Social history
Subject
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Found in 32 Collections and/or Records:
Abraham Lefkowitz Papers
Collection — Box Small Processed Collections: La-Le, Box 9, Folder: 12-15
Identifier: LP000402
Abstract
Abraham Lefkowitz was a teacher and principal in the New York elementary school system and active in teachers unions, civic and social reform movements, and championed minority causes and civil liberties. He was one of the founders of the American Federation of Teachers, serving as Vice-President for fourteen years. His papers reflect his professional and social contributions made during his years in the New York public school system, particularly his fight against communists in the AFT.
Dates:
1934 - 1966; Majority of material found within 1934 - 1955
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Abraham Lefkowitz Papers
Ann Blankenhorn Papers
Collection
Identifier: LP000411
Abstract
Ann Blankenhorn investigated and publicized the social and economic conditions in the textile, clothing, and coal mining industries in the 1920s and 30s with special emphasis on women and children. Also included are papers relating to the WPA (1934) and the imprisonment of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn in the 1950s. Important correspondents are Peter Blume and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. The materials consist of correspondence (1931-68), personal notebooks, diaries, and address books.
Dates:
1922 - 1968
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Ann Blankenhorn Papers
Arthur W. Calhoun Papers
Collection
Identifier: LP000503
Abstract
Arthur Calhoun was an author of many published books, a scholar, and a teacher at a large number of American universities, focusing largely on economics and sociology. His papers reflect both his personal and professional interests and are mainly comprised of manuscripts of his writings on subjects as diverse as religion, history, workers education, gerontology, and the humanities.
Dates:
1899 - 1975
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Arthur W. Calhoun Papers
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Records
Collection
Identifier: LR001535
Abstract
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE) was founded at Demopolis, Alabama, in July 1887 under the name The Order of Railroad Trackmen, and eventually it came to include all workers who build and maintain the tracks, bridges, buildings and other structures of the railroads. Its Grand Lodge headquarters was permanently established in Detroit, Michigan, in 1913, and the organization is comprised of System Divisions or Federations, each of which has under its jurisdiction one or more...
Dates:
1899 - 2004; Majority of material found within 1960 - 1990
Clara Swieczkowska Papers
Collection — Box Small Processed Collections: S-T, Box 13, Folder: 13
Identifier: UP001811
Abstract
Article and correspondence regarding Polish Catholic social worker in Detroit.
Dates:
1996 - 2003
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Clara Swieczkowska Papers
Coleman Young Papers
Collection
Identifier: UP000449
Abstract
With a background in labor activities and civil rights, Coleman Young captured a Michigan State Senate seat in 1964, representing an east side Detroit district, and rose quickly to leadership posts in the Lansing legislature. Michigan Democrats elected him in 1968 to become the first black member ever to serve on the Democratic National Committee. In 1973, pledging to restore peace between the people and police of Detroit, Coleman Young announced as a candidate for Mayor of Detroit. He defeated...
Dates:
1964 - 1993; Majority of material found in 1993 - 1993
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Coleman Young Papers
Economic Development Corporation of Greater Detroit: Michael Weston Records
Collection
Identifier: UR002358
Abstract
A graduate of Brown University and the University of Michigan Law School, Michael Weston practiced law at Hill, Lewis, Andrews, Adams, Goodrich and Power (now known as Clark Hill), before serving as Secretary (1969), Treasurer (1970) and President (1972) of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Developed out of the 1967 riots, the EDC of Greater Detroit was a multi-corporate consortium created as the Detroit business establishment’s vehicle to increase opportunities for African-Americans...
Dates:
1969 - 1975; Majority of material found within 1971 - 1972
Edith Van Horn Papers
Collection
Identifier: LP001698
Abstract
Labor and women’s rights activist Edith Van Horn began her career in the labor movement during World War II, when she left graduate school to join the war effort as an assembly line laborer for Goodyear Aircraft, where she joined United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 856. Ms. Horn later held posts as chief steward of Douglas Aircraft UAW Local 17, chief steward of Chrysler’s Dodge Main Local 3, where she was the first woman to serve on Local 3’s executive board, as a delegate to the UAW...
