Collections

This collection contains the papers of Jon Bekken, who holds a PhD in Communications and has been a faculty member at Albright College. Bekken has served in the past as general secretary-treasurer of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and as editor of the Industrial Worker. He is on the editorial team of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Review, a magazine founded in 1986 as the Libertarian Labor Review. The bulk of the papers consists of records from the Libertarian Labor Review. The collection also includes scholarly articles by Bekken and others, documentation of his contested termination from the University of Central Arkansas in the early 1990s, and papers related to the general topic of anarchism and state of the movement.

The bulk of the papers consists of records from the Libertarian Labor Review, a journal in which Bekken contributed to and helped establish. The collection also includes scholarly articles by Bekken and others, documentation of his contested termination from the University of Central Arkansas in the early 1990s, and papers related to the general topic of anarchism and state of the movement. Dates of the collection's materials range from 1972-2016, with a bulk of the material dated between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s.

The collection, which spans 1870s-1960s (bulk dates 1880s-1930s), chiefly includes correspondence with fellow workers in the labor movement, publishers and writers for anarchist, socialist, and labor journals, and a wide circle of friends, some letters being also addressed to Mrs. Labadie, manuscripts of his articles, speeches, and poems, photographs, and personal documents. The Family series also contains a folder of correspondence relating to the donation of this collection to the University of Michigan Library. Joseph Labadie's activities within the labor movement in Detroit, his anarchist philosphy, as well that of the many correspondents he had, and early Detroit history is welldocumented in this collection.

The collection, which spans 1870s-1960s (bulk dates 1880s-1930s), chiefly includes correspondence with fellow workers in the labor movement, publishers and writers for anarchist, socialist, and labor journals, and a wide circle of friends, some letters being also addressed to Mrs. Labadie, manuscripts of his articles, speeches, and poems, photographs, and personal documents. The Family series also contains a folder of correspondence relating to the donation of this collection to the University of Michigan Library. Joseph Labadie's activities within the labor movement in Detroit, his anarchist philosphy, as well that of the many correspondents he had, and early Detroit history is welldocumented in this collection. The Joseph Labadie Papers are separated into three series: Correspondence (Incoming); Family (correspondence between family member, outgoing correspondence, autobiographical notes, journals, family histories, biographies, scrapbooks, etc.); and Works (Labadie's titled and untitled essays, articles, columns, letters to the editor, and poetry). The Correspondence consists of 4.25 linear feet of incoming letters, mainly to Joseph Labadie. The files are arranged alphabetically (see Boxlist) with folders for principle correspondents interfiled with general alphabetical headings. Letters from Herman Kuehn to Labadie comprise .25 ft. and are kept in a separate box. The Family series consists of correspondence between family members, both immediate and extended, copies of some of Jo Labadie's outgoing correspondence, autobiographical notes, labor and other organizational membership cards, biographical notes and character sketches by Agnes Inglis, copies of legal briefs for a civil case Jo and Sophie were involved in with a relative, descriptions of Bubbling Waters, the Labadie's summer and retirement home, photocopies of Jo's scrapbooks, his account book and address books, a journal, and materials relating to the donation of Jo's materials to the University of Michigan. The Works series consists of titled essays, untitled essays, miscellaneous fragments of Labadie's writings, drafts of letters to the editors of various newspapers, drafts of his long-running column, "Cranky Notions," and his poetry. The last item in the collection is a videotape copy of a silent feature film made in 1925 on location at the Labadie's property at Bubbling Waters. Some reels of the film are not included, but the forest fire scene is believed to have been filmed at Bubbling Waters. This is the last known extant film relating to the Labadie Family. More information on the film is available upon request.

The Josiah Warren Papers comprises correspondence chiefly relating to the use of Warren's stereotype invention, the Equity movement, the cooperative society he founded in Modern Times [now Brentwood] N.Y., his philosophy of land ownership, and his journal, The Periodical Letter; lectures notes; and an article. Also printed leaflets.

The twenty-eight items in the Warren papers comprise correspondence to and from Warren, chiefly relating to the use of Warren's stereotype invention, the Equity movement, the cooperative society he founded in Modern Times (now Brentwood), New York, his philosophy of land ownership, and his journal, The Periodical Letter. There are also lecture notes, and an article, as well as some printed leaflets. It should be noted that many of the letters are difficult to read, as they are written on both sides of very thin paper.

