Mar 01 2008
Dallas DA’s JFK- related documents to be donated… but where?
On the front page of today’s Dallas Morning News, the discussion continues over whether documents from the Dallas DA’s office that relate to the Kennedy assassination in 1963 will head to the National Archives in Washington D.C. (where the Warren Commission materials and the other assassination-related documents are held), or whether they will be donated to the Sixth Floor Museum in the former Texas School Book Depository building.
I can understand the desire for Dallas residents to keep as much of the local history and information about the assassination in Dallas as possible. Furthermore, NARA has not yet examined the documents to appraise whether or not they would fall within their collecting scope; ie. whether there is information of historical or evidentiary value that belongs with the other related collections. It’s possible that NARA might pass on this particular collection, anyway. But I think that there are a few more questions to be raised, particularly:
-to whom do these documents currently belong? The creator of the documents (DA in 1963)? The Dallas DA’s office? who has the authority to donate records that belong to the city of Dallas?
-what is the provenance of these records, and why are they just coming to light now? is the collection complete, or has it been ravaged/damaged by souvenir hunters or others?
-what does the collection cover? how much related information is contained, and how much of it is unique versus copies of documents held elsewhere? how much was originated in the DA’s office?
One of my other concerns was also shared by a federal judge by letter to the potential donor and quoted in the article, namely the conditions and continued existence of the Sixth Floor Museum.
The National Archives’ JFK collection “is a treasure trove of information, preserved under ideal conditions and accessible to the public,” Judge Tunheim wrote in a Feb. 22 letter to Mr. Watkins.
He also argued against giving the documents to The Sixth Floor Museum. “I have always been concerned that it may not be a proper archival facility, particularly for documents, and may not continue into perpetuity,” the judge wrote.
From my own visit to the Sixth Floor Museum and a subsequent visit to their website, I noted that many (if not most) of their materials appear to be copies of material held elsewhere or widely available, with the exception of their oral history collection. Without having been there in a research capacity, I obviously cannot comment on the storage of their materials, but I hope that the potential donor/s have been able to view and understand the conditions under which they will be cared for, available for use, and handled. The expectations under which materials are given should be understood by both donor and institution before anything else happens.
Full article here: Dallas DA says unearthed JFK documents will likely be given to Sixth Floor
[…] in the beginning of March, I talked about records relating to the JFK assassination that were kept by the Dallas DA at the time, Henry Wade, and not made available to the public. […]