Dates:
1939 - 1997; Majority of material found within 1952 - 1990
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Edith Van Horn Papers
Ernest L. Horne Papers
Collection
Identifier: UP001642
Abstract
Ernest L. Horne, a retired General Motors Research Laboratory Librarian and Archivist, has been a known activist in the Detroit gay civil rights movement since 1979, holding membership and leadership positions in several area GBLT organizations. His papers document the activities of the gay and lesbian liberation movement in Detroit, primarily through the records of three organizations: The Association of Suburban People (ASP), South East Gay and Lesbian Council (SEMGLA), and Detroit Area Gay...
Dates:
1975 - 2000; Majority of material found within 1987 - 1995
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Ernest L. Horne Papers
FBI File on Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers
Collection
Identifier: LR000000_FBICC
Abstract
The work of Cesar Chavez, former President of the United Farm Workers, on behalf of farm migrants, resulted in his being closely examined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was seen as possibly subversive in the 1960s for several reasons, such as his empowerment of minorities against a powerful and Anglo-controlled agribusiness and association with Alinsky, a known radical. The FBI records are microfilm copies published in cooperation with the FBI, and released under the Freedom of...
Dates:
1960 - 1969
Folklore Archive: Student Field Projects Records
Collection
Identifier: WSR002714
Abstract
The Folklore Archive, established in 1939 by WSU English professors Emlyn Gardner and Thelma James, contains the oldest and largest record of urban folk traditions in the United States. To document these traditions, Wayne State University students conducted field research projects covering a broad range of topics. These projects typically consist of transcripts of oral interviews conducted by the students as part of their research. The collection is strong in modern industrial and occupational...
Dates:
1939 - 1995
International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit Records
Collection
Identifier: UR001004_Det
Abstract
In 1911, the national board of the YWCA established the first International Institute branch in New York City to assist the growing number of immigrant women, and in 1919, the Detroit branch opened. The purpose of the International Institute is to promote the welfare, education, and social integration of immigrant and minority peoples, both permanent residents and visitors.
The papers of Part I of the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit consist of minutes, correspondence, reports,...
Dates:
1919 - 1981
James and Grace Lee Boggs Papers
Collection
Identifier: UP001342
Abstract
James and Grace Lee Boggs played a leading role in organizing radical groups in Detroit and nationally and contributed to the founding of the National Organization for an American Revolution (NOAR). Their papers relate largely to their publications and speaking engagements, reflecting their involvement with radical organizations and in updating radical political theory, as well as their community activism in Detroit.
Dates:
1930 - 1993
James and Grace Lee Boggs Photographs and Audiovisual Materials
Collection
Identifier: UAV001342
Abstract
The James and Grace Lee Boggs Photographs and Audio-Visual Materials document the personal and philosophical interests of the Boggses throughout their respective lives. Featured are audio recordings of lectures, sermons, and interviews by Rev. Albert Cleage (Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman), Malcolm X, Milton Henry, and C.L.R. James, among others, and recordings from entities such as the Freedom NOW Party and the National Grassroots Leadership Conference. Though not as heavily represented, recordings of...
Dates:
1951-1991
James Lindahl Papers
Collection
Identifier: LP001061
Abstract
James Lindahl served as Recording Secretary for the United Auto Workers-Congress of Industrial Organizations (UAW-CIO) Local 190 (Packard Motor Car Plant). Mr. Lindahl’s papers document his work for Local 190 and also include publications reflecting his interest in union membership and organizing, U.S. politics, the American worker, dissident groups, civil rights, and socio-economics, among other related subjects.
Dates:
1930 - 1959
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
James Lindahl Papers
Jerome P. Cavanagh Papers
Collection
Identifier: UP000379
Abstract
The papers of Mr. Cavanagh, mayor of Detroit from 1962 to 1970. They include correspondence, reports, studies, speeches, minutes, and other materials of the mayor's office and commissions and departments of the city. Efforts, both local and national, in improving economic and racial conditions in Detroit are recorded in the collection. Subjects of interest include 1967 Detroit riot; Detroit Police Dept.; urban redevelopment programs; Detroit and Michigan politics; New Detroit, Inc.; poverty...
Dates:
1960 - 1979
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Jerome P. Cavanagh Papers
John Musial Papers
Collection
Identifier: UP002184
Abstract
John J. Musial was a student at University of Michigan who later worked for the city of Detroit. He served on the Commission on Community Relations as the Research Director in 1963. Musial wrote articles related to programs and projects in the city of Detroit. The John Musial Papers consist of reports and other published materials created by or regarding the development of the city of Detroit. As Research Director of the Commission on Community Relations, he authored some of the reports. The...
