Minorities--Housing

Damon J. Keith Papers

drice — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:20:02 -0400

Judge Damon Keith served in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Judge Keith delivered several landmark rulings in civil rights and civil liberties cases and played an active role in various civic, cultural and educational associations, including the Detroit YMCA, the United Negro College Fund, and the Detroit National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He is the recipient of the NAACP’s Springarn Medal, the American Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award, the Edward J. Devitt Award for Distinguished Service to Justice, and over thirty honorary degrees. Judge Keith’s papers document important milestones in his career, his precedent-setting judicial decisions, his role in ensuring equal justice for all Americans, and the many honors and awards bestowed upon him for his dedication to civil rights and to the City of Detroit.

National Sharecroppers Fund Photographs

drice — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 16:19:03 -0400

The National Sharecroppers Fund (NSF) was incorporated in 1943 and grew out of “National Sharecroppers Week,” an annual event intended to rally support for the Southern Tenant Farmers Union. NSF was founded to provide financial assistance and information on government aid programs to organizations dedicated to improving living conditions for the rural poor. The photograph collection consists of images documenting NSF activities and the lives of sharecroppers and their families from the 1940s through to the mid 1970s.

George Schermer Papers

srafferty — Wed, 23 Jan 2019 14:22:55 -0500

George Schermer worked to improve housing, human relations, and urban social problems throughout his career. First with the Chicago Housing Authority as a Supervisor of Tenant Selection and Tenant Services, before moving to Detroit where he worked with the Detroit Housing Commission as Assistant Director for Management. In 1945, Mayor Jeffries appointed Schermer as Director of the Detroit Mayor's Interracial Committee, which he created to help ease tension within the city, especially in the wake of the 1943 riot. Schermer left Detroit in 1953 to begin working as the Director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, where he worked for 10 years before resigning. Schermer opened a consulting firm, George Schermer and Associates, and worked with organizations like the Ford Foundation and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, around the country on urban social issues.

In his spare time, Schermer helped initiate the creation of the National Association of Human Rights Workers. He also served as the first President of the Michigan Committee on Civil Rights, as well as being heavily involved in neighborhood communities where he lived, namely Boston-Edison in Detroit and West Mt. Airy in Philadelphia.

The Schermer papers contain materials primarily from his career in Detroit, Philadelphia, and as a consultant. It also contains some personal material from his life outside of work including correspondence as well as his involvement in neighborhood associations and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

Wayne University Medical Science Center Records

cwesterman — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:27:45 -0500

The Medical Science Center was organized as a nonprofit corporation at the request of the Detroit Board of Education. Its mission was to raise money for, and build one of the world's outstanding medical centers in Detroit, affiliated with Wayne University. Capital costs were to be borne by foundation support and private donations, but unsuccessful in this endeavor, the Center was finally dissolved in 1951. The Center's records reflect efforts to develop plans and raise money, through the records of its president, Wendell Anderson and executive secretary, George Pierrot. Material on the establishment of Wayne University's Institute for Occupational Health is also included.

(2947) Demonstration, Civil Rights, Poor People's Campaign, Detroit, 1968

eclemens — Tue, 04 May 2010 07:39:00 -0400

African-American men march down Woodward Ave. during a Poor People’s Campaign demonstration, Detroit, Michigan. Two of the men hold a sign that has a dead rat hanging from it and reads “I Have a Dream” .

(2947) Demonstration, Civil Rights, Poor People's Campaign, Detroit, 1968

eclemens — Tue, 04 May 2010 07:38:44 -0400

African-American men march down Woodward Ave. during a Poor People’s Campaign deomnstration, Detroit, Michigan. Two of the men hold a sign that reads “I Have a Dream” that has a dead rat hanging from it.

(25373) Resurrection City, Living Conditions, Poor People's Campaign, 1968

eclemens — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:51:48 -0400

Walter Reuther, members of the UAW Political Action Committee, clergymen and civil rights activists tour the shanty town set up on the National Mall to house people who traveled to Washington, DC to participate in the Poor People's Campaign.

(25374) Resurrection City, Living Conditions, Poor People's Campaign, 1968

eclemens — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:51:48 -0400

Walter Reuther, members of the UAW Political Action committee and civil rights activists tour Resurrection City, a shanty town set up on the National Mall to house people who traveled to Washington DC for the Poor People’s Campaign.

(25376) Resurrection City, Living Conditions, Poor People's Campaign, 1968

eclemens — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:51:48 -0400

Walter Reuther, members of the UAW Political Action committee, clergymen and civil rights activists tour Resurrection City, a shanty town set up on the National Mall to house people who traveled to Washington DC for the Poor People’s Campaign. The exterior of the shanty in view is painted with the slogan “Bread Free Forever - Give us the Day,” however it is unclear if the structure is someone’s shelter or a feeding station.

(25377) Poor People's Campaign, Rev. Douglas, Speeches, 1968

eclemens — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:51:48 -0400

Reverend Jesse Douglas of Montgomery, Alabama sings to the delighted masses on the National Mall in Washington, DC during the Poor People’s Campaign.

(25379) Marches, Demonstrations, Poor People's Campaign, Washington DC, 1968

eclemens — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:51:48 -0400

Civil rights demonstrators from across the country converge on the National Mall in Washington, DC during the Poor People’s Campaign.

(25380) Marches, Demonstrations, Poor People's Campaign, Washington DC, 1968

eclemens — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:52:54 -0400

Civil rights demonstrators from across the country converge on the National Mall in Washington, DC during the Poor People’s Campaign.

(25381) Marches, Demonstrations, Poor People's Campaign, Washington DC, 1968