Chester I. Lewis (1928-1990), a Hutchinson, Kansas native, became a Wichita-based attorney and leader in the modern Civil Rights movement. This collection of his papers primarily reflects his leadership in the NAACP "Young Turks" organization and other civil rights efforts.

The Gretchen Cassel Eick collection mostly consists of research materials and drafts compiled for Eick’s dissertation, which became the book Dissent in Wichita: The Civil Rights Movement in the Midwest 1954-72. The collection also includes recordings of interviews, some general professional papers, and materials related to Eick's book They Met at Wounded Knee: The Eastmans’ Story.