Collections : [University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center]

The Mayela Rodriguez Latinx Library Cartonera Collection consists of over 70 cartonera-style readers spanning 3 linear feet in 3 record center boxes that were created out of reclaimed materials in a series of workshops to address the lack of a distinct Latinx collection within the University of Michigan libraries. Led by Mayela Rodriguez (University of Michigan MFA, 2019), participants created cartoneras from crowdsourced materials such as book chapters, articles, and other forms of written works, as well as designed the covers of the cartonera readers to create "The Latinx Library." The collection includes published and original work from workshop participants, students in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Mayela Rodriguez. Published works originate predominately from Latin American/Latinx authors with significant themes such as culture and indigeneity, Latinidad and feminism, Latin American/Latinx history and politics, and Latinx identity.

The Mayela Rodriguez Latinx Library Cartonera Collection consists of over 70 cartonera-style readers spanning 3 linear feet. The collection was created as part of a project led by Mayela Rodriguez to address the lack of a distinct Latinx collection within the University of Michigan Library system. Referred to as "The Latinx Library," the cartoneras were created by participants in a series of workshops in 2019 using crowdsourced materials featuring fiction, poetry, articles, recipes, artwork, and more predominantly from Latin American and Latinx authors and scholars in English and Spanish. There are additional cartoneras within the collection created by students from Latin American and Caribbean Studies who have included original works. In addition, Mayela Rodriguez created several cartoneras within the collection. Major themes of the cartoneras include culture and indigeneity, Latinidad and feminism, Latin American/Latinx history and politics, and Latinx identity.

The Michigan Central Railroad Police Department Mugshot Photographs Collection contains 112 mugshots and accompanying police intake records for suspected members of the Communist Party USA.

The Michigan Central Railroad Police Department Mugshot collection contains 112 mugshots and accompanying police intake records for suspected members of the Communist Party USA. A number of these photographs come from the 1932 Ford Hunger March, with others coming from the GM Fisher Body plant strike in Flint in July 1930. Other individuals were arrested by the Flint Police department throughout the 1930s, and several were affiliated with specific investigations, as noted on the intake forms.

Of particular note is the arrest record of William Z. Foster in New York in 1930. Foster served as the secretary of the Communist Party, campaigned for Governor of New York in 1930, and ran for President of the United States in 1924, 1928, and 1932. Other notable members include Joe Sgovio who was deported to Russia, where he died; and Will Geer, who played the grandfather on 1970's television program The Waltons. While most of the mugshots are of men, two depict women (Marion Simon and Stella Marie Harrison).

Also included in the collection is a folder of historical information on the photographs, collected by the donor and housed with the collection.

The Mike Gold (Irwin Granich)/Mike Folsom Papers date from about 1901 to 1990, and measure about thirteen linear feet. They are divided into twelve series: Correspondence (1901-1990 and undated); Writings (1904-1989 and undated); Biographical Materials (1954-1969 and undated); Individual Files (1905-1978 and undated); Periodicals (1913-1958 and undated); Newspaper Clippings (1924-1980s and undated); Events and Activities (1935 1972 and undated); Notes and Journals (1906-1962 and undated); Personal (1930s-1967 and undated); Miscellaneous (1935-1970s and undated); and Visual Materials (1923-1960s and undated).

The first series, Correspondence, contains items dating from 1901-1990, and measures 1.5 linear feet. It includes correspondence materials from both Mike Gold and Mike Folsom, as well as some materials written between two other outside parties which it seems that Folsom used in his research and writing. It also includes letters to and from Gold and his wife, Elizabeth, as well as their sons, Carl and Nick. There are a variety of prominent figures included in the correspondence, including such persons as Theodore Dreiser, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Joseph Freeman, Ernest Hemmingway, Walter Lowenfels, Lewis Mumford, and Upton Sinclair, along with a host of others. Of particular interest is the early correspondence between Sinclair and Gold, the H.L Mencken correspondence (on microfilm), Folsom's correspondence with Gold and other literary figures and writers in the 1960s and 1970s, and the topical folders on Gold's application for a Guggenheim fellowship in 1928-1929 and 1935-1936, and on the Estate and Papers of Mike Gold, which provides some insight into the history of the papers themselves. It should be noted that in particular during the 1960s it is often difficult to distinguish between the correspondences of Gold and of Folsom because many letters are simply addressed, "Dear Mike".

The second series, Writings (1904-1989 and undated) is the largest series at about 7 linear feet. It primarily contains manuscript and published materials by Mike Gold, including books (no manuscripts), fiction (including many manuscripts), drama (including manuscripts), poetry (including many manuscripts), song lyrics (mostly published), columns and articles (mostly published, also including some manuscripts), and other writings (some manuscripts and some published materials). Also included in the series are the writings of Mike Folsom (including manuscripts and published materials), and the writings of other people (including his wife), such as dissertations, published articles, and a number of manuscripts.

The third series, Biographical Materials (1954-1969 and undated) includes about 0.75 linear feet of materials. There are some of Gold's manuscripts for the autobiography/memoir book he was working on towards the end of his life, as well as transcripts from interviews with Mike Folsom and some notes, and a few published items relating to Gold's life. Most of the items in this series seem to have been produced by Gold and Folsom during the time they were working together on Gold's autobiography/memoir, although a few items dated earlier suggest that Gold had been working on and off on the project himself for some time before collaborating with Folsom.

