Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Bankole Thompson is a Michigan award-winning journalist and author who served as the senior editor of the Michigan Chronicle newspaper in Detroit from 2006 to 2015. He is known for his coverage of the 2008 presidential election and his one-on-one interviews with Barack Obama. The collection includes a selection of Thompson's writings and speeches, two books, biographical information, and episodes of Thompson's radio show.

The Bankole Thompson papers (0.25 linear feet and 18.42 GB) include writings and speeches, books, biographical information, episodes of his radio show, and information about the court case Edwards v The Detroit News and Thompson. The materials have been organized into one series, the Bankole Thompson papers.

News reporter at WJR radio station out of Detroit. Scripts and sound recordings from two influential news stories as well as general information about Fogel's reporting career.

The Gene Fogel papers contain sound recordings and transcripts from two news stories Fogel investigated as a news reporter for WJR 760 radio station out of Detroit, "Blind Justice" and "Bite Mark, Leaving the Wrong Impression.". The collection also includes information about Fogel's journalism career.

Reverend Eddie K. Edwards (1936-2004) was a Christian preacher and community activist in Detroit, Michigan. In 1976, he founded the Joy of Jesus faith-based nonprofit organization in Detroit. This organization sought to help Detroit residents—primarily neighborhoods and families experiencing poverty—through a summer camp and other programs, like the Ravendale Area Revitalization Project (R.A.R.E.). He was married to Dr. Mary D. Edwards, who was involved in Joy of Jesus and who currently serves as an author, life coach, and minister. The collection includes ten digital recordings of interviews and television programs featuring Rev. Eddie K. Edwards, Joy of Jesus publications, biographical information about Rev. Edwards, as well as papers related to the ministry of his wife, Dr. Mary D. Edwards.

This collection documents the activism and ministry of Reverend Eddie K. Edwards and his wife, Dr. Mary D. Edwards. Manuscript materials are separated into two series documenting the work of both ministers.

Rev. Eddie Edwards' series contains Edwards's biographical information, letters received on the occasion of Rev. Edward's retirement, and memorial publications and articles. Of special interest is the 1996 publication "Re-Neighborhooding Revitalization Manual for the Re-Neighborhooding Detroit Program." The manual was based on the results of a survey conducted among the residents of a 38-block area of Ravendale community on the eastside of Detroit, near the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Also included are digital images of a Point of Light a ward, memorial for Rev. Edwards, and an "Others" Award from the Salvation Army.

Audio-visual materials include a documentary by broadcast journalist Mort Crim, an audio recording of an interview with Edwards by Evangelical radio host Al Kresta in "A Vision for our Detroit", a video recording of a sermon delivered by Edwards at the Second Chapel Hill Baptist Church in Detroit, a video recording of the first annual Friends of Joy of Jesus Banquet in 1991, an episode from the Christian Television Network (CTN Live!) featuring Edwards, a Detroit Public TV program entitled "A Neighborhood Redeemed", a Sue Marx film in which Edwards is presented the 1991 Winning Ways Award, and a few videos made by the church including an interview with Caroline Thomas and Bob Ivory, a "New Child Development Plan" as described by Edwards, and a program highlighting Joy of Jesus' plan for solving urban decay presented in "A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out".

Dr. Mary Edwards' series consists largely of her works published through Leaves of Gold consultancy, a publishing consultancy started by Dr. Edwards in 2007. Among those publications are her autobiography, meditations and ministry materials, and collections of prose and poetry tied to her Widows with Wisdom work. Her papers also include a collection of her writings that document the history of Joy of Jesus Ministries. Of special interest is the description of the 52-questions needs assessment survey that was prepared and conducted by Dr. Edwards. This project resulted in the 1996 "Re-Neighborhooding Revitalization Manual."

Audiovisual materials, archived web content, and other files pertaining to films produced by Sue Marx, a prolific documentary filmmaker who operated her own studio in Detroit between 1980 and 2011. Collection includes completed documentaries in analog and digital form, raw footage in various audiovisual formats, production background information, scripts, and transcripts, among other items.

Materials in the Sue Marx papers, which primarily consist of audiovisual formats, address Marx's career as a filmmaker after leaving network broadcasting, spanning more than two decades of documentaries and advertisements created by Marx's eponymous production company. While the collection includes polished versions of various films, including Marx's Academy Award-winning short subject "Young at Heart," the bulk of the analog and digital materials contain raw footage from which Marx later constructed her completed documentaries and promotional pieces. Also included are files containing background research materials, production releases, scripts, transcripts of interviews, and audio files.

