Waits, Jim Leggett. Papers. MSS 287

PITTS THEOLOGY LIBRARY
ARCHIVES AND MANUSCRIPTS DEPT.

WAITS, JIM LEGGETT, 1935- .
Papers, 1958-1990.

MANUSCRIPT NUMBER 287

EXTENT: .75 cubic ft. (1 legal sized archive box and 1 half legal size archives box)

ACCESS: Unrestricted

REPRODUCTION: All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

CITATION: Jim Leggett Waits Papers, MSS 287, Archives and Manuscripts Dept., Pitts Theology Library, Emory University.

Biographical Note

James Leggett Waits was born on December 11, 1935. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Millsaps College, a Bachelor of Divinity from Yale University, and a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago. In addition, Waits was awarded two honorary degrees: a Doctor of Divinity from Millsaps College and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Florida Southern College. Waits served as the Dean and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Divinity at Candler School of Theology from 1984-1991. He then served as the President of the Theological Fund for Education from 1991-2003.

Scope and Content Note

This is a collection of the personal papers of Jim L. Waits, most of which predates his time as Dean at Candler School of Theology. Included in the collection is Dean Waits curriculum vitae written in 1990 while still at Candler. The bulk of the series involves the “Born of Conviction” pro-desegregation statement of twenty-eight young Methodist Ministers in Mississippi in December of 1962. Included is the “Born of Conviction” statement, correspondence regarding the statement, sermons, clippings, and other publications concerning the declaration. Also included in the collection is Waits’ Masters Thesis submitted to the University of Chicago in 1967. The thesis is titled “Civil Disobedience and Obligation to the State” and includes his notes along with multiple drafts. There are also materials pertaining to race discussions that took place at Millsaps College, at which time Waits served as the Student Body President.

CONTAINER LISTING

Box/Folder      Description                                  		Dates

1/1		Biographical sketch					1990
		Born of Conviction:
1/2		   Born of Conviction statement				1962
1/3		   Born of Conviction statement – photocopies		1962
1/4		   Clippings and editorials				1963
1/5		   Clippings and editorials – photocopies		1963
1/6		   Correspondence – incoming				1962-1963
1/7		   Correspondence – incoming – photocopies		1962-1963
1/8		   Correspondence – outgoing				1962-1963
1/9		   Correspondence – outgoing – photocopies		1962-1963
1/10		   Notes on responses to statement			1963
1/11		   Notes on responses to statement – photocopies	1963
1/12		   Opposing responses					n.d.
1/13 		   Opposing responses – photocopies			n.d.
1/14		   Questionnaire to "The 28"				1965
1/15		   Sermons and writings of the twenty-eight young
		      Methodist Ministers				1963
1/16		   Sermons and writings of the twenty-eight young
		      Methodist Ministers – photocopies			1963
		“Civil Disobedience and Obligation to the State”:
1/17		   Carbon copy						1967
1/18		   Handwritten draft					1967
1/19		   Note cards						n.d.
1/20		   Typed draft (with corrections)			1967
2/1		Millsaps College race discussions			1958
		Study of Protestant Ministers by Jeffrey K. Hadden
2/2		   Article						1965
2/3		   Correspondence					1965
2/4		Waits’ notes on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter
		   from Birmingham Jail”				n.d.
2/5		Waits' notes on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter
		   from Birmingham Jail” – photocopies		  	n.d.
2/6		Writings

Last Modified: 04/01/2005