Raper, Arthur Franklin, 1899-1979

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Arthur Franklin Raper was a distinguished sociologist whose early work focused on rural social issues and racial discrimination in the South. From the 1940s through the early 1960s, he worked for several government agencies on problems of rural development in Bangladesh as well as other countries in Southeast Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. After his work as senior advisor to the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development, he returned to the United States and worked as a visiting professor at Michigan State University until his retirement in 1967.

From the description of Arthur Franklin Raper papers, 1959-1975. (George Mason University). WorldCat record id: 755915322

Sociologist; interviewee d. 1979.

From the description of Reminiscences of Arthur Franklin Raper : oral history, 1971. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122376588

Research and Field Secretary of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation.

From the description of Correspondence with Johan Thorsten Sellin, 1933-1936. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 243778802

Arthur Franklin Raper (1899-1979) was a rural sociologist, civil rights activist, and social science analyst both in the United States and in other countries. Born in Davidson County, N.C., Raper's early career focused on analysis of rural problems and racial discrimination in the South. In 1940, he began his 22-year career as a social scientist and research analyst for several federal government agencies. After World War II, he became involved with problems of rural development on a global scale, studying conditions in Japan, Taiwan, other Asian countries, and in North Africa and the Middle East. In 1962, he went to Comilla, Pakistan, as senior advisor to the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development. He returned to the United States in 1964 and was a visiting professor at Michigan State University until his retirement in 1967.

From the description of Arthur Franklin Raper papers, 1913-1979. WorldCat record id: 26320207

Arthur Franklin Raper (1899-1979) attended both the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and Vanderbilt University. The early years of Raper's career were devoted to an analysis of rural problems and racial discrimination in Depression-era South. He was an activist who delivered speeches and gathered data as he worked to alleviate rural poverty and for the social and legal equality of African Americans. In 1940, Raper began his 22-year career as a social scientist and research analyst for several federal government agencies. His concern for southern agricultural reform continued, but after World War II, he became involved with problems of rural development on a global scale. He studied conditions in Japan, Taiwan, and several other countries in Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. During these years, Raper continued the activism that had characterized his earlier career. In 1962, he became senior advisor to the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development. He returned to America two years later, and was a visiting professor at Michigan State University until he retired in 1967. Between the time of his retirement and his death in 1979, Raper maintained an active interest in the worldwide struggle against social and political injustice.

Personal:

  • 1899: Born on 8 November in Davidson County, N.C., the third son of William Franklin and Julia Selina Crouse Raper.
  • 1929: Married Martha E. Jarrell of Atlanta, Ga., on 12 June.
  • 1930: Birth of first son, Charles F., on 5 May.
  • 1932: Birth of second son, Harrison C. (Roper), on 10 May.
  • 1934: Birth of third son, A. Jarrell, on 24 March.
  • 1937: Birth of daughter, J. Margaret (Hummon), on 21 November.
  • 1979: Died in Oakton, Va., on 10 August.

Education:

  • 1924: Received A.B., University of North Carolina.
  • 1925: Received M.A. in sociology and political science, Vanderbilt University.
  • 1931: Received Ph.D. in sociology and rural economics, University of North Carolina.

Positions Held:

  • 1925 - 1926 : Research Assistant for the Institute for Research in Social Science, University of North Carolina.
  • 1926 - 1939 : Research Secretary for the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, Atlanta, Ga.
  • 1930 - 1931 : Member of the Southern Commission on the Study of Lynching.
  • 1932 - 1939 : Part-time professor of sociology at Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Ga.
  • 1938 - 1940 : Executive Secretary of the Council on a Christian Social Order.
  • 1939 - 1940 : Research Associate for the Carnegie-Myrdal Study of the American Negro.
  • 1940 - 1942 : Social Science Analyst for the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
  • 1942 - 1952 : Social Science Analyst and Principal Social Scientist for the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
  • 1943 - 1952 : Taught graduate courses at the United States Department of Agriculture, at American University, and at the University of Maryland.
  • 1946 - 1952 : Trustee of the Delta Cooperative Farms, Inc., Bolivar County, Miss.
  • 1947 - 1950 : Made three trips to Japan as a consultant on agrarian reforms for the Allied Occupation Command.
  • 1951: Made a trip to Southeast Asia as a consultant on increasing aid to villagers for the Mutual Security Administration (MSA).
  • 1951: Made a trip to the Middle East as a consultant on increasing agricultural production for the American Friends of the Middle East.
  • 1952: Consultant to the Far East Division of MSA.
  • 1952 - 1954 : Project Evaluation Advisor for the Foreign Operations Administration's Mutual Security Mission to China (Taiwan).
  • 1954 - 1955 : Consultant to the Community Development Division of the International Cooperation Administration (ICA).
  • 1955 - 1958 : Regional Community Development Advisor to the Middle East and North Africa for ICA.
  • 1958: Member of the Training Development Staff for ICA.
  • 1958 - 1961 : Assistant Chief for the Orientation and Counseling Branch of the Career Development Division of ICA.
  • 1959 - 1962 : Taught courses on community development at Catholic University.
  • 1961 - 1962 : Acting Chief for the Orientation and Counseling Branch, ICA.
  • 1964: Senior Advisor to the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development, Comilla, East Pakistan.
  • 1964: Worked with the Pakistan Project in the College of Education at Michigan State University.
  • 1965 - 1967 : Visiting professor with the Asian Studies Center and an affiliate in the Department of Sociology, Michigan State University.
  • 1967: Retired in July to his home in Oakton, Va.

