Everette Tharp Collection, 1958-1976

Descriptive Summary

Title
Everette Tharp Collection, 1958-1976
Creator
Tharp, Everette, 1899-
Extent
.45 cu. ft.
Subjects
Tharp, Everette, 1899-
Appalachian Committee for Full Employment.
LKLP Community Action Council.
Coal mines and mining -- Kentucky.
Roving Picket Movement.
Strikes and Lockouts -- Coal miners.
Leslie County (Ky.).
Letcher County (Ky.).
Knott County (Ky.).
Perry County (Ky.).
Clippings.
Finding Aid Author
Processed by ; machine-readable finding aid created by Beth Eifler
Repository
University of Kentucky

Collection Overview

Biography / History
In the early 1960's, the United Mine Workers Welfare and Retirement Fund decided to cancel medical cards held by union miners who were working for companies that failed to pay their royalty funds to the Fund. In a few eastern Kentucky counties, the miners responded spontaneously by banding together, traveling from mine to mine, and closing them down. Known as the Roving Picket Movement, it evolved into the Appalachian Committee for Full Employment (ACFE) by early 1964. The ACFE was an antipoverty organization whose goal was to organize unemployed miners and make the local War on Poverty programs more responsive to poor people. The Roving Picket Movement eventually led to pressures for black lung legislation in the late 1960s and to the reform of the United Mine Workers of America through the creation of Miners for Democracy.
Everette Tharp served as Recording Secretary to the ACFE, one of the first poor people's groups to apply for Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) funds. Tharp and the ACFE were eventually involved in a political struggle over who would control the (Letcher Knott Leslie Perry) LKLP Community Action Council.
Scope and Content
This collection primarily contains photocopies of materials, which were loaned to the University of Kentucky by Tharp, relating to the ACFE and LKLP Community Action Council.
In addition to Tharp's ACFE files, the collection contains a draft of his autobiography which is interesting for its discussion of union politics in the Hazard coalfields in the mid-1930's and its description of mining practices of the time. Also included in the miscellaneous file is a piece titled, "Strip Mining," which is, in fact, a succinct history of coal development in eastern Kentucky. These works demonstrate Tharp's sharp analysis and strong opinions.
Background material covering the events with which this collection is concerned has been added to complement Tharp's papers. Included are an extensive clipping file from the Hazard, Kentucky Herald and dozens of periodical articles -- everything from U.S. News and World Report to Radical America.

Contents of the Collection

Everette Tharp

Autobiography, November 20, 1972

  • Box 1
  • Folder 1
To top

Miscellaneous writings by Tharp.

  • Box 1
  • Folder 2
To top

Appalachian Committee for Full Employment

Includes the ACFE constitution, its response to the President's Appalachian Regional Commission Report (PARC), statement of the ACFE's goals and objectives, literature from Berman Gibson's campaign for Sheriff of Perry Co. in May, 1965, and an application to OEO to fund a community organizing program.

  • Box 1
  • Folder 3
To top

Voice for Jobs and Justice, ACFE newsletter, October 9, 1964-February 19, 1965

  • Box 1
  • Folder 4
To top

Voice for Jobs and Justice, ACFE newsletter. March 5, 1965-June 11, 1965

  • Box 1
  • Folder 5
To top

LKLP Community Action Council

Correspondence, a memorandum, reports, and clippings.

  • Box 1
  • Folder 6
To top

Background Material, 1958-1976

This section includes articles from a range of periodicals about events and conditions in the Eastern Kentucky coalfields leading up to the Roving Picket Movement and the development of the ACFE. Also included are articles written retrospectively about the ACFE.

Clipping file from The Hazard Herald, January 1, 1959-December 14, 1964

  • Box 1
  • Folder 7
To top

Various publications, 1958-1963

  • Box 1
  • Folder 8
To top

Various publications, 1964-1976

  • Box 1
  • Folder 9
To top

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UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.

Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.

Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.

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You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.

If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.