Collections

The Allen family papers contain personal correspondence of the family of Northborough, Massachusetts, preacher John Allen. Allen and his sons, Joseph Henry Allen, Thomas Prentiss Allen, and William Francis Allen, often discussed antebellum politics and other matters, including slavery and abolition.

The Allen family papers contain personal correspondence of the family of John Allen, a preacher in Northborough, Massachusetts. He and his sons, Joseph Henry Allen, Thomas Prentiss Allen, and William Francis Allen, often discussed antebellum politics and other matters of intellectual concern, including slavery and abolition.

The Correspondence series (260 items) consists primarily of personal correspondence between family members. Thomas Prentiss Allen composed many of these letters, though his brothers and their sister Elizabeth also contributed. The well-educated Allens discussed a wide range of personal and political topics, and their letters provide a vivid picture of the politically charged antebellum era. They often shared opinions on local and national politics, emphasizing the conflicts over slavery that eventually erupted into secession and Civil War. Notably, Thomas Prentiss Allen expounded at length on Daniel Webster's famous speech urging support of the Compromise of 1850 and offered his own opinions on the political issues involved, including the Wilmot Proviso (March 24, 1850). Other letters of particular interest concern the Free Soil party and the Fugitive Slave Act (December 10, 1850 and January 9, 1851). Elizabeth Allen wrote a majority of the later items in the collection to Joseph Allen, her father, communicating a view of her life on the home front during the Civil War and occasionally mentioning the war and domestic politics.

• Fathers and Children, containing manuscript essays based on Biblical verses (September 1842)
• A Discourse on Occasion of the Death of Hon. John Quincy Adams..., by Joseph Henry Allen (1848)

The Photographs series (2 items) contains two 19th-century portraits printed on thick cards.

The Miscellaneous series (5 items) contains a newspaper clipping regarding the death of William Francis Allen, as well as four manuscripts about various topics.

Professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, First Lieutenant 301st Field Artillery during World War I; Visual and other materials of Allen Sherzer and members of the Sherzer family, including film footage of University of Michigan campus ca. 1928.

The Allen Sherzer collection consists of visual and other materials of Allen Sherzer and members of the Sherzer family. Include is a photograph, 1880s, of the Delta Upsilon fraternity that included William H. Sherzer and a photograph, 1940s, of a University of Michigan reunion group. From his World War I service, there are French and German language posters, a scrapbook of clippings and postcards, and negatives, 1917-1918, taken during his World War I service with the 301st Field Artillery, at Fort Niagara, N.Y., Camp Devens, Mass., and in France. Of special interest is a motion picture, ca. 1928-1930, depicting University of Michigan student activities and Ann Arbor scenes.

In 2009, a preservation tape, DVD use copy and master and streaming digital files were made of the motion picture.

Allie Fayz is a former board member of the Islamic Center of America. The collection documents the Islamic Center of America's history, administrative services, and community activities and consists primarily of correspondence, by-laws and amendments, board minutes, committee notes, donation pledges, membership lists, photographs, newspaper clippings, and financial statements and reports.

The Allie Fayz papers are organized into two series: Islamic Center of America and Other Papers. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, by-laws and amendments, board minutes, committee notes, donation pledges, membership lists, photographs, newspaper clippings, and financial statements and reports.

University of Michigan chapter of the historically Black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. The collection includes photographs, event flyers, news articles, yearbook clippings, and documents tracing chapter history.

The Alpha Kappa Alpha, Beta Eta Chapter (University of Michigan) records contain administrative documents, yearbook pages, photographs, and historical information.

Fifth chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity for African American college students. Epsilon Chapter was established at the University of Michigan in April 1909. Various photographs, including a photo of a group of Black men and women posed on the front porch steps of the Alpha Phi Alpha House (1017 Catherine St., Ann Arbor, Michigan).

The physical photographs are arranged in two folders. Photographs taken at the University of Michigan depict African American men and women posing in front of the East Catherine Street house as well as an informal group photo in the university's chemical laboratory. The collection's other various photographs primarily depict unidentified African American men and children.

University of Michigan chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity for Black college students. The Epsilon chapter was founded in April 1909. History, administrative records, topical files, reports, and photographs largely relating to the chapter and activities of African American students at the University of Michigan. Also included is some material related to the chapter's 2009 centennial celebration.

The records of the Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha include correspondence, minutes, photographic material, publications, reports, and topical files.