Books:

  • 1933: The Tragedy of Lynching (reprinted in 1969).
  • 1936: Preface to Peasantry (reprinted in 1968).
  • 1941: Sharecroppers All, with Ira DeA. Reid (reprinted in 1971).
  • 1943: Tenants of the Almighty (reprinted in 1971).
  • 1949: Rural Life in the United States, with Carl C. Taylor, et al.
  • 1950: The Japanese Village in Transition, with Herbert Passin, et al.
  • 1951: Guide to Agriculture, U.S.A., with Martha J. Raper (revised and reprinted in 1955).
  • 1953: Rural Taiwan: Problem and Promise, with the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction.
  • 1954: Urban and Industrial Taiwan: Crowded and Resourceful, with Han-sheng Chuan and Shao-shing Chen.
  • 1970: Rural Development in Action: The Comprehensive Experiment at Comilla, East Pakistan, with Harry L. Case, et al.

From the guide to the Arthur Franklin Raper Papers, 1913-1979, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Southern Regional Council. Southern Regional Council Collection, 1944-1973. Atlanta History Center, Kenan Research Center / Cherokee Garden Library
referencedIn Robert Watts Hudgens Papers, 1925-1973 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
referencedIn Wilkins, Josephine Mathewson, 1893-1977. Josephine Mathewson Wilkins papers, 1920-1977. Emory University. Special Collections and Archives
referencedIn Wilkins, Josephine Mathewson, 1893-1977. Papers, 1920-1977 (bulk 1930-1964). Emory University, Robert W. Woodruff Library
creatorOf Raper, Arthur Franklin, 1899-1979. Arthur Franklin Raper papers, 1959-1975. George Mason University, Fenwick Library
referencedIn Providence Plantation (Miss.). Delta and Providence cooperative farms papers, 1925-1963. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
creatorOf Raper, Arthur Franklin, 1899-1979. Arthur Franklin Raper papers, 1913-1979. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn Moore, Jack B. [Papers] 1922-1993. University of South Florida, USF Library
creatorOf Raper, Arthur Franklin, 1899-1979. Reminiscences of Arthur Franklin Raper : oral history, 1971. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Arthur Franklin Raper Papers, 1913-1979 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection
referencedIn Stone, Olive M. (Olive Matthews), 1897-1977. Olive M. Stone papers, 1838-1977. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
creatorOf Raper, Arthur Franklin, 1899- . Interview, 1971. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Kester, Howard, 1904-1977. Howard Kester papers, 1923-1972. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn McCurdy, Julius Augustus, 1903-. Julius McCurdy oral history interview, 1988 Nov. 21. Georgia State University
referencedIn Kester, Howard A., 1904-1977. Papers, 1923-1978. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn Weatherford, Willis D. (Willis Duke), 1875-1970. Willis D. Weatherford papers, 1911-1969. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
creatorOf Raper, Arthur Franklin, 1899-1979. Correspondence with Johan Thorsten Sellin, 1933-1936. University of Pennsylvania Library
creatorOf Carnegie Corporation of New York. Carnegie-Myrdal Study of the Negro in America research memoranda collection, 1935-1948. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Carnegie-Myrdal Study of the Negro in America research memoranda collection, 1935-1948 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Alexander, Will Winton, 1884-1956. person
associatedWith Carnegie Corporation of New York. corporateBody
associatedWith Carnegie Corporation of New York. person
associatedWith Commission on Interracial Cooperation. corporateBody
associatedWith Delano, Jack. person
associatedWith Delta Cooperative Farm (Hillhouse, Miss.) corporateBody
associatedWith East-West Center. corporateBody
associatedWith Hudgens, Robert Watts, 1896-1973 person
associatedWith Kester, Howard, 1904-1977. person
associatedWith Kester, Howard A., 1904-1977. person
associatedWith Lange, Dorothea. person
associatedWith McCurdy, Julius Augustus, 1903- person
associatedWith Michigan State University. Asian Studies Center. corporateBody
associatedWith Moore, Jack B. person
associatedWith Myrdal, Gunnar, 1898-1987. person
associatedWith Odum, Howard Washington, 1884-1954. person
associatedWith Pakistan Academy for Rural Development, Comilla. corporateBody
associatedWith Raper family. family
associatedWith Singal, Daniel Joseph, 1944-, person
associatedWith Smith, Lillian, 1897-1966. person
associatedWith Sosda, Morton. person
associatedWith Southern Commission on the Study of Lynching. corporateBody
associatedWith Southern Regional Council. corporateBody
associatedWith Stone, Olive M. (Olive Matthews), 1897-1977. person
associatedWith United States. Agency for International Development. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Bureau of Agricultural Economics. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Foreign Operations Administration. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. International Cooperation Administration. corporateBody
associatedWith Weatherford, Willis D. (Willis Duke), 1875-1970. person
associatedWith Wilkins, Josephine Mathewson, 1893-1977. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Pakistan
United States
North Carolina
Bangladesh
Asia
Africa, North
Middle East
United States
Southern States
Japan
Pakistan
United States
Taiwan
Subject
African Americans
African Americans
African Americans
Agriculture
Depressions
Depressions
Families
Lynching
New Deal, 1933-1939
Rural development
Rural development
Sociologists
Sociologists
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1899

Death 1979

Americans

English

Information

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