William "Bill" Saunders papers
Collection Overview
This collection includes materials relating to the personal and professional life of William (Bill
) Saunders. A very small portion of the papers contains personal materials such as biographical material, clippings, and correspondence. The majority of the collection documents Saunders' civic involvement from the late 1960s to 2004, with organizations such as the Committee on Better Racial Assurance (COBRA), Charleston Area Community Relations Committee, and Sea Island Comprehensive Health Care Corporation. A limited number of newspaper articles relate to Saunders' role in the 1969 Hospital Workers' Strike. The largest portion chronicles the establishment and early operation of COBRA, though later COBRA materials are included. Saunders' ten-year tenure as South Carolina Public Service Commissioner is also reflected, while a small amount of materials relate to Saunders' run for South Carolina Senate in 1980.
A portion of the collection contains materials relating to WPAL radio station, including audiocassette tapes of various programs from 1990 to 2002. Also includes subject files containing articles and publications relating to many local issues.
Dates
- Creation: approximately 1950-2004
Creator
- Saunders, William, 1935- (Person)
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright Notice
The nature of the Avery Research Center's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Avery Research Center claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Biographical Note
William (Bill
) Saunders was born on February 14, 1935 in New York. At the age of eighteen months, he moved to Johns Island, South Carolina to live with his maternal grandparents. There, he grew up working on his grandparents' farm and on others in the area. He attended Mt. Zion Elementary School on Johns Island and Burke High School on the Charleston peninsula.
In 1951, Saunders joined the United States Army and fought in the Korean War until the summer of 1952.
During the 1960s, Saunders became involved in the Civil Rights movement in Charleston, organizing an armed self-defense group and publishing a radical newspaper called the Lowcountry Newsletter. He participated in the 1969 Hospital Workers' Strike and helped negotiate the resolutions to this strike. In 1970, Saunders established the Committee on Better Racial Assurance (COBRA), an organization whose primary purpose is to mediate problems and facilitate communication within the Charleston community. In addition, COBRA assists underprivileged citizens through various programs, gaining particular attention for its Sickle Cell Anemia awareness program.
In 1972, Saunders became the co-owner of AM radio station WPAL, the first radio station to return to the air after Hurricane Hugo. He became the sole proprietor of the station in 1985 and continued to operate WPAL until 1998.
Saunders ran for South Carolina Senate in 1980, and held a ten-year tenure on the Public Service Commission of South Carolina from 1994 to 2004. In 2004, William Bill
Saunders returned to the full-time administration of COBRA.
Extent
14.5 linear feet (28 archival boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
William (Bill
) Saunders, was an organizer and lead negotiator of the Charleston Hospital Stike of 1969. In 1970, Saunders established the Committee on Better Racial Assurance (COBRA) to address race-related community problems and provide assistance to community members in need. He also operated the AM radio station WPAL from 1972-1998.
This collection includes materials relating to the personal and professional life of Saunders. A very small portion of the papers contains personal materials such as biographical material, clippings, and correspondence. The majority of the collection documents Saunders' civic involvement from the late 1960s to 2004, with organizations such as the Committee on Better Racial Assurance (COBRA), Charleston Area Community Relations Committee, and Sea Island Comprehensive Health Care Corporation. A portion of the collection contains materials relating to WPAL radio station, including audiocassette tapes of various programs from 1990 to 2002.
Collection Arrangement
1. Personal Papers, 1976-2003
2. Civic Involvement, 1967-2005
3. Professional Papers, 1950s-2002
4. Subject Files and Publications
Separated Material
1100-OPF/1
Processing Information
Processed by Felice Knight, June 2006, and Jessica Farrell, August 2010
Encoded by Jessica Farrell, August 2010
Edited by Amanda Ross, August 2010
Funding from the
Subject
- United Way of America (Organization)
- Committee on Better Racial Assurance (Organization)
Geographic
- Charleston (S.C.) -- History -- 20th century
- Charleston (S.C.) -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century
- Johns Island (S.C. : Island) -- History -- 20th century
- Sea Islands -- Social conditions
Topical
- African American civic leaders -- South Carolina -- Charleston
- African American political activists -- South Carolina -- Charleston
- African American radio stations -- South Carolina -- Charleston
- African Americans -- Civil rights -- South Carolina -- Charleston -- History -- 20th century
- African Americans -- South Carolina -- Charleston -- History -- 20th century
- African Americans -- South Carolina -- Johns Island (Island) -- History -- 20th century
- African Americans -- South Carolina -- Johns Island (Island) -- Social life and customs
- Civic leaders -- South Carolina -- Charleston
- Community health services -- South Carolina -- Charleston
- Community health services -- South Carolina -- Johns Island (Island)
- Hospital Workers' Strike, Charleston, S.C., 1969
- Nonprofit organizations -- South Carolina -- Charleston -- History -- 20th century
- Nonprofit organizations -- South Carolina -- Johns Island (Island) -- 20th century
- Social action -- South Carolina -- Charleston -- 20th century
- Title
- Inventory of the William ( Bill) Saunders Papers, circa 1950 - 2004 AMN 1100
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Processed by: Felice Knight and Jessica Farrell; machine-readable finding aid created by: Jessica Farrell
- Description rules
- Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English
- Sponsor
- Funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources supported the collection processing and encoding of this finding aid.
Repository Details
Part of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture Repository
125 Bull Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424 United States
843-953-7608
averyresearchcenter@cofc.edu