The records—which document the activities and experiences of African Americans at the University of Michigan—also provides a rich source of information about the history, activities, and administration of the Epsilon Chapter, particularly during the 1920's, 1980's, and 1990's. Also documented is the chapter's centennial celebration in 2009.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (est. 1906) is the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity that was established by and for African American men. The Theta Zeta Lambda chapter, incorporated on January 23, 1962, is an alumni chapter based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and serves the Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and larger Metro Detroit area. Watson A. Young (1915-2010) was a member of Theta Zeta Lambda and a prominent African American physician in the area. This collection primarily documents the activities of the Theta Zeta Lambda chapter in the larger Ann Arbor-Detroit area, as well as Dr. Watson A. Young's activities as a member.

The Alpha Phi Alpha, Theta Zeta Lambda Chapter records primarily documents the activities of the Theta Zeta Lambda alumni chapter in the larger Ann Arbor-Detroit, Michigan area.

Materials in this collection include meeting minutes and agendas, reports, correspondence, event tickets and planning materials, issues of The Sphinx magazine, and the personal papers of Watson A. Young, who was a longtime member of Theta Zeta Alpha. Also included in this collection are some photographs, mostly of Young's family and various unidentified events he attended, and recordings of speeches given at various Alpha Phi Alpha events.

An international conference on Alternative Perspectives on Vietnam held at the University of Michigan, Sept. 14-18, 1965. Correspondence, minutes, clippings, printed materials, and sound recordings.

The record group consists of two series, Conference Papers and Sound recordings of the speeches and study group sessions at the conference. The papers series includes correspondence, minutes, papers read at the conference, and other administrative files. Correspondents (to and from) include:

1. Hannah Arendt, Sept. 17, 1965
2. Germaine Brée, Aug. 3, 1965, Aug. 9, 1965, Sept. 25, 1965, Oct. 11, 1965
3. J. Daniel Burke
4. J. Edgar Edwards
5. Jerome D. Frank, Sept. 9, 1965
6. Erich Fromm, Sept. 4, 1965
7. Herbert Kelman
8. Martin Luther King, Jr., Aug. 26, 1965, Aug. 31, 1965, Sept. 8, 1965, Sept. 17, 1965
9. Archibald MacLeish, Aug. 5, 1965, Aug. 13, 1965
10. Emil Mazey, Aug. 30, 1965, Sept. 7, 1965
11. Arthur Miller, Aug. 27, 1965, Sept. 30, 1965
12. Mary C. Wright, June 7, 1965, July 28, 1965, Sept. 5, 1965.

The sound recordings include speeches by Arthur Miller, Edwin T. Dahlberg, Lord Fenner Brockway, Makoto Oda, and Emil Mazey, among others.

The Alumni Association of the University of Michigan was established in 1897 following a consolidation of the Society of Alumni with the alumni societies of the professional schools. The Michigan Alumnus became the association's official organ. As the organization grew, local chapters were established and provided greater structure. The records include files pertaining to the Alumni Association's administrative office and various chapters and interests groups. This includes national and international U-M alumni and alumnae clubs, the Alumnae Council, the Society of Alumni, the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA-formerly the African American Alumni Council (AAC)), and the Reunion of Black Graduates (RBG). The records include but are not limited to correspondence, minutes, reports, and survey responses, audiovisual materials, digital files, photographs, and publications.

The collection spans 1845-2001. The textual records of the Alumni Association (boxes 1-133) are largely unprocessed, and are described in only general terms in this finding aid. Exceptions include files maintained by Marjorie Williams who served as the vice chair and chair of the Alumnae Council from 1960 to 1962, Class Reunion files, and Topical Files.

Additions to the collection (boxes 168-171) incorporate records, audiovisual materials, photographs, and publications pertaining to the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA). To note are materials specifically related to the African American Alumni Council (AAAC)-formerly the UMBA, and the Reunion of Black Graduates (RBG). This includes information about the Dr. Leonard F. Sain Award, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. scholarship and symposium, the Camp Michigania retreat, and annual reunion for black graduates photographs, planning materials, and souvenir books.

Republican congressman form Michigan's Eighth District, 1952-1960, candidate for U.S. Senate, 1960; member U.S. Foreign Service, 1942-1950, delegate to 1962 state constitutional convention; University of Michigan regent and philanthropist. Papers include diaries, correspondence photographs and other material his political career and other varied interests.

The Alvin M. Bentley collection includes correspondence, speeches, subject files, and other materials relating to his political career and public service activities. Included are his files while serving as a member of Congress and as a delegate to Michigan's Constitutional Convention in 1961-1962, his campaign files from his race for the U.S. Senate in 1960 and his bid to be elected Congressman-at-large in 1962. Other series in the collection relate to his interest in issues of education, particularly higher education, as reflected in his service on the Citizen's Committee on Higher Education, his campaign for the State Board of Education and his tenure as a member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents. Of value in documenting the various phases of Bentley's career are series of diaries and journals, scrapbooks and clipping files, and photographs.