro Surgeon Wielded Power in the Jim Crow South, published in 2000, was an homage to his great uncle Joseph Griffin, a highly accomplished doctor. His next book, When Harlem Nearly Killed King: The 1958 Stabbing of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was published in 2002. Pearson also owned the website NYAge.net.

In the fall of 2000 he was invited numerous times to be a guest commentator on the Fox News Channel program "Hannity and Colmes." He appeared on the show more than six times from the 2000 to 2002. He was one of many political commentators during the 2000 presidential election featured on MSNBC TV. In February 2002, he was interviewed on the ABC TV program "Nightline" by reporter Michelle Martin regarding former Black Panther and SNCC leader Jamil Al-Amin (the former H. Rap Brown), who had just been convicted of the murder of an Atlanta police officer. On September 5, 2000 he appeared on the National Public Radio program "The Tavis Smiley Show" to discuss his book When Harlem Nearly Killed King.

In the spring of 2001 Pearson became a teaching fellow with the New York City Teaching Fellows program, teaching literature and writing to troubled youths in a middle school in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. The following year he returned to a career as an author and freelance journalist. He then became a monthly open editor contributor to the "Viewpoints" section of Newsday (the New York City edition). At the time of his death he was working on a biography of James Weldon Johnson, who wrote the lyrics for the Negro National Anthem "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

In 1997, he became the father of twins, Francesca and Nathanel Pearson, with his partner Nancy Ross. Pearson was preceded in death by his mother, Edith Richardson Pearson; his maternal grandparents, Crawford and Mary Richardson, and his paternal grandparents, Nathan and Bessie Pearson. Hugh Pearson died in Brooklyn, New York, in August 2005.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	The files in Box 9 are restricted until 2055. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them. Brown University does not own the literary rights to the book "When Harlem Nearly Killed King: the 1958 Stabbing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." published by Seven Stories Press, 2004.
Preferred citation:	Guide to the Hugh Pearson papers, Ms.2011.006, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148 Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The Hugh Pearson papers were donated to the Brown University Library by Nancy Ross in 2010.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Joanne Tandy and Tatyana Badalyan.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2014-06-24
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Other information:

Brown University Library catalog record for this collection: Hugh Pearson papers

Inventory

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