Collections

Correspondence, informational flyers, conference records, and ephemera relating to the activities of the Household Workers' Rights Project, a grassroots group organized in 1979 in San Francisco to promote the rights of domestic workers.

The bulk of the collection is correspondence. Maupin and other organizers of HWR corresponded with domestic workers, lawyers, politicians, and related activist organizations to provide domestic workers with legal assistance, training, job referrals, and other vital resources. Of note are the organizers' two-year correspondence with the office of California assemblyman Art Agnos, as well as their correspondence with Carolyn Reed and other lead organizers of the NCHE. Agnos promised to help the organization further improve Wage Order No. 15, while the NCHE provided financial and other assistance to the HWR project as it got off the ground. Maupin co-led a workshop at an NCHE conference in Memphis, Tennessee in 1980.

Also included are various forms and surveys, often in English and Spanish, distributed to domestic workers to help them find jobs and provide feedback about their experiences.

Correspondence between the donor, Beni, and Franklin and Penelope Rosemont, who were surrealist artists, writers, activists, and publishers.

This small collection primarily consists of correspondence between Beni and Franklin Rosemont regarding the collecting of IWW and Surrealist publications. Beni was initially interested in receiving more of the Rosemonts' publications in Arsenal. As their correspondence became more robust, both men collaborated on a search for materials relating to various figures in the history of IWW publications. In the 2000s, their correspondence moved to e-mails that include a network of activists, librarians, and scholars invested in the discovery and preservation of labor history materials. After Franklin Rosemont's death in 2007, Beni continued to collaborate with the curator of the Labadie Collection to acquire rare materials related to the Rosemonts' own activities.

Contains leaflets, open letters, administrative documents, newspaper clippings, and other materials related to the strike by the University of Michigan's graduate student union, the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), in 1975.

This collection contains ephemera, documents, and publications related to the 1975 General Employee Organization strike. The bulk of the collection consists of publicity materials, such as open letters and flyers, about contract negotiations leading up to the strike and the strike itself (including campus reactions to the strike). Some of the material is related to the the Black Action Movement's (BAM) demands of the university. A small amount of material from faculty of the Residential Communities is also included. Most material is pro-GEO and pro-strike but a few materials present an opposing position. Also included are administrative materials, such as meeting minutes and position papers, from GEO. Finally, the collection contains newspaper clippings and entire newspapers documenting the strike, from both campus and local news sources.

Writings, clippings, and ephemera relating to the life and works of Pat Halley, a Detroit cab driver, writer, and anarchist.

The correspondence file contains two outgoing letters from Halley: a brief (possibly unsent) letter to writer/publisher Ken Wachsberger and a handwritten letter to two friends asking for their support after Halley was accused of sexual misconduct involving a child.

The largest file in this collection consists of scripts for plays Halley wrote or co-wrote in approximately the 1970s, which include Tales of the Sea, The National Desire, The Werewolf of Grosse Point, The Curse of Belle Isle, Cheap Shots, and A Grave Matter. The theatre flyers and playbills folder holds ephemera associated with these and other performances.

The clippings consist of a 1994 article Halley wrote about his experiences as a cab driver, a 1986 article by Jim Gustafson about the MC5, and Halley's 2007 obituary. Finally, the collection includes a 45 RPM vinyl recording of songs written by Pat Halley and a J. Sase.

Smith, a former juvenile and adult offender, became an activist for prisoners' rights, especially those of gay inmates, while incarcerated in federal penitentiaries across the country in the late 1970s. As a victim himself he was particularly interested in the problem of prison rape. After his release in 1980, he continued to advocate prison reform through POSRIP (People Organized to Stop Rape of Imprisoned Persons). The papers include an autobiography/chronology of Smith's experiences in and out of juvenile detention centers and prisons; extensive correspondence with friends in the International Committee to Free Russell Smith (ICFRS) concerning prison conditions, his personal safety, his transfers from prison to prison, his efforts to provide legal assistance to other inmates, and his plans for post-release activities; records of legal suits and complaints filed by Smith; and formal reports about Smith filed by prison officials. Copies of the POSRIP Newsletter (1980-1981) can be found with the Labadie's serial holdings.

Comprise autobiography, personal correspondence, 1976-1980, and legal records, 1978-1980.

During the 1930s, and possibly longer, John E. Pokorny was employed by Ford Motor Company as an assistant to Harry Bennett in personnel and security matters. Whether as part of his job or on his own time, Pokorny collected information on supposed subversive organizations in the Detroit, Michigan, area and, for Ford, investigated Communist infiltration oflabor unions. John Pokorny collected most of the materials in this collection to document supposed subversive activities in the Detroit area and in the United States in general. This collection largely reflects Pokorny's collecting practices and not his personal papers; hence, the collection is arranged similar to a subject file. The folders are arranged alphabetically by subject or name with most of the material dating from the 1930s. Most of the original folder titles have been maintained from Pokorny's original arrangement. News clippings comprise a majority of the contents of the collection and most of these are photocopies of the originals. The collection also contains printed materials (leaflets, brochures, flyers), some manuscript material, and a few photographs.

