Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Detroit African American clergyman and civil rights activist. Papers accumulated by Franklin's daughter, Erma Franklin, relating to the life and career of her father; include biographical information, transcripts of oral interviews; scattered sermons and correspondence, including letters from daughter Aretha and from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; topical files about his church and civil rights activities; and photographs

The C. L. Franklin collection is a small but significant accumulation of materials relating to the life and career of this Detroit-based clergyman. Although the collection dates from the mid-1950s, most of the materials fall within the period of 1963 to 1984. The collection is comprised of photocopies and copyprints of materials made available to the library by Erma Franklin. The importance of the collection is for the sampling of Franklin sermons that have been preserved, for the scattered documentation of the important March of Freedom that took place in Detroit in the summer of 1963, and for the copyprints made of photographs of Franklin, his family and his friends and professional associates. The collection has been arranged into five series: Biographical Information, Various Papers, Topical Files, Photographs, and Sound Recordings.

Republican Governor of Michigan, 1962-1969; Presidential candidate, 1968; Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1969-1972. Papers consist of extensive correspondence and subject files from his tenure as governor, campaign material, and files relating to service at HUD and his other political activities, includes photographs, films and videotapes and sound recordings.

The papers of George Romney document the many faceted career of an automobile executive, governor of Michigan, candidate for President, cabinet officer, and activist on behalf of volunteerism. In this electronic version of the finding aid to the Romney papers, there are six subgroups of materials. These are Gubernatorial Papers covering the period of 1962 to 1969, Pre-gubernatorial Papers covering the period before taking office in 1963, Post-gubernatorial Papers covering the period after 1968, records of Romney Associates (a group established during his bid for the presidency), Visual Materials covering mainly the period up to 1969, and Sound Recordings also covering up to 1969. There is some overlapping of dates, particularly around the time when Romney was first elected governor in 1962 and the period when he joined the Nixon administration in 1969. The researcher should also note that the papers of Lenore Romney are not part of this finding aid.

Organization established in 1933 to encourage African American housewives to patronize African American-owned businesses. The national organization was comprised of local groups, the most important of these being the Housewives' League of Detroit, which was founded in 1930 under the leadership of Fannie B. Peck. The Detroit League worked in conjunction with the Booker T. Washington Trade Association whose organization was headed by the Rev. William H. Peck, and the National Negro Business League. The record group includes minutes, correspondence, publications, and activity files of both the national organization and the Detroit league. The series in the record group are History and Organization; Core Records; Correspondence; Programs and Events; Media Coverage; Publications; Chapters; Related Organizations; and Other Materials. The largest portion of the Chapters series consists of records of the Detroit league and include history, publications, and other organizational materials.

The National Housewives' League of America, Inc.'s records include general organizational records, correspondence, annual meeting reports, minutes, and programs, news clippings, publications, drafts of speeches, and event notices. There are also several photographs, an audio tape interview, and numerous types of ephemera, including the National Housewives League Annual Calendar. The financial records which exist are generally scanty and incomplete. There are also several miscellaneous African-American publications from the first half of the twentieth century located in the Related Organizations series under Miscellaneous Publications.

The National Housewives' League of America, Inc. Records are organized into nine series: History and Organization, Core Records, Correspondence, Programs and Events, Media Coverage, Publications, Chapters, Related Organizations, and Other Materials. The records of the Housewives' League of Detroit are a subseries of the Chapters series. Because the local Detroit chapter and the national body frequently shared and overlapped in leadership, it is often difficult to determine whether the hand-written minutes kept were for the national or local organization, so researchers should consider examining records on both levels for complete information.