U. S. Senator from Michigan, 1959-1976, a conscientious supporter of civil rights, consumer protection and environmentalism, Hart served as floor manager of the 1965 civil rights act and 1968 Open Housing Act, introduced legislation to create Sleeping Bear Dunes and Pictured Rock National Lakeshores and sponsored important consumer legislation. Papers include Legislative Files, Staff Files, Press Files, Subject Files, Constituent Correspondence, Office Files, Political Files, Miscellaneous, Sound Recordings, and Visual Materials.

The Philip A. Hart collection consists of those files maintained by Hart and his staff in Washington D.C. while serving as senator from Michigan in the period 1958-1976. A senate office in the 1960s and 1970s could employ as many as thirty staff and clerical workers. In 1975, Hart wrote: "My own office presently consists of 34 full-time people in Washington plus 4 in my Detroit office and one part-time employee each in Grand Rapids and Marquette." Received from Washington, the Hart collection documents the workings of his Capitol office. Excepting for a few files from the 1950s when Hart served in Michigan state government, the Hart papers relate exclusively to Senate activities and detail the variety and bulk of problems crossing the desk of a United States senator and his staff.

In a press release describing his office, Hart stated that the work of a senator falls into three categories: legislative, participating in the discussion and formulation of public policy, and serving as "ambassador" between his constituents and the Federal Government. Beyond the study of legislation, public policy debates, and the relationship between a senator and the people of his state, the Hart collection is a reflection of the times in which Hart served, the sixties and seventies, years of the presidencies of Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford, a time when public figures discussed issues of conscience and of war, matters of human rights and of public morality, areas where Hart's basic integrity and humaneness placed him in the forefront of public debate.

The collection falls into eleven principal series: Personal/Biographical, Legislative Files, Staff Files, Press Files, Subject Files, Constituent Correspondence, Office Files, Political Files, Miscellaneous, Sound Recordings, and Visual Materials. Except for Personal/Biographical and the series of audio-visual materials, the Hart collection is an office file and represents the activities of one senator and a dozen or so of his key staff members. To use the collection, the researcher after examining the "Series Description" (on the following pages) should note that for any topical study, information will usually be found in any number of series within the collection. The series represent functional divisions within the Hart office, legislation, press, or whatever. To study an issue such as consumer protection, therefore, the researcher should be prepared to examine the Hart finding aid under the series that might document that topic from different functional perspectives (Legislative Files, Staff Files, Subject Files, among others). The researcher interested in a narrower, more specific topic should recognize that the following inventory, for the most part, is not a folder-level description and thus specialized kinds of information will be filed first under a more general heading.

One more note: The Hart papers originally consisted of more than 700 linear feet of files. Hart himself and his staff had discarded certain types of files before donating them to the library, notably case files and constituent mail answered by form. In addition, the library discarded files of low research content - thank yous, invitations, and carbons of Hart correspondence duplicated in the other principal series of the collection. Furthermore, files containing similar types of correspondence from constituents have been sampled (the folders have "S" or "Samp" on them). Government publications, easily available in a government documents library, and unless heavily annotated, have been discarded. Researchers on any topic within the Hart collection should familiarize themselves with the standard sources on government documents (the indices to the Congressional Record for example). Topics on which Hart played a key legislative role or about which he was keenly interested have not been sampled. These topics include civil rights, the passage of various consumer legislation, the Sleeping Bear Dunes debate, his committee work, and the debate over the war in Vietnam to list a few.

Writer, journalist, news broadcaster, radio host, television producer, creative consultant, and teacher in Detroit, Mich. Includes materials related to Ovshinsky's founding of Detroit's first underground newspaper, The Fifth Estate, as well as photographs, correspondence, writings, personal memorabilia, legal materials, press articles, topical files, transcripts and audiovisual materials representing Ovshinsky's work in radio and television from the 1960s through the 2000s.

The collection traces Harvey Ovshinsky's personal and professional development as a writer, journalist, news broadcaster, radio host, television producer, creative consultant, and teacher. The Personal files include autobiographical writings providing insights into the events in Ovshinsky's childhood and adolescence that led to his early interest in writing and journalism. The Professional files contain the first issues of The Fifth Estate, and extensive memorabilia and press coverage on various radio stations and video and television production companies where Ovshinsky was employed. This series encompasses material on the history of Detroit's counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s. The Project files also include topical files on Detroit culture and history, which inspired many of Ovshinsky's documentaries and creative writing.

