RENCHER NICHOLAS HARRIS PAPERS.2,085 items and 27 volumes
Papers of Rencher Nicholas Harris (1900-1965), a business executive of Durham, North
Carolina who held positions with the Banker's Fire Insurance Company, and who was first black
city councilman as well as the first black member of the local Board of Education. The
collection is probably most valuable for those papers related to Harris's career in Durham
politics in the 1950s and early 1960s, especially concerning such matters as race relations
and civil rights. Of particular interest is his infrequent correspondence with Carla Myerson
Eugster, a political activist in the local civil rights movement who appears to have
influenced Harris's decision to enter politics.