This collection contains material for the autobiography of Horace R. Cayton, entitled
Series I. is arranged according to the chapter titles of the finished book with background materials and outlines preceding the chapter manuscripts. The background material includes interviews with and short biographies of friends and family. Also present is an obituary for Cayton's sister, Madge, and works about his ancestors, including Hiram Revels, the first African-American person elected to the U.S. Senate.
This section has two compiled notebooks of later drafts of the chapters which parallel the finished work; however, two chapters are missing: “The White Man, Too, Has Troubles,” and “Blood Makes Good Paint.” They also contain the manuscript of “Back to the Black Metropolis,” which is not present in an earlier form.
The Related Papers in Series II. are organized by date. Present are correspondence, including letters by Cayton to his publisher and agent as well as letters from each of them, all regarding
The collection does not contain material relating to any other work by Horace R. Cayton or directly concerning his personal life outside of what is in the autobiography.
Purchase, 1967
Open for research
Jonathan Reynolds, 2007