Archival Resources

Walter, Francis Xavier
Selma Inter-religious Project Files, 1965-1974

Francis Xavier Walter was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1932. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Spring Hill College in 1954 and graduated from St. Luke's Episcopal Seminary at the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1957 with a degree in divinity.

In late 1965, after working with Grace Church in Jersey City, New Jersey, Walter returned to Alabama to head the Selma Inter-religious Project (SIP) under the auspices of the Diocese of Newark. SIP promoted economic and social freedom for rural blacks in Alabama, especially in the Black Belt areas of Wilcox and Lowndes counties. Upon retiring from SIP in 1972, Walter became an advocate for the rights of the mentally retarded. He last served as rector of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Birmingham. He retired from this position in 2001.

The bulk of this collection concerns the first seven years of the Selma Inter-religious Project under the direction of the Rev. Francis X. Walter. The files mainly contain correspondence to and from supporters of SIP and the various projects with which Walter and his staff worked during the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The collection also contains business letters, bank books, Walter's personal and business papers, newspapers and newspaper clippings, and a few photographs of Walter and his staff and a quilt sale in Wilcox County.

Partial file level guide available in the Archives Department.

Walter, Francis Xavier, 1932- Civil rights.
Clergy -- Alabama.
Episcopal Church -- Alabama.
African Americans -- Civil rights.
Selma (Ala.) -- History.
Selma Inter-Religious Project.

Collection Number: 1044

Size: 2½ linear feet (3 boxes)

Restrictions: Standard preservation and copyright restrictions.

RA/6-10-01