Comprise correspondence, including series of letters from Ferdinand Freiligrath, Clara Neymann, and Mathilde F. Wendt; correspondence and documents relating to Der Pionier, with many letters relating to his efforts in 1862 to prevent confirmation of Col. L. Blenker as Brig. Gen. in the U.S. Army; manuscripts of his Gedichte and Erlebtes, and other works including poems, lectures, and articles; personal documents; and family papers including those of his father, Joseph Heinzen, and of his wife, Henriette Schiller Heinzen, including the Schiller and Moras family papers. Other correspondents include L. Bamburger, H. von Ende, H. Erichsen, K. Röser, J. A. Sprague, and F. H. Zitz.

Heinzen, a German refugee of 1848-49, was a radical author and lecturer and, from 1854 to 1879, editor of Der Pionier. Correspondence relating to Der Pionier, his efforts to prevent confirmation of Col. Ludwig Blenker as brigadier general in the United States Army, and other matters; manuscripts of his poems, lectures, articles, and other works, including Gedichte and Erlebtes; and family papers of his father, Joseph Heinzen, and his wife, Henriette Schiller Heinzen (Schiller and Moras families). Correspondents include Louis Bamberger, Heinrich von Ende, Hugo Erichsen, Ferdinand Freiligrath, Clara Neymann, Karl Roser, Julia A. Sprague, Mathilde F. Wendt, and Franz Zitz. The papers are in German, French, and English, chiefly in old-style German cursive. Many letters are accompanied by transcriptions, translations, or summaries in English.

These materials were collected during American writer Kay Boyle's time in Cambodia from 1966-1980, reporting on the impact of the Vietnam War.

The papers in the Kay Boyle collection cover the following areas: typed drafts with corrections of her Cambodia assignment for the Progressive. Photos taken during her trip to Cambodia in late July 1966. The first of two folders containing photos reflects various aspects of a public gathering where Boyle can be seen seated in front along with members of Americans Want to Know. The second folder contains photos of war damage shot by the delegation during their tour in the countryside. Other materials include private letters to Boyle from friends, including a friendly letter from Joan Baez (postmarked November 1989), writing about her writing and her visits to Redwood City volunteering in an AIDS clinic, among other things. Also included are institutions and newspaper clippings on Boyle's long time friend, Frances Steloff including black and white photographs of Steloff. Steloff is the founder of Manhattan's Gotham Book Mart and patron of alternative authors such as Henry Miller, Marianne Moore and Kenneth Patchen. Other than a letter from the managing editor of the New York Times, in which the Cambodia trip is mentioned, these items have no connection to the Cambodia assignment. The papers are placed in one box containing six folders. The photos provide a glimpse of cultural and political life at the time. They capture considerable Buddhist presence including rituals in which Prince Sihanuk is a participant. The photos also document public opulence associated with a royal procession, as well as intimate interaction between the Prince and his civilian and military constituency. In the countryside, the photos provide images of rural life and the collateral damage resulting from US bombing. The Cambodia photos, and photos of Frances Steloff at her centennial, are the heart of this collection. However, they are not unique, for similar photos permeate the public record. Similarly, the drafts of Boyle's assignment contain scant corrections that add little to the discourse on Boyle's style. The drafts resemble the article published in the Progressive. The archival value of this collection is limited to the black and white photos.

Scripts, newspaper articles and research, CDs, DVDs, and ephemera pertaining to Glenda Dickerson's project for "Transforming thru Performing: re/placing Black womanly images." The original goal of The Project was to enter the Black woman's performing voice into the scholarly discourse surrounding gendered identity. Out of it was created a series of performance dialogues called Kitchen Prayers. After 9/11, Kitchen Prayers revolved around stories which spoke to the impact of war and terror on women around the world.

Scripts, newspaper articles and research, CDs, DVDs, and ephemera pertaining to Glenda Dickerson's project for "Transforming thru Performing: re/placing Black womanly images." "…the original goal of The Project was to enter the Black woman's performing voice into the scholarly discourse surrounding gendered identity. Towards that end, we began a series of performance dialogues called "Kitchen Prayers". After 9/11, "Kitchen Prayers" revolved around stories which spoke to the impact of war and terror on women around the world…" (from the exhibit listing in Deep Blue)

The Subject Vertical Files consist of approximately 7,500 folders containing ephemeral materials such as flyers, handbills, leaflets, and clippings on a variety of topics centered on radical history and social protest. Each folder is named with a topical descriptor, most of which take the form of a subject heading like one of the following: Anarchism -- Conferences -- Michigan Civil liberties -- Blacks -- Mississippi Colonialism and Imperialism -- Africa Labor -- International Organizations -- IWW -- Strikes -- Textile Peace Corps -- Committee of Returned Volunteers (CRV) -- Vietnam Spain -- Civil War -- International Brigades Youth and Student Protest -- Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) -- Michigan

LAGROC (Lesbians and Gay Rights on Campus/Lesbian and Gay Rights Organizing Committee), otherwise known as LAGROC or LaGROC, was a student-led organization that advocated for increased rights for lesbians and gay men at the University of Michigan through outreach, protests, and other activism efforts during the 1980s. The collection contains materials collected by Carol Wayman and Alicia Lucksted, who were also organization members, about early lesbian and gay groups on campus and those created by LAGROC. Materials include clippings, meeting minutes, correspodnece, various ephemera such as posters, flyers, and brochures, reports, and transcripts for radio plays.

