Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Chrystal G. Tibbs Papers comprise over a half-century of documents pertaining to Tibbs's membership in various chapters of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and to the history of the sorority at large. Founded at Howard University in 1908, A.K.A. was the first sorority established by African-American women and currently has approximately 250,000 members. The collection's four series contain papers pertaining to Tibbs's personal participation in sorority activities (including those related to her tenure in various administrative posts), materials from several Michigan chapters, sorority publications, and audiovisual materials. In addition, the collection contains work done by Tibbs and family members to document the Powell, Webster, and Winchester family history.

The Chrystal G. Tibbs Papers comprise materials accumulated through Tibbs's participation in Alpha Kappa Alpha conferences, chapter meetings, and special interest groups at the local, state, regional, and national level over a span of fifty years. The activities of Michigan-based chapters are particularly well represented. Materials also include personal and professional documentation directly related to Tibbs and her immediate family. The collection is divided into four series: Personal Papers, Professional Career, Powell Family Papers, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Tecumseh Products Company, founded in 1934 by Ray W. Herrick (1890-1973) and Charles Floyd Sage (1889-1961), manufactures hermetic compressors for refrigeration products and air conditioners. The Herrick Foundation, founded by Herrick, and the Sage Foundation, founded by Sage, are both philanthropic organizations that support education, civic, and religious causes. Records document the business operations of each company and include correspondence, annual reports, printed material, photographs, and audiovisual material.

The collection consists of two series: Tecumseh Products Company records, 1930 to 2009, and the Herrick Foundation records, 1947 to 2006. The Tecumseh Products Company series includes written company histories, biographical material, correspondence of Tecumseh Products Co. presidents, financial material, annual reports, newsletters, manuals, technical product descriptions, photographs of employees, buildings, and products, audiovisual recordings of events, trainings, and plant tours, and a ceremonial replica of a compressor. The Herrick Foundation records series is comprised of primarily correspondence and project files.

Organization dedicated to outreach, education, and intervention for troubled youth located in Albion, Michigan. The collection includes materials related to Floyd Starr, Foundtaion's administrative and development records, historic and promotional photographs, analog and digital audio-visual recordings, marketing materials, as well as publications.

The Starr Commonwealth Records collection contains 150.4 linear feet (157 boxes), 1.65 GB, and 52 oversize boxes of the records from the main administrative office of the Starr Commonwealth organization. It also includes historical records from the Starr Commonwealth School for Boys and records from the organization's branch facilities located across Michigan and Ohio. The collection also contains a substantial amount of material related to Floyd Starr, the founder and first president of the organization. Materials include correspondence, records, publications, videocassettes, audiocassettes, digital files, photographs, scrapbooks. The collection highlights the life and work of Floyd Starr, the administrative work of Starr Commonwealth, and the impact of the organization on local communities in Michigan and Ohio.

The Starr Commonwealth records have been organized into seven series: the Floyd Starr series, the Visitors series, the Administrative records series, the Marketing records series, the Development records series, the Publications series, and the Visual materials and Artifacts series.

The Floyd Starr series contains correspondence, papers and audiovisual materials about the life of Starr Commonwealth's founder.

The Visitors series contains correspondence, speech transcripts, photographs, and clippings from the visits of influential individuals to Starr Commonwealth. The series highlights materials from the trips of George Washington Carver and Helen Keller to Starr Commonwealth to visit with the students and deliver inspiring speeches.

The Administrative records series contains records, notes, correspondence, clippings, audiovisual materials and photographs from the central administrative offices of Starr Commonwealth. The series also includes materials from the Starr Commonwealth Public Relations department and the Chapel-in-the-Woods religious facility on the Albion campus.

The Marketing records series contains records, photographs and audiovisual materials that illustrate publicity projects and strategies for the organization.

The Development records series contains records, publications, and photographs from fundraising and donor activities. These records highlight some of Starr Commonwealth's major fundraising strategies and activities.

The Publications series contains published materials produced by Starr's Albion, Van Wert and Columbus campuses. Publications include annual reports, student and faculty newsletters, student handbooks, and scholarly publications from Starr Commonwealth leadership.

The Visual Materials and Artifacts series contains a collection of scrapbooks, photographs, photograph albums, and slides. It also contains materials and artifacts from Bruecker Museum on the Albion campus. These materials provide a visual representation of the students, faculty, buildings and major events at Starr Commonwealth throughout its history.

Aviator, civilian personnel officer with the U.S. Air Force; chronological and topical files, audio-visual materials, and clippings and scrapbooks.

The Chauncey Spencer collection is an accumulation of personal materials - correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, sound and video recordings - relating to his lifelong interest in aviation, his career with the military, and the career of his mother, poetess Anne Spencer.

Interracial, non-profit, non-partisan community service organization in Battle Creek, Michigan (formerly Battle Creek Area Urban League) founded in 1966 and affiliated with the National Urban League. Series include: History, Administration, Correspondence, Reports, Meetings, Programs, Community Memberships, Public Relations, Events, Battle Creek Area Urban League Guild, and Visual, Audio, and Digital Materials.

The records of the Southwestern Michigan Urban League span the years 1962-2007. The League's mission of providing and administering services for minorities and the disadvantaged, as well as internal operations, are reflected in the records, which consist mainly of administrative and program materials, correspondence, minutes, reports and proposals. While the years represented incorporate tenures of numerous executive directors, the records most fully document leadership provided by Benjamin Richmond (1982-1987) and Joyce Brown (1988-1992).

