New Detroit, Inc. (Detroit, Mich.)

William Beckham Jr. Papers

drice — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 14:03:12 -0400

William J. Beckham (1940-2000) was originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was educated at the Detroit Institute of Technology (1959-1960), Wayne State University (1960-1962), American University (1962-1964), and the University of Maryland (1965-1966). During these years he took courses in political science. Beckham went on to pursue a career in politics at both the local and national level. In 1964, Beckham worked on Senator Phillip Hart’s campaign and then joined his staff from 1965-1973. Later in his career he would serve as Deputy Mayor to Coleman A. Young, Assistant Secretary of Treasury, and then Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transportation under President Jimmy Carter. In the private sector, Beckham was Vice President of Unisys Corporation, COO of Envirotest Systems Corp., and President of New Detroit (1995-1999). Towards the end of his life, he became heavily involved in Detroit Public School system reform, leaving New Detroit in 1999 to become President of the Skillman Foundation. Beckham died suddenly in 2000 on the way home from a family vacation.

The Beckham Papers include clippings and programs from meetings, conferences, and award ceremonies that span the length of his career, but focus mainly on his time in the U.S. Department of Transportation and his efforts to reform the Detroit Public School system. During his time in the Department of Transportation, Beckham frequently spoke publicly and at conferences, and the collection includes some of the speeches and remarks he gave during the year 1980. Also included are photographs from his service at the national and local level.

Detroit Latino Records

aorchard — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 14:58:36 -0500

Organizations in this collection include New Detroit, Inc., National Council of La Raza,
Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Additionally, this collection encompasses the work of many organizations involved in the Consortium of Hispanic Agencies, such as the Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development (La Sed), Community Health and Social Services Center (CHASS), Latino Family Services, and SER, Jobs for Progress, Inc.

Finally, this collection includes materials created by Detroit Latino Agenda and Coalition, an organization that was started by the Center for Chicano-Boricua Studies at Wayne State University in 1990. The organization focuses on challenges and opportunities for Detroit’s Latino community and it creates conferences in order to foster discussion and collaboration in the greater Detroit Latino community.

The Detroit Latino Records primarily contains memorandum, meeting minutes, conference materials, and program materials for Latino community organizations within Detroit, as well as résumés and relevant news articles. This collection also includes materials produced by national organizations and academic programs, including programs within Wayne State University and its Center for Chicano-Boricua Studies, as well as the University of Michigan.

Max M. Fisher Papers

aergas — Tue, 12 May 2015 13:53:40 -0400

Max M. Fisher (1908-2005) was a successful Detroit industrialist and investor, influential Republican Party fundraiser and power broker, Jewish community leader, and major philanthropist. He was "arguably the most influential and respected Jew in America" in the twentieth century. Fisher's business career began with the Aurora Gasoline Company, and included Marathon Oil and several other oil companies, as well as Manufacturer's National Bank, Comerica Inc., Michigan Bell Telephone Co., Owens-Illinois Inc., United Brands Company, Sotheby's Holdings, the Irvine Company. Fisher served as the leader of most of the major Jewish community organizations in the United States. He chaired the Board of Directors of the Jewish Agency for Israel for many years and was a prime actor in Israel's economic development. Fisher's expertise on Middle East affairs and Jewish issues made him a key advisor to the Republican Party and to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Fisher's civic engagement with the Detroit area is legendary. Working closely with Henry Ford II and other city leaders, he was founding chair of the board of directors of Detroit Renaissance and a founding member and chair of New Detroit Inc., among other important organizations. His legacy includes the Max M. Fisher Music Center at Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall and the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University. During his lifetime, Fisher received a wide range of awards and honors from local, state, national and international organizations, particularly for his extraordinary philanthropy.
This collection consists of two Parts: Part 1 deposited in 2012, Part 2 deposited in 2021.

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.

Fay O'Hare Papers

srafferty — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 09:20:44 -0500

Fay O'Hare was a Detroit attorney who was heavily involved in Detroit education from the late 1960s through the 1980s. Her involvement included work with the High School Study Commission, Coalition for Peaceful Integration, Detroit Education Task Force, and Coleman Young's Mayor-elect Task Force. In addition to this, she worked on the Monitoring Commission, established to audit the court ordered changes and improvements to Detroit Public Schools as a result of the Bradley v Milliken case. These papers contain meeting agendas, notes, reference materials and publications relevant O'Hare's work, as well as a small amount of material on women's issues and equality.

Collection Spotlight: The Detroit Latino Records

Public Relations Team — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 11:23:56 -0500

The Reuther Library recently had the privilege of opening the Detroit Latino Records to researchers. This collection consists of materials from numerous organizations gathered by Wayne State University professor José Cuello. Dr. Cuello has spent his career as an educator, researcher and activist for the Latino community and these records reflect his involvement in this community from 1969 to 1995. read more »

Collections Spotlight: Max M. Fisher Papers

aergas — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 12:12:47 -0400

The Reuther Library is pleased to announce that the Max M. Fisher Papers are now open to researchers. This large collection documents Fisher's life and career as a successful Detroit industrialist and investor, influential Republican Party fundraiser and power broker, Jewish community leader, and major philanthropist. It includes correspondence, documents, speeches, interviews, photographs and other media, and documents from his biographer. read more »

(28577) New Detroit Committee, 1967

eclemens — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 11:17:08 -0400

Group portrait of the New Detroit Committee taken outside of the McGregor Memorial Conference Center, Detroit.

Photographers note: "The New Detroit Committee posed for its first official portrait at Wayne State University in a rare gathering of the city’s most influential civic leaders, Oct 11, 1967. "

Left to right: Lena Bivens, Archdiocesean Opportunity Program; Ed Carey, President Detroit Common Council; Robert Tindal, Exec Sec NAACP; Richard Huegli, Managing director, United Community Services; Emil Lockwood, State Senate Majority Leader; Jack Wood, secretary-manager, Detroit and Wayne Building Trades Council; Judge Damon Keith, chairman Michigan Civil Rights Commission; Max Fisher, United Foundation chairman; Virgil Boyd, president Chrysler Corp: John Pingel, president Ross Roy Inc; Mrs, Gerald Bright, vice-president, League of Women Voters; Norvil Harrington, Inner City civil rights worker; Ralph McElvenny, president Michigan Consolidated Gas Co.; Joseph L. Hudson, president J.L. Hudson Co (chairman); James Roche, president General Motors Corp.; William T. Gossett, president American Bar Association; Arthur Johnson, deputy superintendent, Detroit Public Schools; Walker Cisler, chairman, Detroit Edision; James B. Ogden, assistant to UAW president Walter Reuther; Allen Merrell, Ford Motor Co., vice-president; John Armstrong, president Darin & Armstrong, Inc.; Rev Malcolm Carron, president University of Detroit; Mrs. Jean Washington, 10th precinct Police Community Relations Committee; Curtis Potter, Mayor Royal Oak; William Ryan, State House minority leader; William Day, president Michigan Bell; Delos Hamlin, chairman Oakland County Board of Supervisions; Rennie Freeman, executive secretary, West Central Organization; Paul Borman, president Borman Food Stores, Inc.

[Podcast] Organizing Your Own: The White Fight for Black Power in Detroit

teller — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 09:44:07 -0400

Dr. Say Burgin explains that contrary to the common belief that white activists were purged from the Black freedom movement in the mid-1960 and 1970s, Black-led organizations in Detroit – including the Northern Student Movement, the City-Wide Citizens Action Committee, and the League of Revolutionary Workers—called on white activists to organize within their own white networks to support Black self-determination in education, policing, employment, and labor unions. read more »