The Negro Freedom Rallies of the mid-1940s are one of a number of key events in African American history documented in the papers of the Episcopal priest and civil-rights activist M. Moran Weston (1910–2002), the first African American trustee of Columbia University.

Dr. Weston, who held an undergraduate degree and a Ph.D. from Columbia University, was an active member of the Harlem community, in part through his long association with St. Phillip's Church on 134th street, where he was rector from 1951 until 1982. A licensed real-estate broker, M. Moran Weston was also closely involved in the construction of apartment houses in Harlem and in the establishment of residential facilities for senior citizens. He served on many boards of Harlem institutions and was active in the establishment of numerous social programs.

During World War Two, Dr. Weston was asked to manage the efforts of a community-labor group, the Labor Victory Committee, to find employment in the war industries for African Americans. He also managed the first Negro Freedom Rally, held in Madison Square Garden, which attracted an audience of over 5,000. This multimedia segment includes an interview about the Negro Freedom Rallies with Professor Manning Marable, director of the Center for Contemporary Black History at Columbia; a slide show featuring photographs of the June 25, 1945, rally that are part of the M. Moran Weston papers at Columbia University; and a small slide show featuring images of Dr. Weston and of some of the young people in the social programs for which he was a catalyst.