Collections

The Bird family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other materials related to members of the Bird family of East Smithfield, Pennsylvania.

The Bird family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other materials related to members of the Bird family of East Smithfield, Pennsylvania. A number of letters written between George Niles Bird and Frances Rowe depict their lengthy, occasionally difficult, courtship in the late 19th century. Letters from other friends and family members are interspersed, including a letter from Hope Rowe recounting the funeral of President James A. Garfield (October 9, 1881).

Nancy N. Bird's correspondence consists primarily of incoming personal letters. Nancy's cousins wrote many of the letters, with the family's religiosity influencing much of their writing. The Bird family papers include many of Nancy N. Bird's speeches, including a series of talks delivered to fellow members of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) between 1886 and 1912. She discussed temperance, religion, and topics of local interest, including the history of Smithfield, Pennsylvania. Nancy N. Bird's printed materials consist primarily of ephemera, programs, and newspaper clippings, largely related to her work with the WCTU and to the Bradford Baptist Association. Also present are three items written by Nancy: a short book entitled A History of the Sunday Schools in East Smithfield, PA. Since 1822, and two copies of The History of the Baptist Church of East Smithfield, PA. Other materials related to Nancy include journal pages, a photograph, and Sunday School papers.

Helen Bird's letters, written to her mother, chronicle her year at the West Chester Normal School, 1912-1913, and include frequent complaints about the atmosphere, the people, and the food.

Materials relating to George Bird consist primarily of incoming correspondence from friends and from his cousin Geraldine ("Jerry"). Jerry, who financially supported George during his time at Pennsylvania State University, also offered advice and updates on her academic life at Cornell University, while George's friend Eugene Edgar Doll discussed his experiences at the University of Chicago and his patronage of the arts. The collection also includes reports from George Bird's early studies and from his time at Pennsylvania State.

Personal letters from other members of the Niles and Bird families include early letters from Hannah Niles to her husband Samuel, and letters addressed to George N. Bird, his wife Frances, and their daughter-in-law Carrie. Two printed letters from "Robert and Bernie" in Impur, India, describe the country and their educational and missionary work; on January 7, 1921, they mentioned Gandhi's non-cooperation movement.

The collection contains diaries and journals, account books, and albums. The diaries include an 1844 unsigned journal, Hannah Minor Niles' 1866 diary, Nancy Niles Bird's 1851 diary, and Carrie M. Bird's 1921 diary. An account books tracks John Bird's expenses between 1846 and 1858, and a record book kept by Nancy Niles Bird includes the meeting minutes from the Soldiers Aid Society during the Civil War and household accounts. George Bird's autograph album covers the years 1879-1881 and Nancy Niles Bird's scrapbook, kept between 1850 and 1925, contains newspaper articles about her mother Hannah, members of the Bird family, and acquaintances from Pennsylvania and Kansas.

Other miscellaneous items include a printed map, a document related to the military chapel at Ellington Field, Texas, genealogical items, and manuscript poems.

Bird family of Truago (now Trenton) in Wayne County, Michigan, later founders of Clayton in Lenawee County, Michigan. Papers, 1837-1857, of Chauncey Bird, including account of flight in 1811 from Litchfield, Connecticut, to escape persecution by Masons; papers, 1835-1873, of Reuben E. Bird, largely concerning operation of Clayton general store; and diary, scrapbook, and other papers of John E. Bird, state attorney general and supreme court justice.

Papers of the Birney, McClear (variant spellings), and Hankerd families collected in part by Marian T. Hankerd of Pleasant Lake, Michigan. Genealogies and family history; correspondence and other papers of James Birney and his wife Bridget McClear, Irish immigrant settlers to Bunker Hill in Ingham County, concerning family matters, his experiences in the California gold fields, politics and Catholic Church activities; letters of Terrence McCleer from the California gold fields; Henry Birney family letters and account books; Henrietta Township, Jackson County, Michigan, materials, including township records and assessments, and records of Henrietta Farmer's Club; Bunker Hill Township, Ingham County, Michigan, assessments; scattered records of SS. Cornelius and Cyprian Catholic Church in Bunker Hill; and related photographs.

The Birney Family collection documents the lives and activities of three inter-related families: the Birneys, McClears (variant spellings), and Hankerds. Covering the years 1835-1972, the collection consists of family correspondence, legal papers, personal and financial ledgers, and clippings; materials relating to Bunker Hill Township in Ingham County and Henrietta Township in Jackson County; and collected materials pertaining to SS. Cornelius and Cyprian Catholic Church in Bunker Hill.

The collection has been arranged into nine principal series: Family / Genealogical James Birney Family, the Henry Birney Family, the Patrick Hankerd Family, Henrietta Township, Bunker Hill Township, SS. Cornelius and Cyprian Catholic Church in Bunker Hill, Photographs, and Robert Stack research papers.

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.

Digitized select documents relating to the Black Action Movement (BAM) I, II, and III on the University of Michigan campus, 1970-1987.

The following selection of documents, mostly from the records of the Office of the President with some articles from The Michigan Daily and the University Record, is intended to provide an overview of the Black Action Movement (BAM) demands and the university's immediate response in each of the three phases of the Black Action Movement. It represents a small portion of the documentation of BAM contained in the records of various university units, personal papers, photograph collections, and publications held by the Bentley Historical Library. All the records are open to researchers, subject to some limited restrictions (student records protected by FERPA; personnel records, and certain administrative records subject to review).

Organization created by Baptist minister Reverend Edward Pinkney to fight economic and social injustice in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Includes correspondence, news articles, court documents, protest fliers, protest signs, religious writings, website captures, and photographs. Also contains a copy of the 2006 documentary, "What's going on in Benton Harbor? : The Trial of Reverend Pinkney."

The Black Autonomy Network Community Organization records (1 linear feet, 1 oversize box and 3.41 GB) contains correspondence, news articles, court documents, protest fliers, religious writings, and photographs. The collection also includes a box of protest signs supporting Reverend Pinkney and digital files containing email correspondence, website pages and a copy of the 2006 documentary, "What's Going On in Benton Harbor: The Reverend Pinkney Story." The materials focus on the voter fraud charges against Reverend Edward Pinkey and the protests in response to his conviction.

Collection of copies of trial testimony, sworn statements, correspondence,and other materials collected by Earl Young, Detroit's City Attorney in the late 1930s about the Black Legion.

The materials are copies of trial testimony, sworn statements, correspondence, and other materials collected by Earl Young, Detroit’s City Attorney in the late 1930s.

The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was an underground Black Nationalist organization largely comprised of former Black Panther Party members. The majority of the materials in the Black Liberation Army archive fall under the Thomas "Blood" McCreary series, a member of the BLA. The archive consists of seven series: Thomas "Blood" McCreary, Correspondence, 1976-1978, Legal, Topical, Newspaper Clippings, 1969-1978, Events, Publications and Black Panther Party. The documents range in date from 1963-1998.

Thomas "Blood" McCreary, a member of the BLA, is the largest series in the Black Liberation Army archive. The correspondence sub-series consist of letters written to or from McCreary ranging in date from 1963-1998. Letters referencing Tupac Shakur can also be found in the correspondence sub-series. Legal is the largest sub-series and is comprised of eight legal cases McCreary was involved in as well as legal documents regarding Tupac Shakur's estate. Legal documents include affidavits, appeals, correspondence with lawyers, statements from McCreary describing prison conditions and trial errors, and a character reference from Bell Gale Chevigny. McCreary's resume, contacts and newspaper clippings are also small sub-series'. The photography sub-series is comprised of three folders which include a photograph of McCreary's graduation from Adelphi University in 1986, the Panther 21 reunion and miscellaneous photographs.

Project Renewal is an organization in New York City with a goal of ending homelessness. McCreary served as a member of the Black History Month Committee for this organization. The Project Renewal sub-series contain documents regarding the planning of a black history month event. The next sub-series is the 25th anniversary of the New York Panther 21 acquittal. On April 2, 1969, 21 members of the Black Panther Party were arrested and charged with conspiracy to blow up the New York Botanical Gardens. McCreary served on the committee to plan the celebration of their acquittal 25 years later. This material includes speaker requests, invitation and flyers. The final sub-series is the 30th anniversary of the Black Panther Party, where McCreary served as a committee member. This material includes meeting minutes, speaker requests and publicity.

