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Collection

1975 Graduate Employees Organization Strike collection, 1974-1975

0.25 Linear Feet (1 manuscript box)

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.

Collection

Aaron Kramer Papers, 1937-2017

17.25 Linear Feet — genreform: Boxes 7-11 contain a mixture of reel-to-reel audiotapes, cassette tapes, and videotapes

Poet identified with progressive New York City literary circles of the 1930s and 1940s, teacher and translator of Yiddish poems and songs; lived most of life in New York City and Long Island. Includes correspondence files, manuscripts and notes, audio and video recordings of lectures and readings.

Aaron Kramer Papers includes biographical materials, correspondence, publications and translations, drafts, and audiovisual recordings of Kramer's works, ranging from 1930 to 1997. The papers are divided into six series: Biographical File, Correspondence, Collaborations, Works of Aaron Kramer, Works of Other Artists, and a 2017 Accretion.

Collection

Abe and Selma Bluestein Papers, 1930-1991 (majority within 1930-1960)

5.25 Linear Feet

Abe and Selma Bluestein were active in the anarchist movement in the U.S. in the 20th century. Abe worked as a reporter for the Freie Arveiter Stimme, a Yiddish anarchist publication in New York, and Selma was an artist and worked with the WPA. Both reported on the Spanish Civil War in 1937, which was foundational in the evolution of their anarchist philosophies. While in Spain, Abe also served as an information officer giving radio broadcasts for the anarchist fighters in Barcelona. Back in the U.S., Abe worked for several housing co-operatives while Selma raised their children. The collection documents the couples' personal and professional lives, including correspondence, writings, and art.

The Bluestein papers comprise a variety of materials, including correspondence, writings, translations, histories, family documents, artwork, and photographs. The bulk of these materials range from 1930 until 1990, although some of the photographs and family documents are dated earlier.

The Bluestein Family papers are separated into eight series: Correspondence, Family Documents, Biographies, Writings, Corporate Files, Subject Files, Modern School, and Photographs.

Correspondence contains 1 linear foot of letters to and from the Bluestein family. The files are arranged alphabetically, first generally A-Z, with unknown correspondents following, then by principle correspondent. There are two folders of correspondence between Abe and Selma Bluestein, labeled "Bluestein, Abe to Selma" and "Bluestein Selma (Cohen) to Abe." These letters are mostly dated early in their relationship (1930), then again in 1933 when Abe was living and working at Unity House in Phildelphia, again in 1937, when Selma returned from Spain a few months before Abe. There are a few letters from Abe to Selma in 1946, when he made several short trips away from home for business purposes.* Their letters are significant for the historical information as well as the intimacy they reveal.

In the folder labeled "Bluestein, Minnie", there is one letter to Abe from Minnie, and one letter from Lou (her husband?) while they lived at the Sunrise Cooperative Farm Community in Michigan in the mid-1930s. The letter from Lou discusses life at the Cooperative as well as some gossip and infighting.

There are also letters from Mollie Steimer and Senya Fleshin, Erika and René Fülöp-Miller, Sam Dolgoff, Federico Arcos, Paul Avrich, Augustín Souchy, Harry Kelly, Milly Rocker, Rudolf Rocker, and one three-page letter to Abe from Emma Goldman. Although most of the letters are in English, there are a few in Spanish without translations. Some of the letters are not written to the Bluesteins but are copies of correspondence sent to others.

Selma designed many of the family's greeting cards which were sent out every year, and several examples are included in her biographical file, along with press clippings regarding her art exhibits. Selma often sent Abe drawings in her letters to him, and these were not separated from the letters, so although there is a folder containing her artwork, several examples of her work can be found in the "Bluestein, Selma to Abe" correspondence files.

Several of Daniel Bluestein's published and unpublished works are included the series Writings (Daniel Bluestein). Daniel had a strong interest in his family's history, and in its anarchist past, and much of that interest shows in his writings. Daniel's humorous side shows through in a letter to Abe from "Ronald Reagan." In Writings (Abe Bluestein) can be found Abe's essays, histories, and translations, as well as transcriptions of his lectures. Other people's writings can also be found in this series, including those of Sam Dolgoff and Frank Miller.