John Pokorny collected most of the materials in this collection to document supposed subversive activities in the Detroit area and in the United States in general. This collection largely reflects Pokorny's collecting practices and not his personal papers; hence, the collection is arranged similar to a subject file. The folders are arranged alphabetically by subject or name with most of the material dating from the 1930s. Most of the original folder titles have been maintained from Pokorny's original arrangement. News clippings comprise a majority of the contents of the collection and most of these are photocopies of the originals. The collection also contains printed materials (leaflets, brochures, flyers), some manuscript material, and a few photographs. In a few instances, cross-references have been made within the collection, e.g. between the National Labor Relations Board and Edward Burke. Any reference was indicated on a piece of8.5"xl4" paper in the front of the folder. There are possibly even more cross-references than are formally indicated; however, the subject matter and organizations represented in the collection overlap to a degree and it would be very difficult to make note of every instance. Therefore, one who is interested in a specific topic is advised to look through other folders that may be somewhat related. A case in point is the American Coalition. Although the group has a specific folder heading under Aliens (meaning immigrants), more papers originating from the group can be found in folders such as Govermnent - Legislation, Politics (I). There are some materials that deem a specific mention or more explanation. The folder on Civil Liberties contains flyers/leaflets, letters, meeting minutes from various groups, such as the Professional League for Civil Rights, Civil Rights League, National Federation for Constitutional Liberties, and the National Emergency Conference for Democratic Rights. Much of this relates to Detroit-based activities. The third folder on Communism contains 2 lists of suspected Communists in the Detroit area in 1932. Each is about 40 pages long. This folder also has correspondence from 1931 to 1933 to and from the hnmigration and Naturalization Service on the activities of "aliens" and suspected Communists. In his position in the Personnel Dept. for the Ford Motor Company, Pokorny received a number of letters from men seeking employment, often after having served in the military. These materials are located in the first and third folders for the Ford Motor Company. The folder Government - Court Bill contains information on the 1937 idea to increase the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices from nine to fifteen. The folder entitled "Military" relates mainly to the Michigan Military Area of the U.S. Army and the reserves. The Michigan United Auto Workers folder contains 6 photographs of individuals, although only two of them are identified. An additional variety of photographs can be found in Box 2. These depict: fires in Detroit (8); Niagara Falls; a photo of two unidentified men; the crashed plane of Major Resonatti, Italian Ace; John Philip Sousa's burial, March 10, 1932; a 1932 fire at the National Soldiers Home (Dayton, OH); and several copies of the installation of officers of the National Sojourners picturing Pokorny and other members. A newsprint copy of this last photograph can be found in the folder Pokorny Personal. This folder also contains correspondence from organizations with which he was involved, greeting cards, his Army commission certificates, and programs from events.

Materials related to the Marxist-Leninist group Motor City Labor League, active in Detroit in the 1970s. Divided into series based loosely on date and group. The group had an acrimonious split in the early 1970s, with the alliances of the resulting organizations constantly shifting.

Materials related to the Motor City Labor League (MCLL)'s activities in the 1970s. Includes administrative materials from planning meetings and statements regarding the intragroup conflicts that divided the MCLL beginning in 1972. The sub- and splinter- groups that were party to this schism include Changeover and Aliance. These groups' activities with the reading group Conflict, Control, Change is also represented. Also includes materials from the Christian-Marxist Diaglogue and Marxist-Leninist reading materials, which formed part of MCLL members' program of self-education.

Materials consist of 17 mounted, black-and-white photographs of deportees during the 1917 Bisbee Deportation.

This collection consists of 17 mounted, black-and-white photographs of deportees during the 1917 Bisbee Deportation.

This collection consists of Hungarian-language newspapers related to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, spanning the year of 1956, with most of the newspapers published between October 28 and Novemer 4 of that year.

This collection consists of newspapers related to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, all published in Hungarian during the year of 1956. Newspapers are separated into folders based on title and organized chronologically.

Isaac E. Ronch was a Yiddish writer, teacher, and journalist active in Jewish immigrant circles in Chicago and New York from the 1920s through the 1980s. Ronch was also a good friend of artist Marc Chagall. This collection includes correspondence, writings, and books documenting Ronch and Chagall's friendship, as well as publications, manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, ephemera, and clippings relating to Ronch's own life and works.

The Marc Chagall Materials Series is made up of records documenting Chagall and Ronch's friendship. The donor, Ronch's son, included a handful of books about the history of Jewish arts and identity in Russia to contextualize Chagall's work with Itzik Feffer, which led to his first meeting with Ronch.

The Landsmanshaften Book Series includes a signed copy of the book Di Yiddishe Landsmanshaften foon New York (The Jewish Landsmanshaften of New York), as well as papers relating to the creation of the Landsmanshaften book.

The Writings Series consists of Ronch's creative and journalistic writings. Books include books of prose and poetry, primarily written in Yiddish. Ronch's two serialized novels are preserved as compilations of newspaper clippings placed in composition books.

The Collected Publications Series is made up of three publications (or photocopies of publications) found in Ronch's papers: a 1902 issue of the periodical Di Yiddishe Familie, which includes an article by Sholem Asch, the 1982 Bulletin of the Reuben Brainin Children's Clinic in Tel Aviv, and photocopied pages of a Holocaust Memorial/Yizkor Book for Konin that includes likely relatives of Ronch under the surname Ronchkovski.

The Correspondence Series consists of a single postcard from Sol Liptzin, a scholar of Yiddish and German literature.

The Photographs Series includes photos of Ronch with his students at the Chicago shul where he taught, photos of Ronch giving lectures at Camp Kinderland and Camp Lakeland, and photos of Ronch with as-yet unidentified colleagues sometime in the 1930s.

The Clippings and Ephemera Series comprises newspaper clippings and ephemera relating to Ronch's activities or colleagues, as well as a obituaries for Ronch.