The LAGROC Collection includes materials from circa 1983-1989 in one manuscript box of approximately 0.25 linear feet.

Materials include clippings, meeting minutes, correspondence, various ephemera such as posters, flyers, and brochures, reports, and transcripts for two radio plays. They detail early lesbian and gay groups on campus and LAGROC's activities to add "sexual orientation" to the University of Michigan bylaws, advocacy and outreach efforts such as Lesbian and Gay Awareness Week, support groups, meeting minutes, and protests.

The Laurance Labadie Papers document the work and life of Laurance Labadie, anarchist writer and theorist and son of the noted labor leader and anarchist Joseph A. Labadie. The collection contains correspondence, other writings, and printed material related to Laurance's economic theory and work with the School of Living, as well as a series containing papers related to the work of Laurance's father Joseph A. Labadie.

The Laurance Labadie Papers measure 9.5 linear feet and date from 1882 to 1973. The collection documents, through correspondence and writings, Labadie's ideas on anarchism and the social problems of the time, as well as the views of many of his anarchist contemporaries, mainly from 1932 to 1972. Unfortunately, there is little material from the years before this, and little, if anything, on Labadie's family. The correspondence is especially rich for the 1930s and 1940s, when Labadie was corresponding with anarchists who had been active in the late 19th and early 20th century, and who had known Labadie's father. The papers from the 1950s and 1960s document his involvement with the School of Living, a decentralist, back-to-the-land organization that he supported. The Joseph A. Labadie papers held by Laurance are chiefly notebooks and booklets of poetry with broad subject range, and scrapbooks of news clippings about Joseph Labadie, anarchy and labor movements in the 19th century, and Walhalla, the farm of Labadie's friend Carl Schmidt.

This collection contains material related to the Ann Arbor- and University of Michigan- based magazine the Leaping Lesbian, which grew from a local to national profile over the course of its publication. Although the records contain little information on the magazine's administrators, they provide a descriptive view of both the local and national lesbian community. The publications themselves reflect these communities through submitted articles, letters to the editor and news releases. Business correspondence vividly portrays the growing network of lesbian and women's enterprises in the late 1970s. And personal correspondence shows the emergence of a similar network within the social community.

The Leaping Lesbian Records are comprised of materials relating to the publication and the administration of the Leaping Lesbian publication, from 1977 until 1981. Although they adequately reflect the operations behind the publication, little information is present about the women who made up the collective. Meeting minutes hint at strained relationships and uneven workloads, but conclusive evidence as to why the collective disbanded is missing. The records do, however, provide a descriptive view of both the local and national lesbian community. The publications themselves reflect these communities through submitted articles, letters to the editor and news releases. Business correspondence vividly portrays the growing network of lesbian and women's enterprises in the late 1970s. And personal correspondence shows the emergence of a similar network within the social community. Overall, the records of the Leaping Lesbian collective display a lesbian community growing increasingly self-assured. Although an attempt has been made to follow the collective's original organizational system, a few changes have been made in order to make the records more easily accessible. File folders, most maintaining the originally designated titles, have been arranged alphabetically within series. Materials within files have been arranged chronologically. Records containing no identifying date have been placed in front of marked records with file folders. The records are organized into four series: Publication Materials, Organizational Materials, Financial and Legal Materials and Previously Unopened Incoming Correspondence. The Publication Materials Files contain all materials related to the publishing aspect of the organization. Included are contributed materials, press releases, and layouts of publications. The Organizational Materials Files contain all material related to the administration of the organization. Included are incoming correspondence from both businesses and patrons, mailing lists, meeting agendas and minutes, as well as advertising and sales information. The Miscellaneous Memorabilia folder in this series includes flyers and publicity photographs from various organizations and events. The Financial and Legal Materials Files contain all material related to the financial and legal operations of the organization. Included are financial and legal papers, receipts, account statements and records of subscriptions. The Previously Unopened Incoming Correspondence Files contain material that arrived at the Leaping Lesbian office after the final disbanding of the organization. This is the only series that does not reflect the collective's original organizational system. Included is correspondence from businesses, correspondence from patrons and national event notices and press releases.