Castle, Joann

Detroit Revolutionary Movements Records

drice — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:39:59 -0500

The Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement was formed in May, 1968 at the Chrysler
Dodge Main Plant in Hamtramck, Michigan. Among those active in its founding
were General Baker, Mike Hamlin, John Watson, Ron March, Luke S. Tripp, Jr.,
Kenneth Cockrel, John Williams and Charles J. Wooten.

The collection has multiple parts. Part one primarily covers the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (DRUM) and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers (LRBW). Part two primarily covers the Communist Labor Party.

Subjects include: Detroit Revolutionary Union Movements (DRUM); ELRUM; League of Revolutionary Black Workers; black power; plant safety; Motor City Labor League; CLP; DRUM

Available on microfilm and digital copy. Please access our ArchivesSpace resource record (Finding Aid View) for direct access to digital files. Detroit Revolutionary Movements Records

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.

[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 »