Materials from Ovshinsky's teaching career and transcripts from his speaking engagements in the Professional files reveal his approach to teaching writing, while drafts for films, stories, and television series in the Project files offer a view into Ovshinsky's creative process. Files named "War Dances" appear throughout both the Professional files and the Project files series. "War Dances" were an integral part of Ovshinsky's approach to both problem solving and the creative process. "War Dances" were personal notes and reflections in which Ovshinsky assessed his present situation, identified his goals and imagined paths to the solution of a problem or to the final stages of a project. Materials from the subseries Educational and children's properties in the Project files include extensive topical files from Ovshinsky's research on how children learn through play. Samples of Ovshinsky's work in radio, television, educational programming and public speaking are available in Audiovisual materials.

African American civil rights activist and Black militant leader in Monroe County North Carolina who came to advocate armed self-defense in response to violence, left the United States in 1961 and lived in Cuba and China until 1969 when he settled in Baldwin Michigan. Papers include correspondence, newspaper clippings, audio-visual material, manuscripts, petitions, and government documents documenting the civil rights movement, black nationalism, radical politics in the United States and Williams's experiences in Cuba and China.

The Robert Williams papers, dating from 1951, include correspondence, notes, newspaper clippings, audio-visual material, manuscripts, petitions, and government documents. The collection documents a wide variety of subjects: the American civil rights movement, Black Nationalism, cold war politics, Castro's Cuba, Mao's China, and the radical left in the United States.

As Robert Williams continued to add to his collection following his initial donation in 1976, it was necessary to arrange and describe the materials based on groupings of dates of accessioning. Thus the bulk of the collection is divided into two subgroups: 1976-1979 Accessions and 1983-1997 Accessions with much overlapping of material. In addition, the collection contains a small series of papers collected by his son John C. Williams and a separate series of Audio-Visual Materials.

News editor and vice president of Detroit, Michigan, radio station, WJR, moderator of radio program, "In Our Opinion". Correspondence, radio transcripts, scrapbooks, broadcast discs, and audio-tapes of discs; include material concerning career of Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg, the senatorial campaign of 1942 between Prentiss Brown and Homer Ferguson, and radio broadcasting in general.

The Cushing collection consists largely of sound recordings of a selection of the "In Our Opinion" radio program. There are also additional textual materials: clippings and other documents pertaining to the program and some transcriptions of particular programs.

The sound recordings of the "In Our Opinion" program were originally phonograph transmission discs. Nearly impossible to listen to because of their oversize format and the absence of appropriate players, the library applied for and received a grant in 1977 from the NHPRC to transfer a selection of the more than 600 discs onto reel-to-reel tapes. Many of the discs already showed signs of deterioration. The selection of what discs to preserve was based on the significance of the topics discussed and the importance of the interviewees. Among the guests were Senators Arthur Vandenberg and Homer Ferguson, automobile executive (later governor) George Romney, Congressman George Dondero, military historian General S.L.A. Marshall, political science Professor James K, Pollock, Governor Kim Sigler, Lowell Thomas, Thor Heyerdahl, Edward R. Murrow, and Episcopal Bishop Richard S. Emrich, among many others. Topics ranged from state and national politics, the impact of the war, foreign affairs, post-war re-conversion of the economy, and issues specific to Detroit and Michigan.

The Julio Perazza collection includes three series: Visual, Printed, and Audiovisual. The collection offers significant visual documentation to researchers interested in artistic photography, the Detroit Latino community, Detroit Police Department, and the city of Detroit in general. Highlights of the collection include photographs of Latino community cultural events, daily police activities, and Perazza's "Demolished by Neglect" series, a photographic critique of Detroit's urban policies.

The Michigan Citizen was a weekly African American newspaper published from 1978 to 2014, and distributed in Benton Harbor, the City of Highland Park, and the City of Detroit, Michigan. The Michigan Citizen Records consist of the weekly issues of the Michigan Citizen newspaper, the subject files used by the newspaper staff, reporter's notes, correspondence written to the editor of the Michigan Citizen, and hundreds of photographs.

The Michigan Citizen Records document various points of political, social, and economic history and events, relating to African Americans, that took place in southern Michigan from 1978-2015, with specific focuses on the cities of Benton Harbor, Detroit, and Highland Park.