Cockrel, Kenneth V., Sr., 1938-1989

Kenneth V. and Sheila M. Cockrel Papers

drice — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:50:59 -0400

Kenneth Vern Cockrel was born November 5, 1938 and raised in Detroit. He earned a B.A. in political science and his J.D from Wayne State University. Ken Cockrel also became active in politics while at Wayne. While working at the Detroit News to pay his way through school, he met Mike Hamlin and John Watson, and together they formed the League of Revolutionary Black Workers as an umbrella organization uniting local Revolutionary Union Movements, such as the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (DRUM), and related support groups. In 1971, Cockrel and Motor City Labor League defectors formed the Labor Defense Coalition, which was instrumental in forcing the dismantling of STRESS, a notorious Detroit Police unit. At the same time, Cockrel helped found the law firm, Philo, Maki, Ravitz, Pitts, Moore, Cockrel & Robb. Over the next ten years, he and his colleagues earned reputations as crusaders for working and poor people by winning a number of high-profile lawsuits —cases such as New Bethel, James Johnson, Hayward Brown and Madeline Fletcher. In 1977, Cockrel was elected to a seat on the Detroit City Council as an "independent socialist". Those who had worked on his election campaign regrouped as the Detroit Alliance for a Rational Economy (DARE), and charged themselves with researching various issues Cockrel would face as a councilman such as tax abatement, public health, and attempts to create an independent, mass political force to work for strong community control of basic urban institutions. Disillusioned at his inability to use his Council position to improve conditions in the city, however, he decided not to run for re-election in 1981. He returned to the practice of law, ultimately rejoining his friend and former colleague, Justin Ravitz, at Sommers, Schwartz, Silver & Schwartz in 1988.

Sheila Ann Murphy Cockrel is the daughter of the founders of the Detroit Catholic Worker movement, Louis and Justine L'Esperance Murphy. From 1966-1968 she worked as staff secretary for the West Central Organization. In the late sixties and early seventies, as a founder of the Ad-Hoc Action Group, the Motor City Labor League and the Labor Defense Coalition, Cockrel honed her organizing skills in demonstrations and rallies against police brutality, absentee landlords and jail conditions, as well as petition campaigns such as the one to abolish STRESS. At the same time, she helped initiate and maintain a series of city-wide mass educational programs known first as the Control, Conflict & Change Book club, and then, as the From the Ground Up Bookclub. Perhaps the best tests of Murphy's organizing and administrative skills came in 1972 when she successfully managed Justin Ravitz's campaign for Detroit Recorder's Court judge, and again, in 1977 with her stewardship of the Kenneth Cockrel campaign and his Council staff. Longtime political allies, Sheila Murphy and Kenneth Cockrel married in 1978. In 1993 Sheila Cockrel ran successfully for the Detroit City Council and served on that body until 2009.

Morris Gleicher Papers

abarker — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:44:21 -0400

Morris Gleicher served as president of United Public Workers Local 209 and of the Michigan American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and founded the public relations firm, MG Advertising, later known as MG and Casey, and MG Associates.

Mr. Gleicher’s papers reflect his work as in public relations and his involvement in issues of civil liberties, racial equality and the peace movement.

Mike Hamlin and Joann Castle Papers

drice — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:59:07 -0400

Michael Charles Hamlin was born Oct 17, 1935. He graduated from Ecorse High School and attended the University of Michigan on a scholarship. He enlisted in the Marines, working as a firearms instructor until he was discharged in 1960. He worked as a delivery truck driver for the Detroit News, where he met Kenneth Cockrel and John Watson. He later worked for Wayne State University’s newspaper, “South End.” Mike Hamlin was active in political groups such as the Black Workers Conference. He was a founding member of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers and served as an officer. He also organized the black radical newspaper, “Inner City Voice.”