Correspondence, 1976-1978 is a series consisting of 5 folders of letters and notes from Black Liberation Army members and range in topic.

The Legal series is comprised of two legal cases. The first is Caban v. United States, dated February 7, 1984. This document is an appeal in a case that involves a man named Salvador Caban who was detained for six day by INS despite being a citizen of the United States. The second is Richard Moore v. FBI, et al.. The documents in this case include exhibit documents as well as a transcript taken during the deposition of Sekou Odinga, a BLA member.

Topical is a series which is separated into 3 sections. Resumes are the first section, which contains the resumes of four people. Next, the Counterintelligence Program section consists of a memorandum describing the background, development and potential offices of the Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO), an FBI program which conducted covert and sometimes illegal activities to neutralize numerous political organizations. The final sectuib in the Topical series is titled Reconsolidation and Infrastructure, dated 1996. This includes several documents regarding ways to reconsolidate the structure of the BLA.

Newspaper Clippings, 1969-1997 is a series that largely consists of newspaper clippings covering the arrests of BLA members as well as opinion pieces regarding the organization.

Events consist of seven sections: United African Movement Freedom Retreat, Protests, Fundraisers, Memorials, Campaigns, Lectures, and the 27th Annual African American Parade. The materials range in date from 1970-1995 and include publicity material, clippings and flyers.

The Publications series contains five sections. First, the Black Panther section include various articles from the Black Panther publication ranging from their beliefs to collages and poems. The New York Amsterdam News section is an ad in support of Assata Shakur. "Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996," Public Law 104-132 is dated April 24, 1996 and was signed into law after the Oklahoma City bombing. Newsletters is a section comprised of newsletters from various organizations. Finally, the New Afrikan Journal section consists of Volume 4, Number 1 edition of the journal.

Black Panther Party is the final series in the Black Liberation Army archive and consists of six sections: Articles, "The Black Panther Party Foundation" by Afeni Shakur, Panther film, Questionnaire, Photocopies of photographs and Black Panther Collective. The articles section ranges in topic and are all undated. "The Black Panther Party Foundation" was a brief report written by Afeni Shakur regarding the assembly of the east and west coast Black Panthers in order to preserve the history of the party and conduct formal remembrances of fallen members. Panther, film is a section regarding the 1995 film about the BPP directed by Mario Van Peebles and starring Kadeem Hardison, Courtney Vance and Bokeem Woodbine. The photocopies of photographs sub-series include photographs of BPP Minister of Defense Huey Newton as well as photographs of a "Free Huey" rally. There are also miscellaneous photographs which are undated. The Black Panther Collective was formed in 1994 with the mission to carry on the legacy of the BPP. This sub-series includes correspondence, flyers, rules and regulations and community police patrol documents.

Student organization at the University of Michigan established in 1968 for students of African descent. The materials in the collection include minutes, correspondence, agendas, officer reports and topical files on issues including the Michigan Mandate and the 2000 Michigamua protest. The collection also contains photographs, audio/visual recordings, Twitter posts, and event flyers.

The Black Student Union (University of Michigan) records document the various activities of the Black Student Union at U-M. Materials in this collection include agendas, budgets, correspondence, event flyers, minutes, officer reports, photographs, topical files, Twitter posts, and audio/visual recordings.

Detroit newspaperman and United States Senator from Michigan. Correspondence chiefly concerning his 1952 senatorial campaign and his newspaper work in the United States and abroad during World War II; scrapbooks of newspaper articles written by Moody and published for the most part in the Detroit News and Barron's; tape recordings of public affairs radio program; photographs and motion pictures of public affairs interview programs.

The Blair Moody collection documents the career of a Washington-based newspaper correspondent and columnist and United States Senator. The collection covers the period 1928 to 1954, though the bulk of materials date since the mid-1940s. Much of the collection pertains to that period of time when Moody was in the Senate or was running for election to the Senate, although his newspaper career is also well documented. The collection has been divided into the following series: Biographical; Correspondence; Personal/Family; Newspaper Career; Gridiron Club; Senatorial Papers; Speeches; Scrapbooks; Sound Recordings; and Visual Materials.