Papers of Janis A. Pryor, 1934-2001

The papers of Janis A. Pryor document her personal life and professional career as a media and political consultant. Personal records include appointment books; awards and citations for professional achievements; curricula vitae; meritorious awards, essays, plays, and diplomas from schools she attended; photographs, photograph albums, and scrapbooks; and personal correspondence. The collection also documents the working lives of a multi-generational family of African, Choctaw and European heritage. Included are the papers of Pryor's maternal grandparents, Josephine and William Augusta Lawrence, and those of her parents Leontine L. and Harry P. Pryor. These papers relate to property ownership, employment during World War II, and various family achievements. The bulk of the collection relates to Pryor's professional life, and includes correspondence, memoranda, logistical planning notebooks, and research documenting her extensive work in political campaigns at local, state, and national levels. Correspondence, proposals, reports, organizational records, and other items highlight her participation in conferences, her work on the boards of various community organizations, and her accomplishments as an independent videographer and media consultant. Some videotapes are included in the collection. Educational materials, which include course proposals; class outlines and descriptions; bibliographic material; and faculty evaluations, relate to her work as a part time faculty member at local colleges. A substantial number of her writings are also included, but mainly consist of unpublished drafts. This material, which includes articles, essays, novels and novellas, sheds some light on her personal life and past work experiences, including the challenges of working for political candidates. Pryor also maintained several journals that are work-related that have been filed with the activities they describe. Most of the material arrived at the library without an existing order. The archivist provided the arrangement, interfiled loose material, and created the folder titles.

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1934-2001, n.d. (#1.1-4.1, FD.1, FD.4-FD.7, F+D.1, Mem.1), includes appointment books documenting Pryor's years at Bennington College, and her professional career in media and politics. Also included are awards and citations; curricula vitae, biographical statements, and resumes; and educational records, consisting of speeches, plays, graduation programs, diplomas, and certificates of merit from elementary, junior high, and high schools. Papers related to Pryor's maternal grandparents, Josephine and William Augusta Lawrence, include deeds for property in Gulfport, Mississippi (#2.8-2.9), and their employment records from war related industries during World War II (#2.10). Other family papers include the military discharge papers and birth and death records of Pryor's father, Harry P. Pryor, a decorated World War II veteran. Family papers related to her mother, Leontine L. Pryor, include an autograph album from Spelman College (#2.11), an Order of the Eastern Star sorority pin (#Mem.1), and correspondence concerning a legal dispute over the Leontine L. Pryor Day Care Center, which she founded and directed (#3.1-3.4). Notable items include a letter from Dorothy Height, former president of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc., conferring an award to Leontine Pryor (#3.4). The collection also includes two photograph albums and two family scrapbooks, which were fragile and dismantled. These scrapbooks, in their original format, are included in the series. The first scrapbook (#FD.4-FD.7) documents the activities of Leontine Pryor, and includes photographs of her graduation from Spelman College, events she attended with her husband and friends, and Pryor with children at the Leontine Pryor Day Care Center. This scrapbook also includes greeting cards related to the birth of Janis; anniversaries, and other events; clippings related to her educational goals; activities at the Leontine L. Pryor Day Care Center; and the Spelman Messenger (#FD.7), an alumni magazine published by Spelman College. The second scrapbook (#F+D.1) documents Janis Pryor's formative years, including birth announcements and greeting cards; service awards, speeches, and art work from elementary school; and photographs taken at various phases of her life. See Series IV for additional photographs. The series is arranged alphabetically with family records arranged chronologically thereunder.

Series II, POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS, 1975-1998, n.d. (#4.2-12.10, FD.2), includes campaign brochures; flyers and fact sheets; clippings; correspondence; committee records; staff memoranda; financial records; mailing lists; photographs; press releases; and speeches. Also included are logistical planning notebooks containing schedules and notes from community meetings, fundraisers, and public events. These notebooks document the day-to-day activities related to the senatorial reelection campaign of Edward Brooke (1978); the presidential campaign (1980) and senatorial reelection campaigns (1982) of Edward M. Kennedy; the presidential campaigns of Jesse Jackson (1984, 1988); and the mayoral campaign of Mel King (1983). There are some records representing Pryor's role as a speech writer and political strategist for Dianne Wilkerson during her campaign for the Massachusetts Senate (1992), as well as a logistical planning notebook containing a few entries related to the Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign of Senator John Kerry (1996), although Pryor's specific role in his campaign is unclear. Other notable items include correspondence, agendas, and planning notes related to Women for Brooke, a fundraiser organized by Pryor and attended by Coretta Scott King, Gloria Steinem, Ellie Smeal, Muriel Snowden, and others (#4.5-4.6); and a pastel drawing of Jesse Jackson created by Pryor (#FD.2). Records related to Pryor's award-winning documentary of Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign are included in Series III. The series is arranged alphabetically.

Series III, OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES, 1969-2001, n.d. (#12.11-26.3, FD.3), contains records documenting Pryor's work in a broad range of related activities, including WBZ-TV (Boston) print editorials and related notes on the Boston housing market, disputes between Chinatown residents and Tufts University, homeless women, and other community issues; employment evaluations; correspondence; memoranda; and publicity related to WBZ-TV's (Boston) promotional campaign in support of art. There are also some records documenting her production work on the Women79 program, (#23.11) (broadcast on WBZ-TV), and the City Streets program, (#24.1) (broadcast on WCVB-TV). Throughout her career, Pryor participated in and attended conferences that focused on women's issues; African Americans in the media industry; and leadership in world affairs. Conference materials include correspondence; programs, flyers and agendas; draft notes and revisions of abstracts; journals; and Pryor's speeches, which include: "Black American Women Writers: Enhancing Self Image to Promote Social Change...Not Yet," presented at the Third Interdisciplinary Congress on Women in Ireland (1987) (#13.9). Of particular note are records documenting Pryor's organization of the Women's Watch Against Violence (#14.2).

