ACLU of Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit Branch Records
Collection
Identifier: UR000231
Scope and Content
The ACLU of Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit Branch Records consist of minutes, correspondence, reports, clippings, case files, press releases, newsletters and other material relating primarily to the activities of the Detroit branch and to a lesser extent the activities of the state organization and regional branches.
Important correspondents in the collection are: G. Leslie Field; Patrick Malin; Jeff Fuller; Ernest Mazey; Leanne Golden; Harold Norris; Josephine Gomon; Rolland O'Hare; Charles Lockwood; John J. Pemberton; Alan Reitman
Series Description: Series 1: Regional Unit Files Subseries A. Michigan Chapters Subseries B. Interstate Correspondence Series 2: General files
Important correspondents in the collection are: G. Leslie Field; Patrick Malin; Jeff Fuller; Ernest Mazey; Leanne Golden; Harold Norris; Josephine Gomon; Rolland O'Hare; Charles Lockwood; John J. Pemberton; Alan Reitman
Series Description: Series 1: Regional Unit Files Subseries A. Michigan Chapters Subseries B. Interstate Correspondence Series 2: General files
Dates
- 1952 - 1966
Creator
- American Civil Liberties Union (Organization)
Language of Materials
Material entirely in English.
Access
Collection is open for research except Boxes 44-47 in Part 1, Series II which are restricted and require written approval of donor and a signed restricted use form.
Specifically: A list of files, closed because they contain sensitive information involving investigations, legal and other private matters, appears at the end of this finding aid (Boxes 44-47). To use these files, the researcher must obtain permission in writing from the executive director of the ACLU of Michigan or his/her designee and sign a restricted use statement, which prohibits the citing of names or other information that might identify an individual.
Specifically: A list of files, closed because they contain sensitive information involving investigations, legal and other private matters, appears at the end of this finding aid (Boxes 44-47). To use these files, the researcher must obtain permission in writing from the executive director of the ACLU of Michigan or his/her designee and sign a restricted use statement, which prohibits the citing of names or other information that might identify an individual.
Use
Refer to the Walter P. Reuther Library
Rules for Use of Archival Materials.Restrictions: Researchers may encounter records of a sensitive nature – personnel files, case records and those involving investigations, legal and other private matters. Privacy laws and restrictions imposed by the Library prohibit the use of names and other personal information which might identify an individual, except with written permission from the Director and/or the donor.
History
The Metropolitan Detroit Branch of the American Civil Liberties Union was chartered in 1952 as an affiliate of the national ACLU, founded in 1920 to protect the civil liberties of citizens expressing unpopular views during World War I. In the 1930s, a group of Detroit civil libertarians -- Walter Nelson, G. Leslie Field, James Ellmann and others — joined under the leadership of Reverend Henry Hitt Crane to establish an ACLU committee in Detroit, but it disbanded with the national's adoption of an anti-Communist internal security program in 1940.
In 1961, the Lansing, Ann Arbor and Detroit area chapters joined together to form the ACLU of Michigan, which coordinates civil liberties activities for these and several other chapters that formed over the next decades. Ernest Mazey, a metro Detroit branch executive board member since 1954, became its first executive director, succeeded in 1974 by Howard L. Simon. Both the Metropolitan Detroit and Michigan ACLU are headquartered in the same Detroit office.
In 1961, the Lansing, Ann Arbor and Detroit area chapters joined together to form the ACLU of Michigan, which coordinates civil liberties activities for these and several other chapters that formed over the next decades. Ernest Mazey, a metro Detroit branch executive board member since 1954, became its first executive director, succeeded in 1974 by Howard L. Simon. Both the Metropolitan Detroit and Michigan ACLU are headquartered in the same Detroit office.
Extent
23.5 Linear Feet (47 MB)
Abstract
The Metropolitan Detroit Branch of the ACLU was chartered in 1952 and joined the Lansing and Ann Arbor area chapters in 1961 to form the ACLU of Michigan, coordinating civil liberties activities for these and several other chapters that formed over the next decades. Their records related primarily to the Detroit Branch and include subjects such as: academic freedom; censorship; church and state; civil liberties; police brutality; HUAC; and legal assistance to prisoners.
Arrangement
Arranged in 3 series – Series 1 (Boxes 1-5), Series 2 (Boxes 6-43), and Series 3 (Closed Boxes 1-3). Folders are arranged alphabetically.
Acquisition
The records of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit Branch were deposited in the Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs in May of 1967 by Ernest Mazey.
Processing History
Processed and finding aid written by Walter P. Reuther Library.
Creator
- American Civil Liberties Union (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the ACLU of Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit Branch Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Leah Minadeo and the Walter P. Reuther Library.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Walter P. Reuther Library Repository
Contact:
5401 Cass Ave.
Detroit MI 48202 USA
5401 Cass Ave.
Detroit MI 48202 USA