There are many newspaper clippings on the subject of Spain during the 1970s, both from Spanish and American newspapers. It was during this time that Abe, frustrated by the lack of accurate information in the American press on the CNT and labor uprisings in Spain, decided to start News From Libertarian Spain, with Sam Dolgoff and Murray Bookchin. The title was later changed to Anarchist News, and after Dolgoff died in 1990, Gabriel Javsicas joined the group.

The Modern School series is of great significance to anyone interested in the perceptions of those who attended. As mentioned earlier, Abe's experience growing up at Stelton had a profound affect on him throughout the rest of his life. In a 1975 letter to Rina Garst he asks the question, "Why does the Stelton experience create such a warm, strong bond among us, regardless of our later living experiences?" His answer was "... living and growing in freedom fosters the development of the strongest possible roots in human beings." Abe started the Modern School Reunions in 1974, and as chair of the Reunion Committee, he held the files of each of the annual events. They are arranged chronologically (with no files for 1985, 1987, 1988), ending in 1991, when Abe handed the responsibility over to Jon Scott. The files contain minutes from the Modern School Reunion Committee meetings, as well as flyers announcing each reunion, clippings, and correspondence from each of the reunion attendees. The correspondence is particularly interesting; it contains not just the usual reunion business, but also reminiscences of childhoods spent at Stelton, thoughts and comparisons of living in a modern world, sad news of illness and death, good news of finding more old Stelton-ites, and some truly heartfelt stories. Some of the correspondents are also represented in the Correspondence series (Paul Avrich, Ahrne Thorne, Thomas Yane, Clara and Sidney Solomon, Nelly Dick, Audrey Goodfriend, Pearl and Victor Morris, Dora Keyser, Federico Arcos), however, the Modern School series correpondence relates only to the Modern School reunions and was kept with the Modern School materials by Abe. Abe saw the historic value in these documents, for in 1975, and again in 1983 he sent out questionaires about remembrances to all the reunion participants, and these responses are included. There are also several histories written by various people, as well as three original record books from the Stelton Modern School (1918, 1924-28, 1936).

There are many photographs in the collection, including a family album, several loose photos, and a large portrait of Abe as a small child with his mother, Esther and his sister, Mae(?). Most of the photographs are unidentified and undated, although David Bluestein helped to identify some of them at the time of the donation. As well as the Bluestein and Cohen families, there are photographs of Rudolf Rocker, Boris Yane, Clara and Sidney Solomon, and Federico Arcos.

Sometime during the 1980s Abe dictated a biography of his life onto cassette tapes. The cassettes were not found with the collection, and no one seems to know what happened to them, however, they were transcribed by Eileen Coto of Richmond Hill, New York in 1991 or 1992. The partially-edited transcription is included in Histories (Oral) - Abe Bluestein.

There are two cassette tapes in the collection. One is a microcassette of an interview with Abe about the Spanish Civil War (Biographies, Box 2). The other is a recording of the Ahrne Thorne Memorial Meeting which took place in New York City on March 27, 1986 (Box 3).

* According to American Labor and United States Foreign Policy by Ronald Radosh (Random House 1969), it appears that Bluestein was in Germany working for the AFL (pp 328-329).

Collection

Allan L. Rock Papers, 1968-1987 (majority within 1972-1976)

4.5 Linear Feet — 6 boxes

The Allan L. Rock papers consist primarily of materials from the various court cases in which Rock was involved in the 1970's. The collection includes transcripts of hearings, submissions to various courts, and correspondence regarding the cases. Also included are transcripts and correspondence from several cases similar to Rock's, some of which directly benefited from the 1976 Rock decision. This collection presents some early and significant decisions about gay rights and is valuable in research about gay rights, especially surrounding issues of national security. The collection is divided into five main series: Correspondence, Intelligence Files, Litigation, Press and Topical Files.

