Collections

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.