Blogs

The Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives document the rich and varied history of the Detroit Jewish community. In 1991, the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit placed the bulk of its archival holdings in the Reuther Library. The collection dates back to the beginning of the United Jewish Charities in 1899. Through the years, the Jewish Community Archives (JCA) at the Reuther Library has expanded to include more than two million documents chronicling the growth and development of the Federation and its member agencies and Jewish communal agencies.

Recently, some new collections have been added and some revisions have been made to finding aids.  read more »

This November 7th from 3-5 PM, please join the Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs for a screening of “Latino Americans, 500 Years of History,” Documentary Episode 6: Peril and Promise (1980-2000) at the Bowen Branch of the Detroit Public Library. A group discussion will follow.

PBS's Episode Guide asks on Episode 6: "Is a new Latino world being created here as the Latino population and influence continues to grow? Alternatively, will Latinos in America eventually assimilate into invisibility, as other groups have done so many times?" Representatives from Wayne State University's Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies will join attendees in a dialogue on the episode’s themes of community and identity.  read more »

Jason Kozlowski, assistant professor at West Virginia University, will present an overview of his current research at a brown-bag lecture at noon on Thursday, December 3, in the Reuther Conference Room of the Walter P. Reuther Library.

The event will detail research on his book project, tentatively titled “Shifting Terrain: Work, Deindustrialization and Labor Relations in the Earthmoving Equipment Industry, 1967-2000.”  read more »

The Reuther Library salutes Myra Wolfgang as she is inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame this month.

Almost 40 years after her death, Myra Wolfgang stands among the giants in Detroit’s labor movement. Her involvement in labor organizing began not long after graduating from Northern High School in Detroit in 1931. By the age of 23, she was leading strikes and directed organizing drives in local businesses, through the local chapter of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union (today known as UNITE HERE!). She first received national publicity for organizing a “pink-collar” sit-down strike among women workers at the Woolworth’s department store in Detroit in 1937.  read more »