Joann Carole Castle was born May 30, 1937. In 1957 she married Donald J. Castle, Chairman of the Catholic lay organization Hourglass, with whom she had six children. After their marriage ended in the early 1970s she began attending Wayne State University. Both Hamlin and Castle were active in the Motor City Labor League (MCLL). Hamlin was a founder of the organization and Castle worked for a period as a coordinator. Both attended meetings of the Control-Conflict-Change group of the Ad Hoc Action Group of Concern Citizens.

The papers consist of records from Mike Hamlin and Joann Castle’s involvement in MCLL, largely through the Red Squad files of police surveillance that documented meetings, personal actions and information. The collection also includes articles, clippings and correspondence from the controversy over the Archdiocese Opportunity Program to aid the impoverished in Detroit and the Hourglass group involvement to support self-determination of African Americans in the late 1960s. Joann’s thesis on the Community Health Associations is also included.

Harry Philo Papers

kschmeling — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 13:41:08 -0500

Harry Philo had the reputation as one of the most notable personal injury, constitutional and civil rights Lawyers on the Side of People in the US. His career based primarily in Detroit, spanned from 1959 through the 1990s. This collection is a reflection of Philo’s work as a trial lawyer.

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.

General Gordon Baker, Jr.: A Detroit Revolutionary to the Core

ljones — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 16:45:45 -0400

There is a select group of people who place the needs of others above their own, do so against formidable forces and at great risk to their own welfare and well-being. They take these risks never knowing exactly how they will fare, but recognizing that their convictions demand that they cannot do otherwise. General Gordon Baker, Jr., a Detroit revolutionary, was among this select group of people. On May 24, 2014, a packed audience at Dearborn, Michigan’s UAW Local 600 memorialized his life that ended six days before. It was there that attendees gave tribute to a man whose impact did not pass with his death. read more »

On Display: "Political Campaigns" case exhibit

eclemens — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 13:25:15 -0500

This is your last chance to explore our latest case exhibit Political Campaigns. The display shares materials from our collections that document political campaigns from city council all the way to the President of the United States. Photographs, buttons, stickers, and related ephemera, such as press passes to national conventions and invitations to the 1960 Inaugural Ball, illustrate the vibrant ways in which campaigns are run. read more »

The Popular Crimetown Podcast Digs into Detroit Crime by Digging into the Reuther Library’s Collections

mwallace — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 14:22:50 -0400

The new season of the hit podcast Crimetown will use material from various collections at the Walter P. Reuther Library. Each season of Crimetown examines the “culture of crime” in a different American city. This upcoming season they are focusing on Detroit and using film, video, and sound from the Reuther’s collections. read more »

(27976) John Watson, Ken Cockrel, South End, 1969

eclemens — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:16:47 -0500

John Watson, editor of the South End student newspaper, speaks with Kenneth Cockrel.

(32637) Kenneth Cockrel, Hibbitt Trial, Detroit,1969

eclemens — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 17:01:21 -0500

Portrait of Attorney Kenneth Cockrel, taken after he was tried in contempt of court for an outburst against Judge Maher during the Alfred Hibbitt trial.

(32638) Kenneth Cockrel, Milton Henry (Gaidi Abiodun Obadale), Detroit, 1969

eclemens — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 10:15:54 -0500

Attorneys Kenneth Cockrel and Milton Henry (Gaidi Abiodun Obadele) at an unidentified event.

(32639) Kenneth Cockrel, Police, STRESS, Rallies, Detroit, 1972

eclemens — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 10:30:33 -0500

Attorney Kenneth Cockrel addresses the audience at an Anti-STRESS (Stop the Robberies and Enjoy Safe Streets) event in Detroit, Michigan.

(32643) Kenneth Cockrel, Police, STRESS, Rallies, Detroit, 1972

eclemens — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 11:07:22 -0500

Attorney Kenneth Cockrel addresses the audience at an Anti-STRESS (Stop the Robberies and Enjoy Safe Streets) event in Detroit, Michigan.