An active board member of community-based organizations, which include the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and the Cambridge Multi-cultural Arts Center, Pryor's work is documented in minutes and meeting notes; memoranda; proposals; and reports. Also included are monthly reports, correspondence; drafts and revisions of organizing records; contracts and agreements; press releases, clippings and other media campaign material representing Pryor's consultant work for DIAlogos, an advocacy organization for corporate responsibility; the Ten-Point Coalition where Pryor developed Boston Freedom Summer, a camp for troubled youth; the National Ten-Point Leadership Foundation; and other outreach campaigns. Several organizational projects involved media campaigns, which were produced by Pryor's company, Antelope Productions (previously known as Antelope Enterprises and Antelope Communications). These projects include correspondence, memoranda, promotional literature, and financial records related to her work for the Muriel S. Snowden Memorial Scholars Program (Project Reach), St. Paul's Christian Center, and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Records of video projects produced and funded by major networks, academic institutions, and private funders include correspondence, letters of endorsement, and clippings; concept papers and proposals; video editing plans; draft scripts and revisions; financial records consisting of budgets, invoices, and expense reports; interviews; logistical planning notebooks; memoranda; programming schedules; art cards (still shots); and video transcripts for Jesse Jackson on the Record, a 1984 documentary of Jackson's presidential campaign, which was broadcast on WNEV-TV (Boston) and subsequently on PBS. Referred to as "The Jackson Project" during filming, notable items include Pryor's journals documenting her travels with Jackson to Central America and Cuba to meet with Latin American leaders (#21.10-22.7); a speech by Tomas Borge, Ministry of Interior in Nicaragua (#22.2); and a completed video transcript (#22.7). The documentary won several nominations and awards. These records also represent Pryor's work on Definitions - Part I: No Blacks, No Jews, No Gays, a highly successful documentary on tolerance funded by Northeastern University and the Society Organized Against Racism, and other projects. See also Series V.

This series also documents Pryor's work as a part-time faculty member at Wheelock and Emerson colleges, and the Institute of Politics at the J.F.K. School of Politics, Harvard University. Educational materials include course proposals, syllabi, outlines, directories, clippings, notebooks, and bibliographic material outlining the electoral process involved in local, state, and national campaigns and the unique challenges faced by women candidates. Some correspondence, minutes, member lists, and other material related to Pryor's memberships in NOW, the National Writers Union, and the Society Organized Against Racism, are also included. Nearly all of Pryor's writings in this series are unpublished, but still hold research value. Included are articles and essays describing the challenges of working for Edward Kennedy and related correspondence from publishers (#24.2, 24.7-24.10); draft manuscripts of novellas that may be drawn from Pryor's personal life experiences (#25.5); Stickland, a science fiction novel for children (#25.2-25.4); screenplays; poetry; and working papers. There is also an opinion piece on the African American clergy, written and submitted to the Boston Globe in the aftermath of gun violence (#25.6). The series is arranged alphabetically by organization and/or activity, and chronologically thereunder.

Series IV, PHOTOGRAPHS, ca.1930s-1993, n.d. (#PD.1-PD.19), contains photographs, negatives, and slides; family photograph albums; and scrapbooks. Photograph albums include Pryor as a baby, in elementary and junior high school, and with family members and friends. Scrapbooks contain some photographs, but mainly include clippings; invitations and greeting cards; certificates, citations, and awards; and obituaries of family and friends. Also included are photographs of Pryor in the early years of her career; at the opening of Edward Brooke's campaign headquarters and other public events and rallies that she organized on his behalf; and at an annual meeting attended by Edward M. Kennedy and his staff. The series is arranged chronologically. Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be cataloged in VIA, Harvard University's Visual Information Access database. Others, referred to as "uncataloged" photographs, are not of sufficient research interest to warrant cataloging and are simply treated as part of the documents they accompany; they are marked on the back with an asterisk in square brackets [*].

Series V, AUDIOVISUAL, 1984-1988 (#Vt-236.1 - Vt-236.7), includes videotapes of Pryor's Emmy-nominated editorial for WBZ-TV The Politics of Equality, Wing I-3, Racial Troubles, and Productivity. Produced in four segments, the editorial explores efforts of Boston officials to address discrimination and violence, provides an overview of the conditions at the Danvers juvenile detention center, and reports on the state of America's declining productivity. Also included is Rosie's Place, a Boston area women's homeless shelter, which was a two-part series produced for WBZ-TV's public affair department. Videotapes representing Pryor's work on political campaigns include a promotional video of Mel King's mayoral campaign, unedited videotapes of Pryor's travels with Jesse Jackson in Cuba and Central America during his 1984 presidential campaign, and a sample sales presentation of the "Jackson Project" that was eventually produced as Jesse Jackson: On The Record. Pryor's film on tolerance Definitions - Part I: No Blacks, No Jews, No Gays funded by Northeastern University and the Society Organized against Racism, is also included. The series is arranged chronologically.