Arthur Ashe to Sidney Poitier

The Free Southern Theater's all-star cast of its national Sponsoring Committee is noted on its letterheads of the 1960s and 1970s. Correspondence in the collection, however, reveals that this was not a purely ceremonial board and that its members were active behind-the-scenes supporters. In the early 1970s, Arthur Ashe and Julian Bond co-chaired the national committee, which was mostly involved in fundraising and other advocacy.