The Correspondence series includes one folder of personal correspondence, which is primarily letters written to a 1968 love interest. The Press folder contains various letters and responses--from the obscene to the mundane -- to articles written about Rock. The primary portion of the Correspondence series is made up of letters separated from the litigation files which recount decisions and court actions. These are divide into two sub-series: non- Rock related cases and Rock. The non-Rock cases include all correspondence which came into Rock's possession from the cases of Dubbs, Fultun, Gayer, Kovalich, Preston, and Tabler. The Rock correspondence consists of 5 folders of material, is organized chronologically, and includes all correspondence between Rock and those involved in his litigation process. The Correspondence series provides a thorough chronological account of all legal actions and documents Rock's reactions to each of the cases.

The Intelligence Files series contains all files provided to Rock from the Air Force, Army, Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO), FBI, Industrial Security Clearance Review Offices (ISCRO), Navy and the U.S. Civil Service Commission. The files date from 1960 through the 1970s. Rock's original organization of this material was largely preserved, since the materials often contain multiple dates (of the request and of the original investigation).

The Litigation series contains all briefs, filings and other legal documentation of cases, all of which involve questions of the rights of homosexual individuals to hold security clearance. The series begins with the sub-series of Non-Rock Related Cases. These include cases brought by Julie Dubbs, John Napier Eaves, Roy Lee Fultun, Richard Gayer, Jean Kovalich, Elisha Stroud Marsh, Warren Gene Preston, Jack Schwarz, Oliver W. Sipple, the Society for Individual Rights, Otis Francis Tabler and Bennington Wentworth. The largest amount of material is available from the Kovalich case, which includes all legal documents and several depositions. Her case is perhaps the most interesting because of her standing as a supervisor within the Department of Defense itself. When she admitted her homosexuality, she was demoted. Eventually, she won her case. The Wentworth and Tabler cases also contain large amounts of material.

The Rock sub-series of the Litigation files consists of 1 linear foot of material. It is organized primarily by case and by chronology within each case. The folders of legal documents and briefs are supplemented by nine bound transcripts and testimonies, all labeled and dated. This sub-series consists of all legal documents for each of the cases in which Rock was involved: Rock v. CIA, Rock v. Department of Defense, and Rock v. State of California.

The Press series is organized into clippings and articles, and press releases. Both of these sub-series contain non-Rock and Rock related divisions, and all material is organized chronologically. The Non- Rock related press clippings and articles are especially interesting for the context they provide, documenting one view of homosexuality in America in the 1970s. These folders contain information about various state decisions on the legalization of homosexual activity, as well as information about the 1973 decision by the American Psychiatric Association which declared that homosexuality was no longer considered a mental disorder.

The Topical Files include an unpublished book manuscript written by Rock in 1978 called In the National Interest. This manuscript details Rock's experiences in the court system and provides his perspective on the actions and decisions of the Department of Defense. This honest account is well researched and provides more than just a re-telling of the events already detailed in the correspondence and litigation files. It includes background information about homosexuality in general, and history about homosexuals' treatment by the Department of Defense.

Collection

American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born Records, 1926-1980s

51.00 linear feet and 2 oversized volumes

Group founded in 1933 on the initiative or Roger Baldwin of the ACLU to defend constitutional rights of foreign-born persons in the United States. It assisted individuals facing deportation, aided persons seeking to become naturalized citizens, attempted to combat harasmment and official persecution of the foreign-born, and opposed discriminatory legislation. Records include correspondence, administrative files, clippings and publicity files, subject files and case files.

The records of the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born date from 1926 to 1980 and measure 51 linear feet and 2 oversized volumes. The papers are arranged in eight series: Administration (1935-1980s), Correspondence (1934-1980s), Publicity/Activities (1934-1977), Legal Proceedings (1950-1974), Legislation (1930-1972), Area/Ethnic Committees (1936-1969), Subject File (1933-ca. 1970s), and Cases (1926-1980s).

