Dr. Charles Lawrence II and Dr. Margaret Lawrence. Papers

PP-00-R0366

The Archives of the Episcopal Church

Fonds

Dr. Charles Lawrence II and Dr. Margaret Lawrence. Papers

• 1910-2017 (bulk 1936-1986) (Creation)

14 cu.ft. (39 boxes)

Charles Radford Lawrence II (1915-1986) was a longtime Church leader, social activist, and educator. From 1948 until his retirement in 1977, he worked at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York as professor of sociology and chairman of the Department of Sociology. His active involvement in the Church began in 1952 when he became the vestryman and senior warden for Saint Paul's in Spring Valley, New York. Sixteen years later, he became the first black senior warden for New York's historic Trinity Parish. Lawrence served as a Deputy to General Convention from 1967 to 1985, attending eight conventions. In 1976, he became the first African American, and third lay person, elected President of the House of Deputies in the House's 191-year history. Lawrence served as a member of a number of General Convention committees, commissions, and boards. His most influential appointment was as Chairman of the House of Deputies Special Committee on the Ordination of Women to the Priesthood and Episcopate. Both Lawrence and his wife, Dr. Margaret Morgan Lawrence, were influential in the study of race in America. Margaret's work centered on the long-term effects of racism on the health of black families, particularly children. In addition to her career as a world-renowned psychologist and psychoanalyst, she served as chief of the Developmental Psychiatry Center for Infants and Young Children and their Families at Harlem Hospital in New York until her retirement in 1984.

The papers of Charles Radford Lawrence and Margaret Morgan Lawrence document Charles’s activities as a sociologist, professor, civil rights activist, and President of the House of Deputies of The Episcopal Church. The archive contains lectures, sermons, addresses, correspondence, photographs, audio recordings, news clippings, and awards and honoraria from 1936 through 1986 with some earlier collected works and photographs. Margaret Lawrence’s work and research, which centered on the long-term effects of racism on the health of black families, is also featured in the collection.

Series 1. Biographical, 1936-2017
Series 2. Professional, 1940-1986
Series 3. Episcopal Church Service, 1967-1986
Series 4. Correspondence, 1938-2003
Series 5. Lectures, Addresses, Articles, 1945-1996
Series 6. Subject Files, 1922, 1942-1986
Series 7. Margaret Morgan Lawrence, 1924-2009
Series 8. Collected Material and Ephemera, 1916-1982
Series 9. Audio/Visual, c.1910-1985

Access to Episcopal Church records is governed by the Archives Public Access Policy. Research requests must be submitted in writing.

The Archives is able to respond to limited requests for reproductions subject to copyright restrictions, internal policy, and the condition of the source documents.

• English

• African Americans
• House of Deputies
• Lay ministry
• President of the House of Deputies
• Racism
• Social activism
• Women's ordination