Detroit (Mich.). City Council.

Stephen Lighthill Film Collection

drice — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 10:54:59 -0500

Stephen Lighthill has been involved in a large number of film productions, including social documentaries, feature films, and television. He has worked as a camera operator, cinematographer, and director. In 1979, he produced and directed a documentary film in Detroit called "Taking Back Detroit." The film features a movement that took an alternative approach to addressing Detroit’s long-term economic difficulties. The primary subjects are Kenneth V. Cockrel, Justin C. “Chuck” Ravitz, Sheila Murphy (Cockrel), and the Detroit Alliance for a Rational Economy (D.A.R.E.).

Lighthill's collection includes raw sound and film footage for "Taking Back Detroit," as well as intermediate materials from the film making process. Box 24 contains three final prints of the complete film. The film highlights the problems facing Detroit in 1979 and gives a short overview of some of the events that created those problems. It details the crumbling industrial, business, and residential infrastructure as well as documents Detroit city council meetings, community meetings, D.A.R.E. meetings, petition drives, and D.A.R.E.’s “City Life in the ‘80s” conference.

Maryann Mahaffey Papers

srafferty — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 09:34:02 -0500

Maryann Mahaffey was born on January 18, 1925 in Burlington, Iowa to Kent and Margaret ‘Nell’ [Widener] Mahaffey. Mahaffey’s older brother was also named Kent. While she was attending Cornell College, she decided to spend the summer of 1945 working as a Recreation Director at Poston Internment Camp in Arizona. This work had a profound effect on Mahaffey in regard to fighting against discrimination and helping people in need.
After obtaining masters degrees in social work from the University of Southern California, Mahaffey and her husband moved briefly in Indianapolis before moving to Detroit. Mahaffey worked with organizations like Young Woman's Christian Association (YWCA), Girl Scouts of America, Merrill Palmer Institute, and Brightmoor Community Center before becoming involved in local politics.
After working as a consultant to the Mayor of Detroit on parks, recreation, and social services, Mahaffey initiated and chaired the Mayor's Task Force on Malnutrition and Hunger before running for Wayne County Commissioner in 1970. Though she did not win the election for this position, she did win a Michigan Supreme Court case setting a legal precedent for married women running for public office with their maiden name. In 1973, Mahaffey ran for Detroit City Council and won, she served on the city council until 2005.
Active outside of her council work, Mahaffey also taught as a Professor at Wayne State University School of Social Work as well as participating in many social work and positive social force organizations. She played important roles in the Michigan Social Work Council, National Association of Social Workers (NASW) including being their first elected female President, and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). Mahaffey also focused heavily on organization promoting peace, women in politics, health, and equality.
Mahaffey was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2005 and passed away on July 27, 2006 due to health complications.

This collection contains materials with a heavy emphasis on the city of Detroit, as well as social work and social service organizations.
From Mahaffey's numerous decades on the Detroit City Council, there are detailed notes, correspondence, and reports relating to the daily work was involved in including city budget, casinos, an anti-surveillance ordinance, housing, and many other subjects of focus. This collection also contains materials related to her teaching at Wayne State University including detailed information on social service organizations in Metro Detroit. Other important elements of this collection relate to her experience working at Poston, the many organizations Mahaffey played an active role in running and organizing, and the speeches, testimony, and writing she did covering the broad range of her experience and interests.

Robert Millender Papers

drice — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 11:32:09 -0400

Robert Millender (1916-1978) was an influential attorney, political strategist, and campaign manager in Detroit, most notable for his efforts to establish political power for African Americans in the city throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He began his legal and political career in the mid-1950s as a labor attorney, including appointments to the Workers Compensation Board and the Trade Unions Leadership Council. In the early 1960s, Millender and George Crockett, Jr. began working toward the goal of electing African Americans to prominent political offices in Detroit. In the process, Millender established himself as an instrumental force in the elections of many of Detroit's first generation of successful African American politicians by serving as campaign manager for notable politicians including Congressional Representative John Conyers, Michigan Secretary of State Richard Austin, Detroit City Council Members Robert Tindal and Erma Henderson, and Detroit Mayor Coleman Young.

The Robert Millender Papers document Millender's legal and political activities from 1963-1978, including his work as a campaign manager for numerous Detroit politicians and as an attorney active in issues related to labor activism and African American political
representation. Comprised of mostly paper records, including correspondence, memos,
speeches, meeting minutes, and promotional materials demonstrating Millender's influence on and dedication to the candidacies of African American politicians in the City of Detroit in addition to his activities as an attorney and political activist outside of his work as a campaign manager. The collection also containssome photographs and memorabilia.

Gallery Announcement: Images from the Jerome P. Cavanagh Photographs

eclemens — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 10:57:53 -0400

The Walter P. Reuther Library is pleased to announce our latest image gallery: Selections from the Jerome P. Cavanagh Photographs.

Jerome P. Cavanagh (1928-1979) was mayor of the city of Detroit from 1962 until 1970. Born in Detroit on June 16, 1928, Cavanagh was read more »

(30381) Plans for Proposed Incinerator, Detroit, 1960s

eclemens — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:56:52 -0400

Architectural rendering of a proposed garbage incinerator to be located at 7501 West Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, Michigan.

Source: Mel Ravitz Collection

Podcast: "She Never Gave Up on This City:" Remembering Firebrand Detroit City Councilwoman Maryann Mahaffey

teller — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 10:36:35 -0500

Labor and Urban Affairs archivist Shae Rafferty shares how Maryann Mahaffey's college summer job as recreation director at the Poston Japanese internment camp in Arizona in 1945 strengthened her resolve to fight against discrimination and help those in need later in her career in social work. read more »