Dates:
1949 - 1982; Majority of material found within 1963 - 1974
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
John Musial Papers
Luella Hannan Memorial Foundation Records
Collection
Identifier: UR001926
Abstract
The Luella Hannan Memorial Foundation was started with a trust fund from Luella Hannan, widow of Detroit realtor and philanthropist William Hannan. The foundation began by providing stipends to needy seniors selected by its board of trustees. A residential home was constructed in 1971, which lasted twenty-two years. It now operates a service center for metropolitan Detroit's aging population. The foundation's records consist of over 800 client files, corresponding social work files, and general...
Dates:
1927 - 1988
Mary Heaton Vorse Papers
Collection
Identifier: LP000190
Abstract
Literary manuscripts and related papers, correspondence, daily notes and journals, reference and research material, notes, clippings, pamphlets, personal and family papers, and memorabilia, collected by Mrs. Vorse, writer, labor journalist, and social critic of the U.S. She also covered strikes, civil and labor disturbances, wars, revolutions, and political upheavals in other parts of the world. From the textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts (1912) to the textile strike in Henderson, North...
Dates:
1841 - 1966
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Mary Heaton Vorse Papers
Mary White Ovington Papers
Collection
Identifier: UP000323_MWO
Abstract
Mary White Ovington began her career as a social worker, devoting her efforts to the problems of African-Americans in New York and other cities. She helped found the National Association for Advancement of Colored People and remained an officer and prominent figure until her retirement in 1947. Her papers reflect her interest and involvement with the living conditions of the poor in New York City and African-Americans in the south in the early 1900s; the foundation and growth of the NAACP; the...
Dates:
1854 - 1948
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Mary White Ovington Papers
Nettie Kravitz Papers
Collection
Identifier: UP002885
Abstract
Nettie Kravitz was a labor organizer, feminist scholar, and long-term member of the Johnson-Forest Tendency and its later forms, Correspondence Publishing Committee and Facing Reality Publishing Committee. The collection contains correspondence and both published and unpublished political writings that thoroughly document the ideological disagreements resulting in each organization. The collection also contains materials related to Kravitz’s scholarship in Women’s Studies and Literature and her...
Dates:
1943-2010; Majority of material found within 1953 - 1957
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Nettie Kravitz Papers
Peter Eckstein Papers
Collection
Identifier: LP001997
Abstract
Peter Eckstein has been involved with labor unions in the state of Michigan since the 1960s. Eckstein served as the research director for Michigan UAW-CAP; executive director of the Governor’s Commission on Jobs and Economic Development, where he drafted several important pieces of worker’s compensation legislation; and finally as research director of the Michigan AFL-CIO. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Economics and earned his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard. Mr....
Dates:
1967 - 1995; Majority of material found within 1972 - 1986
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Peter Eckstein Papers
Prismatic Club of Detroit Records
Collection
Identifier: UR001269
Abstract
The Prismatic Club, a literary social club, was founded in Detroit in 1867. This collection includes administrative and officers’ files, minutes, newsletters and club event documents, as well as members’ presentations, publications and biographical forms. There are some photos and graphics, mainly cartoons and sketches by members. Photo negatives and slides of the club’s portrait collection and some events are in the Reuther Audiovisual Department.
Dates:
1867 - 2007; Majority of material found within 1867 - 1879; Majority of material found within 1960 - 2000
Ruth Tenney Papers
Collection
Identifier: UP000628
Abstract
Ruth Tenney was active in various citizens groups and Detroit area non-profits concerned with urban renewal, including the Citizens’ Governing Board of the Detroit Model Neighborhood Program, and the People’s Area Development Corporation (PADCO). Ms. Tenney’s papers reflect her activities with these organizations.
Dates:
1964 - 1974; Majority of material found within 1967 - 1973
Found in:
Walter P. Reuther Library
/
Ruth Tenney Papers
UAW President's Office: Walter P. Reuther Records
Collection
Identifier: LR000261
Abstract
The papers of Walter Reuther reflect his career with the UAW from its beginning, although the documentation for the pre‑presidential period is less complete. In addition to UAW material, there are extensive files relating to his work as an officer of the CIO, the AFL‑CIO and the ALA. In addition, there is considerable material relating to international labor organizations, international affairs, other labor unions, organizations of various kinds and his work in the area of public affairs.
Dates:
1933 - 1970; Majority of material found within 1946 - 1970