Marr-McGee Family papers, 1915-2000 | Amistad Research Center

The Marr-McGee Family papers document the lives of writer, photographer, and cultural promoter Warren Marr II; his wife, attorney, community activist, and energy consultant Carmel Carrington Marr; and his sister, nurse, and race relations advocate Grace Marr Nugent. The key topics covered in this collection are the founding and administration of the Amistad Research Center; Black arts and theater; community development and relations; historically Black colleges and universities; human rights and race relations; minority employment and discrimination; neighborhood development in Brooklyn, New York; and the United Nations policy to the United States. The collection includes audiovisual materials, correspondence, memoranda and minutes of meetings, printed items and ephemera, and photographs.

The main strengths of the collection include the family history papers, which thoroughly document the Marr and McGee familial lines; Warren Marr's extensive collection of photographs taken at six American Missionary Association college campuses for his "Gateway for Freedom" exhibition showcasing African American student life; correspondence and contracts of the Warren Marr Management, which promoted New York area Black artists, authors, and musicians; the limited correspondence and stationary samples of the printing company House of Marr, Inc.; materials documenting the public relations arm and magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); and Carmel Marr's work in community relations and human rights in New York.

Correspondents of note include Harlem Renaissance poet Bruce Nugent; singers Cindy Lou and William Veasey; Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge; actors Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis; and former First Lady of the United States Lady Bird Johnson.