The fourth series, Individual Files (1905-1978 and undated) measures about 0.25 linear feet. This series is composed of folders relating to a specific individual, including a number of prominent people as well as some lesser-known figures. The materials included in the series are mostly notes and articles, although in some cases there are other items such as pamphlets and images included in the folders. Most of the people included in the series figured prominently into Gold's life (either personally, professionally, or both), or into Folsom's own research on Gold or other proletarian writers.

The fifth series, Periodicals (1913-1958 and undated) also measures about 0.25 linear feet. It includes mostly small collections of such titles as The Flame, The Liberator, The Masses, The New Masses, The Oakland Post Enquirer, and The Scarsdale Inquirer, for which Gold wrote over a period of years or months. These contain published versions of Gold's writings (some under the name Irwin Granich) and give an idea of how his writings appeared to readers at the time of their original publication.

The sixth series, News Clippings (1924-1980s and undated) includes 0.5 linear feet of folders containing dated and undated news clippings. These appear to be items clipped by Gold (to 1967) and Folsom, sometimes used for research or to write an article, or for personal interest. A few of the folders are somewhat topical within a time frame, such as pertaining to the H-bomb and McCarthyism, but most contain articles on a variety of subjects.

The seventh series, Events and Activities (1935-1972 and undated) is about 0.25 linear feet in size. It includes materials from events Mike Gold attended as well as a number of events held in his honor, and materials from his national speaking tour in 1954 in honor of his sixtieth birthday, including manuscripts.

The eighth series, Notes and Journals (1906-1962 and undated) contains both 0.75 linear feet of foldered materials and two boxes of card files. There are a large number of Gold's notebooks and notes, a diary, as well as some address books and address and business cards, and a childhood autograph book. Also included are Folsom's loose and topical notes (although Folsom's notes, where possible, have been kept with the materials with which they were found in the papers) and a notecard file housed in two small shoebox-sized boxes. Most notebooks and notes are not labeled or dated, making it difficult to distinguish what they are about and when they were written.

The ninth series, Personal (1930s-1967 and undated) is the smallest series at about 0.1 linear feet. It contains folders on such subjects as Gold's family, medical and financial information (mostly social security), and his death, including articles and obituaries.

The tenth series, Miscellaneous (1935-1970s and undated) measures about 0.65 linear feet. It includes some topical files on subjects, a variety of items on various social, political, and scholarly interests, and some folders relating to Folsom's own interests and activities, particularly after Gold's death, and general materials which did not fit in elsewhere in the papers.

The eleventh, Visual Materials (1923-1960s and undated), measures about 0.5 linear feet and is housed in a separate smaller box. It includes photographs, microfilm, and a few illustrations. Most of the items are undated, except the microfilm. The photographs date from Gold's childhood to the end of his life, but most appear to be from the 1920s through the 1940s. A number of photographs are from Gold's visit to Ernest Hemingway's home in Florida, where Gold vacationed and went fishing in about 1929- 1930. There are also some unlabeled and unidentified photographs, and some photographs which have been removed from other items in the collection (such as correspondence) for preservation purposes.

The twelfth and final series, FBI File, measures about .75 linear ft. In 1978 Mike Folsom requested Mike Gold's FBI file under the Freedom of Information Act. He received photocopies of the documents in Gold's file with some information blacked out by the FBI to protect the privacy of informants and other individuals. In 2002 Nick Granich offered the Labadie copies of his copies of Mike Gold's file. Since the Labadie's copies are at least third generation some information is obscured, but for the most part the documents are legible. The documents were left in the order in which the Labadie received them. The organizational scheme is primarily topical and chronological. If any records did seem out of place, they were left as is to preserve the original order. The FBI reports cover the years 1941 to 1967 with additional correspondence between Mike Folsom and the FBI in 1978.

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.

The Motor Scooter Collection contains press photos and various forms of ephemera such as cards, stickers, buttons, and other items mostly in the twentieth century within two folders.

Contains press photos and various ephemera depicting motor scooters mostly in the twentieth century within two folders. The press photos contain images of motor scooters and often captions with additional context. Ephemera includes a Vespa 150 history booklet and Scoot! Quarterly motor scooter trading and collector cards, magnets, pins, and event advertisements.

This collection consists of correspondence, photographs, ephemera, publications, and A/V materials created or collected by Ms. Bob Davis, a transgender rights activist and professor of music at City College of San Francisco.

This collection consists of correspondence, photographs, ephemera, publications, and A/V materials created or collected by Ms. Bob Davis, a professor of music at City College of San Francisco.

The correspondence dates from the mid-2000s and centers around Ms. Bob and her students' efforts to convince CCSF to keep the position of Transgender Outreach and Advocacy Coordinator.

The photographs are 1970s press photos from a touring production of La Cage aux Folles. Ephemera relate to trans activism at CCSF. The publications folder includes "Inside Out," an interdisciplinary collaboration from CCSF that documents that experiences of trans individuals in the Bay Area. The news clippings cover transgender activism in the Bay Area and at CCSF. Contained in the oversize box is also a signed, wrapped clipping of an interview with Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a survivor of the Stonewall Riots. Finally, the A/V folder contains a Lasses Record Company 45 vinyl single featuring music from Miss Rae Bourbon.