William Shedrick Willis, Jr. (1921-1983) was an anthropologist and ethnohistorian. Shortly after his birth in Waco, Texas, the Willis family moved to Dallas where William graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. He continued his education at Howard University, graduating cum laude (A.B.,1942), and at Columbia University, where he recived a Ph.D. in anthropology in 1955. William married Georgina Upshur, who also attended Columbia University (M.S., 1946), in 1949.

Willis' early works addressed the subject of Indian-Black relations in Southeastern North America. His published works on this subject include Colonial Conflict and the Cherokee Indians, 1710-1760 (1955), The Nation of Bread (1957), Patrilineal Institutions in Southeastern North America (1963), and Divide and Rule: Red, White, and Black in the Southeast (1963).

After many years in New York City, the Willis' returned to Dallas in 1964. Here William accepted a joint teaching position in the Division of Social Sciences at Bishop College and in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Southern Methodist University. William Willis was the first Black scholar to be appointed to the faculty of Southern Methodist University.

It was during his tenure at SMU that Willia turned his attention to the study of Blacks in anthropology. In fact, Willis was instrumental in helping to establish the African American Studies Program at SMU. This new direction prompted Willis to re-evaluate the contribution of Franz Boas in relation to Blacks and the development of anthropology in the United States. Willis' works on these subjects include Anthropology and Negroes on the Southern Colonial Frontier (1970), and Skeletons in the Anthropological Closet (1972).

Willis resigned from SMU in 1972 in protest against the racist treatment he received from the faculty within the Department of Anthropology. He continued teaching at Columbia University during summer sessions until 1975. It was after his resignation from SMU that Willis began extensive research and writing on Franz Boas. The Willis' returned to Philadelphia (Georgine Willis' hometown) in 1978 where William was able to utilize the collections at the American Philosophical Society Library. Works during this period include Franz Boas and the Study of Black Folklore (1973), and Dubious Boasiana (1983).

William Willis suffered a fatal heart attack on 8 August 1983. He had begun writing a treatise entitled Boas Goes to Atalnta, which focused in Boas' commencement address at the 11th Atlanta University Conference on Negro Problems and its significance to Boas and the development of anthropology in the United States.

Willis was a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ans was an active member of the American Society for Ethnohistory, the Society for American Archaeology, and the American Association of University Professors.

The papers reflect Dr. Willis' passionate commitment to the field of anthropology and his significant contribution to the understanding of the dynamics of inter-cultural exchange in a multicultural context. With his study of Cherokee Indians; Southern Blacks and Native Americans; and Boasian anthropology, he extended the concept of cultural conditioning. His professional correspondence present his thoughts on the conflicts within the anthropological discipline; plus memos of the treatment he received as the first African American professor hired by Southern Methodist University. Lecture notes include classes taught at Southern Methodist University (1964-1972) and Columbia University (1972-1975). Of particular note are the extensive research notes on Franz Boas' attempts to deal with the race issue in America and his preservation of Black folklore.

The papers (26 boxes; 13 linear feet) are divided into four series:

Series I. Correspondence 1945-1983 3.5 linear feet Series II. Lecture and Research notes 1945-1983 8 linear feet Series III. Works 1955-1983 1 linear foot Series IV. Photographs and Ephemera 1942-1984 0.5 linear feet

Provenance

Presented by Mrs. William S. Willis and accessioned, 12/21/1984 (1985 186ms).

Separated material

List of microfilm moved:

8 microfilm reels: Records of Cherokee Indian Agency in Tennessee, 1801-1835, Correspondence and Miscellaneous Records, 1801-1820; National Archives, Microfilm Publications. 1 microfilm reel: Records of the Cherokee Indian Agency in Tennessee, 1801-1835, Records of the agent for the Dept. of Tennessee, 1800-1815, and Records of Joseph McMinn, Agent for Cherokee Removal, 1817-1821; National Archives. 1 microfilm reel: Colonial Office Papers, South Carolina, Sessional Papers, Journals of Council, Assembly, and Council in Assembly, April 1726-Sept. 1727, and Dec. 1727-Feb. 1728/29; Great Britian, Public Record Office, Colonial Office Papers, 5/429. 1 microfilm reel: Colonial Office Papers, South Carolina, 1715-1729, Original Correspondence, Sec. of State; Great Britian, Public Record Office, Colonial Office Papers, 5/387. 6 microfilm reels: South Carolina Gazette, 1732-1774. 1 mircofilm reel: South Carolina Gazette, 1774-1775; Gazette of State of South Carolina, 1777-1780; South Carolina Gazette & Country Journal, 1765-1768. 1 microfilm reel: South Carolina Gazette & Country Journal, 1769-1773. 1 microfilm reel: South Carolina Gazette & Country Journal, 1773-1775; Charleston Gazette, 1778-1790; South Carolina America General Gazette, 1764-1769. 1 microfilm reel: South Carolina and America General Gazette, 1769-1775. 1 microfilm reel: South Carolina General & America Gazette, 1776-1781; Royal South Carolina Gazette, 1780-1782; Royal Gazette, 1781. 1 microfilm reel: Royal Gazette, 1781-1782.

Cassette Tapes moved:

Tape 1: Tape of Odyssey Parogram on Franz Boas. Tape 2: Tape of American Anthropological Association meeting, Chicago, and Memorial to William S. Willis, 1983.

African American History Note

In addition to providing insight into the life of an African American scholar during the civil rights era, this collection may afford students of African American history useful information in a number of areas of interest.

Of special note are the lecture materials on the courses Willis taught in anthropology, history of anthropology, and African American studies, while at SMU and at summer sessions at Columbia University during the 1960s-1970s.

• Columbia University -- Faculty.
• Columbia University -- Students.
• Southern Methodist University -- Faculty.

• Benedict, Ruth, 1887-1948
• Boas, Franz, 1858-1942
• Herzog, George, 1901-1983
• Kroeber, A. L. (Alfred Louis), 1876-1960
• Linton, Ralph, 1893-1953
• Mintz, Sidney Wilfred
• Steward, Julian Haynes, 1902-1972
• Strong, William Duncan, 1899-1
• Sturtevant, William C.
• Wagley, Charles
• Weltfish, Gene
• White, Leslie A., 1900-1975.
• Willis, William Shedrick, 1921-1983

• Abolition, emancipation, freedom
• African Americans -- Study and teaching
• Anthropology
• Anthropology -- History
• Anthropology, ethnography, fieldwork
• Civil rights
• Culture, community, organizations
• Eugenics -- United States
• Labor, industrialization
• Plantations
• Race, race relations, racism
• Reconstruction
• Religion, religious organizations
• Segregation
• Slaves, slavery, slave trade
• Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform