Collections : [University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center]

The Alternative Press was a literary and artistic small press started in Detroit in 1969 by Ken and Ann Mikolowski. The press initially focused on publishing the work of Detroit artists and later became international in scope. The collection documents the press's management and publication processes, including those for its acclaimed subscription mailings, which contained poetry, bookmarks, bumper stickers, drawings, paintings, collages, and postcards.

The Alternative Press Records held by the University of Michigan Special Collections Library is the founders' full set of press records up until 1996. It contains items such as correspondence from poets, artists, and friends, manuscripts of poems and other writings, sketches, Christmas cards, event announcements, the press' printed products, subscription renewal requests and more. Records from all three operating locations of the press are included, although the records from business done from Grindstone City predominate.

The Alternative Press Records is divided into ten series: Artists and Poets: Correspondence, Writings and Ephemera; Business Records; Ephemera; Events and Organizations; Original Postcards; Printed Materials; Printing Process; Small Presses; 1996 accretion; and 2018 accretion. Records sorted by individual or organization (primarily Artists and Poets and Small Presses) are arranged in alphabetical order. Other series and subseries (primarily those containing correspondence, business records, artwork/writings, and event announcements) are arranged in chronological order to preserve evidence of the creative process and organizational decisionmaking.

This collection was compiled by Maria C. Lanzar-Carpio for use in researching her doctoral dissertation, "The Anti-Imperialist League" (University of Michigan, 1928). It includes a typescript carbon copy of the dissertation, as well as three letters to Lanzar-Carpio. The bulk of the collection consists of the papers of Erving Winslow (1839-1922), Secretary of the Anti-Imperialist League (Boston, Mass.), and the papers of Herbert Welsh (1851-1941), vice president of the Anti-Imperialist League representing Philadelphia. These include the organization's record books and correspondence with League members, U.S. politicians, and the press.

This collection was compiled by Maria C. Lanzar-Carpio for use in researching her doctoral dissertation, "The Anti-Imperialist League" (University of Michigan, 1928). It includes a typescript carbon copy of the dissertation as well as three letters to Lanzar-Carpio.

A large portion of this collection (765 items) was given to Lanzar-Carpio by Herbert Welsh, activist and vice president of the Anti-Imperialist League representing Philadelphia. This portion consists chiefly of correspondence and documents relating to efforts opposing American imperialism in the Philippines. Materials include records regarding the Anti-Imperialist League's efforts to document American atrocities, especially the cruel use of the "water cure," an inquiry into the death of Private Edward C. Richter, as well as Herbert Welsh's 1903 demand for the publication of General N. A. Mile's report on conditions in the Philippines. Also included is correspondence regarding organizational matters of the League, fundraising, the editorial management of City and State, other causes, and personal affairs. In addition to Welsh's personal collection, interspersed are an undetermined number of transcripts made by Lanzar-Carpio from original documents held elsewhere (cf. her dissertation, p. 9-10 and 269).

Erving Winslow, Secretary of the Anti-Imperialist League, provided Lanzar-Carpio with the organization's Record Books in five volumes, as well as a collection of papers and correspondence (597 items). Correspondence concerns the activities of the Anti-Imperialist League, especially related to Philippine independence, and chiefly includes Erving Winslow's outgoing letters as well as letters to him from members of the League's executive committee, along with letters from members of the U.S. Congress; U.S. and Philippine officials; representatives of public interest groups and the press; and other papers.

The Figures press was founded by poet Geoffrey Young in Berkeley, California in 1975. The records include correspondence, publication materials, business records and print materials.

The Figures Records are comprised of four series: (i) Name and Topical, (ii) Publications, (iii) Business and Financial, and (iv) Oversize Material. At approximately 34 linear feet, the records document the business affairs of a small press, as well as the professional life of its founder, Geoffrey Young. Spanning the years between 1973 and 2000, this material includes correspondence with writers, customers, and businesses, as well as manuscripts, production materials, and financial documents.

The Name and Topical series contains material related to writers and other associates of The Figures and Geoffrey Young. It is arranged by the individual’s name, and is further divided by the nature of the material (i.e. correspondence, clippings and articles, and flyers and announcements), although it is mostly correspondence. While much of this series is strictly business-related, there is a sizable portion that is of a more personal nature, which highlights the close relationships Young maintained with writers and associates.

The Publications series is the most voluminous of the four series, and is comprised of materials related to The Figures publications, which includes mostly manuscripts and production material. Production material includes galleys, proofs, negatives, invoices, and some correspondence. The series is arranged according to the name of the author, and is divided further by the title of the publication.

The Business and Financial series is divided into two subseries: (i) Business correspondence and (ii) Financial documents. Business correspondence is further organized by function, and contains material concerning book orders, submissions, permissions, and review copy requests, as well as awards, grants, and charity work. The financial documents subseries are primarily invoices, but also include quarterly reports. This subseries mainly documents transactions between book distributors, but also includes transactions and other financial information related to suppliers, typesetters, and printers. While this is not a complete financial record of The Figures, this series provides significant insight to the financial activities of a small press.

Oversize Material contains items that have been separated from the rest of the collection due to their larger size. This includes flyers and announcements, broadsides, calendars and production materials related to The Figures publications.

This collection consists of 21 35mm slides with color illustrations depicting the traditional Vietnamese story of Thánh Gióng, accompanied by two pages of descriptive information.

This collection consists of 21 35mm slides with color illustrations depicting the traditional Vietnamese story of Thánh Gióng, painted by Tạ Thúc Bình and published by the Vietnamese Ministry for Education and Training in 1970. The slides are accompanied by two typed pages that provide a description of each image and a brief history of Thánh Gióng.

Chiefly letters from notable literary and political figures and foreign dignitaries invited to speak at Oratorical Association Lectures. A 1924 series of letters is from churchmen sought as speakers for the Wesleyan Guild lecture series. Include also are letter from 3 University of Michigan presidents and a regent, and a group of letters on miscellaneous subjects.

Thomas Trueblood's (1856-1951) collection of correspondence spans the years 1919-1988 and is mostly comprised of letters from individuals sought as speakers for the Oratorical Association lectures or other Department of Speech activities. Notable correspondents include Robert Borden (8th prime minister of Canada), Charles Gates Dawes (30th Vice President of the United States), Charles Evans Hughes (11th Chief Justice of the United States), William Morris Hughes (7th Prime Minister of Australia), and William Howard Taft (27th President of the United States).

The collection is organized in two series: Papers and Photographs. The Papers series consists of Williams's reminiscences of his experiences as a military officer in the Philippine Constabulary stationed in the mountain district of North Central Luzon, particularly his essay Spear and Bolo Interlude (68 [i.e., 72] p., typescript with holograph corrections); of his employment by the Standard-Vacuum Oil Company of New York in the South China Division, including an essay and a report describing the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in 1941 and his subsequent six-month imprisonment at the internment camp on Stanley Peninsula; and of a childhood friendship with a black man, accused, tried, convicted, and hung for the murder of a white policeman in Booneville, Missouri. The Papers also include documents (diploma, commission papers, passport, etc.), military memorabilia, newspaper clippings, and a large collection of photos, chiefly depicting military camps and native inhabitants of Luzon. The second half of the collection is comprised of Williams's photographs, all have been digitized with links available in this finding aid.

The collection consists of Williams's reminiscences of his experiences as a military officer in the Philippine Constabulary stationed in the mountain district of North Central Luzon, particularly his essay Spear and bolo interlude (68 [i.e., 72] p., typescript with holograph corrections); of his employment by the Standard-Vacuum Oil Company of New York in the South China Division, including an essay and a report describing the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in 1941 and his subsequent six-month imprisonment at the internment camp on Stanley Peninsula; and of a childhood friendship with a black man, accused, tried, convicted, and hung for the murder of a white policeman in Booneville, Missouri. The Papers also include documents (diploma, commission papers, passport, etc.), military memorabilia, newspaper clippings, and a large collection of photos, chiefly depicting military camps and native inhabitants of Luzon. The second half of the collection is comprised of Williams's photographs, almost entirely of his time in the Philippines. Subjects are most often people, mostly posing for the photograph; some more candid photographs; some are of landscapes and scenery. All have been digitized with links available in this finding aid.

Writings, publications, and clippings collected by activist and SDS founder Tom Hayden. The majority of the materials relate to the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960s, particularly the activities of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Materials are arranged in three series: 1. Writings, 2. Organization records, and 3. Newspaper clippings.

The Writings Series consists of Hayden's essays and notes about student activism, democracy, and the civil rights movement.

The Organizational Records Series is composed of materials related to organizations Hayden participated in or associated with in the early 1960s. A good deal of the materials document SNCC's activities in Americus, Georgia.

The Newspaper Clippings Series dates from 1961 to 1963 and covers civil rights demonstrations in the South. Someone, likely Hayden, annotated some of the clippings with timelines and commentary.

The Tom Hayden Papers largely consist of materials generated while Hayden was in the California State Assembly and Senate during the 1980s and 1990s as well as the research he conducted for many of his books.

FBI Files: The FBI files are files Hayden petitioned to be released through the Freedom of Information Act in the 1970s. The bound documents are not in strict chronological order with many dates overlapping, since many of the documents are reports from various field offices from different parts of the U.S. reporting to central headquarters in Washington D.C. Different types of source materials such as photocopies of newsletters, newspapers clippings, pamphlets or any other relevant information are attached to some reports. Some pages are redacted in the reports and not all files are complete with pages missing. Some pages are marked by Tom Hayden with Post-It notes and other notes possibly used for his writings.

Files of interest include a transcript of Hayden’s testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in Washington, D.C. in regard to the Chicago riots during the Democratic National Convention in December 1968. Other documents of interest include reports on Tom Hayden’s first trip to Vietnam in 1965, and transcripts of phone calls between Hayden and Black Panther members during 1969-1971.

The FBI indexes contain a list of document numbers or pages generated in relation to Tom Hayden, a brief description of the document, a description of deletions made or information withheld from documents, exemptions to the deletions and cross references to other pages. The indexes do not match or list all the pages found in the archive. Referral documents means information or specific pages sent to other field offices or agencies such as the CIA.

In the Counter Intelligence Program and New Left folders the FBI the documents were generated either from headquarters (Washington D.C.) or different field offices. COINTELPRO and New Left locations are from different field offices throughout the US, and from Japan and Puerto Rico. The documents show the FBI’s monitoring and infiltrating of colleges and student organizations and their publications, activities and whereabouts. Included in the reports are examples of student publications and copies of articles in these publications and correspondence on how to counteract student organizations and their political activities from 1968-1971.

In the Jane Fonda FBI section, the Reports and Reactions folders contains reports from agents in regard to the Jane Fonda anti-Vietnam war FTA tour/show ( seen under various names such as Free Theater Associates or Free the Army and also the Peace Tour), which later became part of a larger peace tour in locations such as Okinawa, Japan and Manila, Philippines. Documents include reports of itineraries and names of people involved in the tour. Also included is correspondence received by the FBI from the public expressing negative reactions to Jane Fonda's FTA show and comments she made in public captured by the press.

The Freedom of Information Act folders include requests submitted by Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda’s lawyers for any government documents with information pertaining to them in the FBI, CIA, U.S. Department of Justice or NSA files. Subsequently, a lawsuit was filed in 1976 after certain documents were withheld by the CIA. Correspondence between their lawyers, Ira M. Lowe and Martin Echter and various government agencies can be found as well as correspondence addressing both Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda since they filed FOIA requests jointly. Any correspondence or law documents referring to both Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda have been filed under Tom Hayden and any documents referring only to Jane Fonda are in the Jane Fonda FBI section. Cases such as Joan C Baez v. U.S. Department of Justice and other cases are included.

1960s-1970s: The Writings folders contain articles written by Hayden in the 1960s-1970s. This is not a comprehensive list of all his articles written during this time period. The majority of the articles are not originals or drafts but photocopies.

The Notebooks section contains spiral bound notebooks of various sizes Hayden used to jot down notes, ideas, outlines for articles and meeting notes. Some of the notebooks outline his trips to North Vietnam. The notebooks are organized according to identifying information on each notebook such as year or location of when the notebook was initially used. Many of the notebooks include various loose sheets of paper or items such as stamps or business cards folded into the notebook. These items have been included in the same folder.

The Students for a Democratic Society section contains bulletins, reports, newsletters and publications under SDS from 1961-1964 and some undated documents. The Indochina Peace Project section has a selection of publications by the organization from 1972-1975 and some undated material.

Personal: The personal section reflects Hayden’s childhood, family, and interests. The files in this section include ancestry information, Royal Oak Dondero High School materials, University of Michigan materials, family greeting cards, and baseball clippings and photographs. The largest file in the Personal section includes ancestry reports Hayden had conducted in 1986 outlining and researching his family history and heritage.

Political Career: The Political Career section is organized according to year and type of campaign. In 1976 Hayden ran for U.S. Senate against John V. Tunney in the Democratic primary. He lost the Senate campaign, but later won the 44th State Assembly seat for the Santa Monica area in 1982. He later went on to serve 18 years in the California assembly and senate. Hayden served five terms in the California State Assembly from 1982-1992 and two terms in the California State Senate from 1992-2000. In 1997, he ran for Mayor of Los Angeles against Republican Richard Riordan and lost. In 2000, he considered a bid for the 42nd California State Assembly District Campaign, but reconsidered and instead ran unsuccessfully for City Council in Los Angeles. He also served as California’s first energy official.

As part of the California State Assembly, he served as Chair of the Assembly Subcommittee on Higher Education and Chair of the Assembly Committee on Labor. As part of the California State Senate, he served as Chair of the Senate Natural Resources Committee and member of the Senate Committee on Education, the Senate Budget Committee on Natural Resources and the Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan.

The correspondence folders contain letters sent to Jane Fonda in regard to Hayden’s campaign which she supported through various fundraisers and campaigning. Also included are "thank you" notes addressed to Tom Hayden and a folder on business cards.The general correspondence section has various letters from constituents and from his political networks throughout the United States. Highlights include correspondence with Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Each campaign has a folder labelled propaganda which refers to campaign propaganda such as flyers, pamphlets and mailers used for each campaign.

Of note is the Campaign for Economic Democracy folders, an independent political movement started by Tom Hayden that led the way in progressive issues such as environmental protections, solar energy and renters rights. CED led the campaign for Proposition 65 in 1986 requiring labels on cancer causing products.

The press clippings sections includes clippings Hayden and his staff were reading or collecting during each campaign to research and measure public opinion.

Legislation: This section is divided into general correspondence, budgets, press releases and different types of bills. The Education, Environment and the the Metropolitan Transportation Authority(MTA) sections are three areas in which the archive has the most documents in which Hayden actively researched, authored or co-authored bills. The Senate and Assembly bills folders are legislation that Hayden authored or co-authored while in the Assembly and Senate. The folders are arranged alphabetically according to topic and some single subject folders contain several bills for that one topic. At the end of the alphabetical section the bills are organized by year.

Education: The education section contains correspondence, bills and drafts, and clippings about California’s education system. The higher education section focuses on the University of California and California State University systems as well as independent and community colleges. Admissions contains information about affirmative action across California’s higher education institutions as well as accusations of favoritism at UCLA. Other notable topics include governance, the cost of higher education and legislation aimed at making college more affordable, and the enrollment crisis, which documents how California’s higher education system struggled to handle an increase in the college-aged population. K-12 contains information about the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Notable topics include the potential breakup of LAUSD into multiple districts as well as the Equal Opportunity to Succeed initiative. Information on Toxic Schools and the Belmont Learning Center can be found in the environment section of legislation.

Environment: The environment section contains correspondence, clippings, bills, booklets, and notes about environmental legislation in Califorinia. One of the major issues Hayden tackled in the 1990s was toxic schools, which demonstates his concern for both the environment and education. Materials are arranged by theme, and the themes are then organized alphabetically. The six boxes are comprised of smaller bills that are arranged alphabetically. While there are no subheadings on the folders, materials within boxes are futher grouped by format, and the clippings and correspondence are in chronological order. There are materials in both English and Spanish.

MTA: These files contain information of multiple bills associated with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The files contain correspondence, general information, bill information, and clippings regarding MTA legislation. The files are organized by date with undated materials at the end of each section.

Publications: The Publications folders contain correspondence, drafts, book tour schedules and reviews of Hayden’s books. This section is not a comprehensive listing of all of Hayden’s book publications or articles. He contributed to a variety of newspapers and journals from 1980-2000 (please see the 1960s-1970s section for writings from that decade).

In the articles section folder sections are organized alphabetically according to topic and another group of folders are organized by year. These folders and their headings are topics created by Hayden and his staff for reference files much like the name and topical files.

International Interests: This section includes other countries Hayden was involved with or interested in besides Vietnam. Hayden’s Vietnam War activism can be found in the 1960s-1970s section.

One of the largest sections, Ireland, includes correspondence, clippings, and notebooks of notes he took while on several trips to Ireland. Please refer to the Publication section to see a section on his writings about Ireland as well.

The El Salvador section contains general information on El Salvador as well as folders on the Alexander Sanchez case. Alexander Sanchez is an ex-gang member from Los Angeles with ties to El Salvador and accused of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder. Charges against him were dismissed. Documents in this section include court documents, court transcripts and notes on the case.

Name and Topical Files: These files contain Hayden’s reference files for people and topics around the world. Several of the topics in this section were later referenced in his writing and legislation. Included in these files are newspaper clippings, reports, and correspondence. Notable topics are President Bill Clinton correspondence and Chicago 7 Trial newspaper clippings. Particularly well documented topics include Kosovo, Corcoran State Prison, and salmon protection.

Los Angeles Name and Topical Files: These files contain Hayden's reference files for people and topics in the Los Angeles area. Files include newspaper clippings, reports, and brief correspondence on people, administrative bodies and various topics relevant to LA. The construction of new buildings in the LA area is particularly well-documented, including especially sports stadiums and arenas such as the Coliseum. Other topics that receive substantial coverage include earthquakes, water policy and the riots and subsequent Rebuild LA effort following the Rodney King police brutality incident.

Photographs: The photographs contain Hayden's family photos and trips and pictures with various political figures including Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, John Kerry and Jerry Brown. Many of the pictures depict Hayden's involvement in social justice and environmentalist movements including his participation with Students for a Democratic Society and trips to Ireland and Vietnam. The unidentified folders contain more pictures of political events and protests between the 1960s and 1980s. Clippings: The clippings include articles from 1965 to 2009 that document Hayden's political career, literary pursuits,personal life, and interests. Many of the clippings contend with themes such as reflections on his time as a radical activist, political campaigns, environmentalism, and the MTA strike. There are also articles that pertain to general news events. Several of the clippings are in Spanish and one is in Japanese.

Tom Pohrt is a self-taught artist who works out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is best known as a children’s book illustrator and author. The collection documents Pohrt’s work as a children’s book illustrator and author through published works, correspondence with authors and publishers, manuscripts, and artwork.

This collection spans the years 1980-2004, and is comprised of published books, correspondence between Pohrt and authors and publishers, manuscripts, and artwork. The published books have been removed from the collection and catalogued separately. It is divided into 4 main series; Correspondence, Manuscripts, Ephemera and Artwork. The collection was divided into these four series to facilitate the addition of materials to the collection. The repository also holds a box of facsimiles of items in the collection used in an exhibit at the Ann Arbor District Library Exhibit in Fall, 2003.

The Correspondence series is arranged into subseries according to the correspondent or organization (usually publishing houses) in alphabetical order. Under each correspondent the materials are further divided into folders by date span and arranged chronologically. Under the publishing houses, materials are divided under subheadings according to project (book title) and arranged chronologically.

The Manuscript series contains manuscript material by Jim Harrison, Barry Lopez, and Tom Pohrt, and is arranged alphabetically by creator and book title.

The Ephemera series consists of calendars with illustrations by Pohrt, exhibit catalogs, flyers and brochures announcing events and public appearances, and other printed ephemera.

The Artwork series contains unbound preliminary drawings, paintings and sketches created by Pohrt to illustrate some of his most well-known books. The pieces of art are of various sizes and in a variety of media (e.g., pencil, watercolor, pen and ink). Many are stored in linen-covered cardboard portfolios, while others are tipped into handmade booklets and scrapbooks.

Tony Platt (1942-) is a scholar and activist focusing on criminal justice, race, inequality, and social justice. The Tony Platt papers (1942-2023, bulk dates 1960-1985) focus on his early career including his graduate education, postdoctoral activitites, and term as a professor at the now-closed School of Criminology at the University of California, Berkeley. After the completion of his dissertation later published under the name, "The Child Savers: The Invention of Juvenile Deliquency" and his postdoctoral fellowship with the University of Chicago, he returned to the University of California, Berkeley in 1968 as an Assistant Professor. Notable for his activism, professional engagement, and development of a "radical criminology", Platt was a key figure in shifting the School of Criminology from a professional program heavily connected to the police to an academic program centered on examining the issues of the field through understanding the effects of racism, colonialism and imperialism, and other factors popular with students throughout the 1960s-1970s. However, his career at the university was also shaped by a long fight for tenure and the debate over the School of Criminology's future. The Platt papers consist of 11 linear feet arranged in five series covering the early part of Platt's career. The Platt papers feature correspondence with scholars, faculty, and other individuals, research notes and drafts, course materials, files related to professional development activities such as conferences, clippings, legal files, and other collected materials reflecting Platt's research and professional ties.

Materials have been divided into 5 series.

1. Biographical: Primarily includes materials reflecting Platt's education prior to obtaining his Ph.D. in 1966, along with personal materials such as calendars, photographs, and later reflections of his work. Significant materials include those in the subseries for "The Child Savers". Materials are arranged by date.

2. Postdoc Activities: Includes materials reflecting Platt's time in Chicago where he completed a fellowship with the University of Chicago. Subseries include materials such as correspondence, research files related to his work, significant projects undertaken by Platt such as Legal Sevices to Youth and the Community Legal Defense Organization, and photographs taken by Bill Mares who worked with Platt in Chicago. Materials are arranged by date.

3. Academic Activities: Consists of the largest amount of materials in the collection and covers Platt's career at the Uniersity of California, Berkeley (1968-1976) with few materials afterwards. Subseries include Correspondence, Course Materials, Faculty files, Professional Activities, Articles and Writing, and Topical Files. Correspondence spans the entirety of Platt's time at Berkeley. Course Materials feature Platt's courses at Berkeley including lecture notes, readings, projects, and other documentation. Faculty files include communication, reports, and other materials between Platt and other faculty members at Berkeley. Professional activities include notes and materials related to conferences, speaking engagements, and other activities. Articles and Writing feature several articles written by Platt in collaboration or individually. Topical files include smaller projects, activism, and some collected materials from scholars that Platt knew. The subseries, Correspondence, is arranged by Incoming and Outgoing, and by date. The subseries for Faculty Files, Professional Activities, Articles and Writing, and Topical Files are arranged by date. The subseries, Course Materials are arranged by course number with the full title of the course included.

4. Project Files: Includes files for several large projects led by Platt between 1968-1976 that led to articles, professional engagement, research, and mobilization at the University of California, Berkeley. Subseries include the Politics of Protest, Prison Action Project, Campus Police Project, History of Criminology, and Save the Crim School campaign. Materials are arranged by date.

5. Case Files: Includes two series related to Platt's case for tenure. The subseries, Tenure and Legal files includes additional materials related to Platt's tenure case such as correspondence, memos, research, clippings, and various legal documents. Meanwhile, the subseries, FOIA, consists of records related to Platt's request for information about government surveillance and the report made about him while he was at Berkeley. Materials are arranged by date.