Edith Van Horn Papers

Posted July 15th, 2009 by abarker

Accession Number:

LP001698

Use restriction:

Restrictions: RESEARCHERS USING THIS COLLECT ION MUST SIGN A RESTRICTED USE FORM. NO NAMES APPEARING IN THE DETROIT POLICE RED SQUAD FILE, OTHER THAN THAT OF EDITH VAN HORN, MAY BE CITED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL NAMED. NO UNPUBLISHED MATERIAL IN RESTRICTED FILES MAY BE COPIED.

Extent:

7.5 linear feet (15 MB)

Labor and women’s rights activist Edith Van Horn began her career in the labor movement during World War II, when she left graduate school to join the war effort as an assembly line laborer for Goodyear Aircraft, where she joined United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 856. Ms. Horn later held posts as chief steward of Douglas Aircraft UAW Local 17, chief steward of Chrysler’s Dodge Main Local 3, where she was the first woman to serve on Local 3’s executive board, as a delegate to the UAW Constitutional Convention, and as the International Representative to the UAW’s Community Action Program. Ms. Horn was a founding member of the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC), the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), and was active in various Detroit area committees addressing violence against women and urban housing issues.

Ms. Horn’s papers largely document her work at Dodge Main and her extensive involvement in women’s issues. Of particular interest is the investigation into Ms. Horn’s alleged affiliation with the Communist Party, and her correspondence with Gloria Steinem.

Date:

1939-1997

Bookmark/Search this post with: