urn:taro:utexas.cah.01564 A Guide to the J. B. Rayner Papers, 1903-1919 Original EAD encoding by Sarah Powell according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. May 2010 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary Rayner (J. B.) Rayner (J. B.) Papers 1903-1919 Materials are written in English. 73-131 5 in. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin Letters, newspaper articles, and clippings relating to J. B. Rayner, leader of the Populist People's Party in Texas and one of the greatest orators of this time. Biographical Note

John Baptis (J. B.) Rayner (1850-1918) was born to Mary Ricks, a slave, and white congressman and planter Kenneth Rayner. After working on his father’s plantation, Rayner attended Shaw University and St. Augustine’s Normal and Collegiate Institute with help from his father. Rayner became a teacher in Tarboro, North Carolina, where he also held local political offices with the Republican Party during Reconstruction.

Upon Rayner’s return to Texas, he gained notoriety as a proponent of prohibition and soon joined the Populist Party. While touring on behalf of the party, he quickly gained a reputation as one of the greatest orators of the day, regardless of race. Rayner continued his fight for black rights even after the Populist movement collapsed and he returned to the Republican Party. He pushed especially hard for black vocational schools, and served as President of Conroe Porter Industrial College. Rayner dedicated his life to fighting Jim Crow laws, spent his last years pushing for the inclusion of African Americans in the armed forces during World War I.

Source:

Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Rayner, John Baptis" http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/RR/fra52.html (accessed June 9, 2010).

 Scope and Contents

The J. B. Rayner Papers contain correspondence, literary productions, scrapbooks, clippings, and other materials relating to Rayner’s activities as an organizer for the Conroe Porter Industrial College, the Texas Negro Law and Order League, and the Farmers’ Improvement Society.

 Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Alsbury, Edward Plummer Jones, Jesse H. (Jessie Holman), 1874-1956 Kirby, Jonathan Reagan, John H. (John Henninger), 1818-1905 Rayner, John B., 1850-1918 Subjects (Organizations) Farmers Improvement Society of Texas Conroe-Porter Industrial College Texas Negro Law and Order College Subjects African American educators -- Texas Populism -- United States -- Texas -- History -- Sources Populist Party (U.S.) -- Texas -- History -- Sources Places Calvert (Tex.) Conroe (Tex.) Preferred Citation

Rayner (J. B.) Papers, 1903-1919, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

 Processing Information

This collection was processed by Robert S. Martin, July 1976.

 Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory 3F218 Letters, 1906-1919 Literary Productions: The Federal Government's Best Asset Good Citizenship and the Negro The Negro's Heart The Negro's Opportunity in the South Pledges and Vows of the International Brotherhood of Christian Laymen Political Ingratittude Racial Growth The Travail of the Soul in its Travel from Imperfection Back to Perfection Southern Chivalry and the Negro The Spirit of Abraham Lincoln Calling His Negro Children Whom He Emancipated Vardamanism Epigrams and Aphorisms Fragments Scrapbooks: 1903-1914 1911-1914 Clippings; Miscellaneous