The Southwestern Michigan Urban League Records are relevant to the study of the administration of African American social service organizations, especially Urban Leagues, within the context of particular communities. The collection is strong in illuminating the effectiveness of collaboration -- civic, business and educational groups addressing interrelated community issues. Both Richmond and Brown maintained high profiles on numerous boards and committees working in Battle Creek to solve social problems and promote economic development.

Joseph Kumao Sano was a Japanese American veteran and lawyer whose family was forcibly removed to illegal detention centers during World War II. While incarcerated, Sano was recruited by the Army to serve as a Japanese language instructor for the Army Intensive Japanese Language School. Sano's military work extended beyond language instruction; he participated in the Strategic Bombing Survey in 1945 and served as a bilingual arbiter for the International War Tribunal for the Far East from 1946 until 1948. His papers consist of materials related to Japanese American incarceration; pedagogical notes for the Army Intensive Japanese Language School; and Sano's arbitration work. It also includes Sano's personal files, scrapbooks, and concentration camp ID cards.

The Joseph Kumao Sano papers are divided into three series: Personal Papers; War-time Imprisonment and Military Service; and Scrapbooks and Artifacts. His personal papers primarily consist of biographical material; identification and permits; and documentation from Sano's work with the California Bank. It also includes correspondence between Sano and his family.

Materials in the War-time Imprisonment and Military Service series document the forced removal of the Sano family from California to the Santa Anita detention center and the Jerome concentration camp; and Sano's work for the Army Intensive Japanese Language School, the Strategic Bomb Survey, and his service during the International War Tribunal for the Far East. It also includes his work post-war with the Bank of Japan.

The Scrapbooks and Artifacts series contains scrapbooks and albums documenting Sano's life until the forced removal of Japanese Americans in 1941, his work for the International War Tribunal for the Far East, certificates, Bank of Japan photographs, and personal photos of the Sano family. Also included are a number of objects collected by Sano during the war in the United States, and from Post-war Japan.

Researchers should note that this collection documents the forced imprisonment of Japanese Americans at the Santa Anita detention center and the Jerome concentration camp. For more information regarding language and the arrangement of this collection, please see the processing note.

Collected creative writing publications and recorded theatrical productions of adults and youth incarcerated in correctional facilities across the state of Michigan. Also included poetry and photographs of Michigan high school students.

Anthologies of poetry and short stories produced in Michigan correctional facilities represent the bulk of the manuscript portion of the collection. Among manuscript material also found scrapbooks and photo albums. The audiovisual portion of the collection contains recorded theatrical productions. The collection is organized into four series: Creative Writing, Performing Arts, Prison Creative Arts Project Material, and Audiovisual Material.

Michigan-born lawyer, judge, politician and diplomat, served as Detroit Recorder's Court Judge, Mayor of Detroit, Governor General of the Philippines, Governor of Michigan, U. S. Attorney General and U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Papers include extensive correspondence, subject files, Supreme court case files, scrapbooks, photographs, newsreels and audio recordings, and other material.

The Frank Murphy Collection documents in detail the life and career of one of Michigan's most distinguished public servants. Through correspondence, subject files, scrapbooks, visual materials, and other documentation, the collection traces Murphy's life from his years as Detroit judge, later Mayor, to his service in the Philippines, his tenure as governor, his stint as U.S. Attorney General, and culminating in his final years as U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

The Frank Murphy Collection consists of eight series: Correspondence, Other Papers, Supreme Court Case Files, Speech File, Speech Material, Miscellaneous, Visual Material, and Newsclippings/Scrapbooks.

Prominent Detroit area businessman and University of Michigan alumnus who served as Regent from 1967-1968. Leader in efforts to bring the Olympic Games to Detroit from the 1950s through the mid-1970s. Correspondence, meeting minutes, memoranda, reports, financial documents, and photographs.

The Frederick C. Matthaei Jr. papers (24 linear feet, 2 oversize boxes, 1 scrapbook and 2.20 GB) contain the materials of University of Michigan alumnus and Detroit area businessman Frederick C. Matthaei Jr. The materials highlight Matthaei's personal background, interests, philanthropic and outreach work, and his dedication to the University of Michigan. The collection been divided into three series:

The Personal Materials series contains bibliographical information, personal correspondence, scrapbooks, and photographs.

The Projects series contains materials from Matthaei's work with a number of different organizations including the Detroit Olympics Project, the Economic Alliance for Michigan, and the Detroit Renaissance project.

The University of Michigan series includes materials related to Matthaei's term as Regent of the University of Michigan, his involvement in alumni organizations, and general records from the University of Michigan.

Meeting minutes, financial records, book lists, and clippings; also scrapbook, 1953-1968, concerning the Ann Arbor Public Library; commemorative tenth anniversary volume, 1876, containing message to the women of 1976; also audio cassettes of some meetings. Also contains material on the organization's 150th anniversary, including a presentation from Francis X. Blouin.

The records of the Ladies Library Association of Ann Arbor include minutes of meetings, anniversary and celebratory materials, clippings and photographs, and financial records. The records of the Ladies Library Association of Ann Arbor are arranged in two series: Organizational Records and Audio Cassettes.