The main work of the Committee, in addition to its providing information and legal assistance to individuals, lay in publicizing legislation, events, and national policies affecting the foreign-born. The Committee also sponsored conferences, rallies, and other events to educate the public to the problems of discrimination and harassment that faced many of the foreign-born, and to then mobilize that public opinion to pressure public officials to deal with these problems. The files of publications and news releases within the collection help to document the publicity work of the Committee, while its activities as a lobby for the foreign-born is most evident in the correspondence files, conference proceedings and reports, legislative lobbying material, and subject files.

Unfortunately, the structure and administrative workings of the Committee are poorly documented. Board of directors minutes are spotty and the administrative files generally thin as evidence of policy-making within the organization. Area Committee materials in the main reflect the varied problems faced by the foreign-born in different parts of the country, while the subject file contains information on a wide variety of organizations established to assist the foreign-born in the mid-twentieth century.

The case files, which make up the bulk of the records, relate largely to individual cases; each file usually only contains a few routine items, such as requests for information or assistance in securing naturalization papers or obtaining entry to the United States for a friend or relative. There are a few larger case files, however, and the multiple cases pertaining to groups of individuals being prosecuted reflect the vulnerability of the foreign-born in periods of concern about the nation's internal security. Many of these persons had lived in the United States for many years, and seemed to have been charged with deportation only after becoming active in labor unions or other allegedly radical activities. The case files have little value except as evidence for the specific cases. They do not provide systematic documentation of the cases handled, and thus do not lend themselves to quantitative study.

Collection

Ann Arbor Tenants Union Records, 1956-1995 (majority within 1969-1991)

12 Linear Feet — 24 manuscript boxes

This collection consists of the administrative records of the Ann Arbor Tenants Union, primarily covering the 1970s-1980s. Materials include correspondence, meeting minutes, reference material, and information about legal cases.

This collection contains the official records of the Ann Arbor Tenants Union, dating primarily from the 1970s to the early 1990s. Along with administrative records, the collection includes reference materials collected by the union's leadership and information about specific actions and legal cases for which the union provided assistance. The material is primarily focused on the Ann Arbor area, but the union also corresponded with, and collected material from, similar organizaitons located across the United States; the research files also contain information about broader subjects such as unionization. A series of newsletters includes mailings from similar organizations located across the country, and a series of housing reports focuses on University of Michigan students and the Ann Arbor area. The newspaper clippings originate from around the country. Overall, the collection presents a history of the specific organization and the broader legal landscape in the Ann Arbor area during the late 20th century.

File

Audrey Goodfriend Papers, 1948-08-30-1985-01

This collection consists of one folder. With the exception of one manuscript dated 1948, and some undated materials, the contents date from 1979 to 1983. All the items in the collection are letters sent to Goodfriend, or written materials collected by her. None of her own writing is included. There are two postcards and a letter from Molly Steimer to Audrey Goodfriend, and a letter from Proudhon Carbo reporting Steimer's death, all sent from Mexico; the letter from Steimer discusses Goodfriend's separation with David Koven. The 1948 manuscript is a carbon copy of a memorial message for "Comrade Pece" written by Jules Scarceriaux. A photocopy of an unsigned memorial for Dora Stoller Keyser, and some miscellaneous flyers and writings round out the collection.

Collection

Audrey Goodfriend Papers, 1948-1985 (majority within 1979-1980)

.5 Linear Feet (One folder)

This collection consists of one folder. With the exception of one manuscript dated 1948, and some undated materials, the contents date from 1979 to 1983. All the items in the collection are letters sent to Goodfriend, or written materials collected by her. None of her own writing is included. There are two postcards and a letter from Molly Steimer to Audrey Goodfriend, and a letter from Proudhon Carbo reporting Steimer's death, all sent from Mexico; the letter from Steimer discusses Goodfriend's separation with David Koven. The 1948 manuscript is a carbon copy of a memorial message for "Comrade Pece" written by Jules Scarceriaux. A photocopy of an unsigned memorial for Dora Stoller Keyser, and some miscellaneous flyers and writings round out the collection.