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Detroit, Michigan, social activist and reformer. Correspondence and subject files relating to her interest in cooperatives, especially organizations concerned with low-income, open housing projects; also photographs and audio-tapes.

The Rose Parker Kleinman papers are almost entirely those from her years in Detroit and are limited in quantity (2 linear feet). They can be used by the researcher interested in compiling a short biographical study of the last twenty years of her life, or in the activities of one of the many white liberals in Detroit in the 1960s who promoted racial equality. They provide an introduction to the cooperative movement as a whole and in the state of Michigan in the 1960s and 1970s, and to the activities of one of the leaders in the field. Finally, the papers on low-income, open housing organizations in Detroit in the 1960s and 1970s can provide a limited supplement to those found in other libraries, such as the Mayor's Papers in the Burton Library in Detroit. There is very little in the collection, however, on Kleinman's efforts to have established the Michigan State Housing Authority. The researcher should approach the collection with the understanding that no one area or organization can be studied in depth, but that the character, ideas, and personality of Rose Kleinman are evident throughout the collection.

The Kleinman papers are arranged in five series: Personal; Correspondence; Cooperatives; Housing; and Miscellaneous.

Mayor of Birmingham, Michigan, 1970-1971, and Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives, 1974-1984. Biographical material, speeches and articles, subject files relating to her public service activities, and photographs.

The papers of Ruth Braden McNamee cover her career in politics from 1964 to 1984 and include four inches of material. Most of the material is from her service as mayor of Birmingham (1970-1971) and as a state representative from Oakland County (1974-1984). The papers have been divided into four series: Biographical/Personal, Speeches and articles, Birmingham city government, and Michigan house of representatives. There are also several photographs which remain with the papers in a separate folder at the end of the collection.

Most of the collection is made up of legislative newsletters, press releases, and speeches given by McNamee. In the last two series, there are also interesting files on: Birmingham's fair housing ordinance, the first passed by referendum in a white community in the country; the 1970 Birmingham-Detroit mayoral exchange between McNamee and Roman Gribbs; the August 1970 riot in Birmingham which led McNamee to declare a state of emergency, impose a dusk to dawn curfew, prohibit public gatherings, and contemplate requesting National Guard forces; the Precious Metals Recovery Act; her 1984 vote against a US constitutional convention; and correspondence with the Millikens, mostly Helen, on the Equal Rights Amendment.