Race relations

Detroit Commission on Community Relations (DCCR) / Human Rights Department Photographs and Other Material

drice — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 16:35:46 -0500

The Commission on Community Relations evolved from the City of Detroit Mayor's Interracial Committee in 1953 and was renamed in 1974 as the Human Rights Department. All three iterations served a common purpose: to make recommendations to improve governmental services affecting racial relations, and to promote understanding between the races.

Collection consists of photographs documenting its efforts to overcome racial discrimination and improve race relations in the Detroit metropolitan area and ephemera related to the “March to Freedom” civil rights demonstration held in Detroit on June 23, 1963.

Detroit Commission on Community Relations (DCCR) / Human Rights Department Records

drice — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:47:48 -0400

Topics covered include affirmative action, the Coordinating Council on Human Relations, discrimination in housing, health care, the 1943 & 1967 race riots, southern migration into Detroit, police-community relations, welfare, and school redistricting.

This Finding Aid was revised in July 2019, citations attributed before this date may no longer match current folder locations/numbers. If you need help locating a folder from an old citation, please ask an archivist for assistance.

Detroit Industrial Mission Records

drice — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 16:22:18 -0400

The Detroit Industrial Mission (DIM) was an ecumenical organization that was founded on the premise of a need for a better understanding between the worker, management and religion. It aimed to serve all churches and types of industry. The industrial mission, organized by the Rev. Hugh C. White in October 1956, sought to organize independently of the formal structures of any denomination. The mission engaged directly with varying types of industry to explore with managers and their workers the relevance of their work and Christianity; ultimately the goal was to discover the meaning of work. They sought men and women who were eager to pursue the quest for industrial expression of faith and to develop a greater quality of life within industry consistent with the industrial institution. Ultimately, they intended to foster human good between the work experience and theological ideas of men, industry, and the religious tradition. Due to financial constraints, the Detroit Industrial Mission folded in 1978.

Part 1, includes correspondence, reports, project evaluations, and various papers by project members.

Part 2, documents the organization’s development and their activities with emphasis on the 1960s through the early 1970s. The records contain project files and administrative files. DIM project files specifically document the organization’s activities within industry including workshops, interviews, and the mission’s offerings of strategy for the individual industries that sought help. Administrative files collectively document material generated by the mission staff including correspondence, financial records, and subject files used for research. These materials may also be found throughout the entirety of the records.

Kathy Groehn Cosseboom El-Messidi Papers

drice — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:28:09 -0400

Kathy Groehn was born in 1946 and grew up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. She graduated
from Grosse Pointe High School in 1963, then from the University of Michigan (B.A.
1967) and Southern Oregon College (M.A.). During the 1960s she was a reporter for the
Grosse Pointe News and used her experiences as a basis for research on her book, Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Race Against Race, by Kathy Cosseboom (Michigan State University Press, 1972). The book deals with racial and social attitudes in the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe as revealed in education, school-community relations, housing
discrimination, and religious institutions. It won the American Pen Women’s first prize
for information books in 1974.

As Kathy El-Messidi, she earned a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Oklahoma. Her Ph.D. dissertation was published as The Bargain: The Story behind the 30-Year Honeymoon of GM and the UAW, by Kathy Groehn El-Messidi (Nellen Publishing Co. 1980). This book deals with the history and politics behind the 1948 collective bargaining agreement between General Motors and the UAW. As the daughter of Thomas Groehn, former news relations director for GM, El-Messidi had special access to materials and individuals at GM for this study.

In the 1990s, Dr. El-Messidi was associate director of the Center for Research on Parallel
Computation at Rice University in Texas and more recently has worked as an education
consultant and market intelligence specialist in Texas.

This collection contains the files and research materials for both of Kathy Groehn
Cosseboom El-Messidi’s books.

Cornelius Golightly Papers

aorchard — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 09:45:42 -0500

Dr. Cornelius Golightly was an Associate Dean and professor at Wayne State University's Philosophy Department. Golightly's papers document his time at several institutions, his work in the philosophy field, as well as his involvement with several school boards, including Milwaukee and Detroit. This collection primarily contains draft manuscripts, classroom notes and instructions, correspondence, brochures, and acknowledgements. Additional materials include three folders of photographs and one college patch.

Charles F. Kellogg Papers

drice — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 14:58:12 -0400

Charles Flint Kellogg was a respected historian, Professor of American History, and Chair of the Department of History at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was awarded grant money to study the history of the NAACP. His papers contain manuscripts, research, photographs, and notes used to write his 1967 book, NAACP: A History of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Volume I: 1909-1920, which describes the beginnings of the organization, its leaders, and the issues they faced.

John C. Leggett Papers

srafferty — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 15:49:27 -0400

Collection consists of documents related to sociologist John C. Leggett's career. Primarily includes research related to Leggett's book Class, Race, and Labor: Working Class Consciousness in Detroit.

Wade H. McCree, Jr. Papers

drice — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 13:55:18 -0500

Wade Hampton McCree, Jr. began his career as a lawyer in the Detroit law firm of Harold E. Bledsoe and Hobart Taylor. He later served on the state’s Workmen’s Compensation Commission and as a judge in the county and U.S. court system. During his tenure on the bench, McCree took part in a number of school desegregation cases iand as the government’s lawyer, he argued a number of significant cases before the Supreme Court. He resigned in 1977 to accept appointment as U.S. Solicitor General in the Carter administration. In the last few years of his life, McCree taught law at the University of Michigan, and consulted on various cases and served as Special Master for the U.S. Supreme Court in cases in which it exercised original jurisdiction. Judge McCree’s professional, educational, civic and charitable activities were many and he was the recipient of numerous honors and awards.

His papers contain his personal and professional correspondence, speeches and writings, voluminous case files, including his notes and opinions, meeting minutes, publications and other material relating to his service on the bench and as the federal government’s chief lawyer as well as his work on professional committees and his involvement with a wide range of civic, fraternal and charitable organizations.

Norman McRae Papers

drice — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:38:35 -0500

Norman McRae was a longtime teacher and administrator in the Detroit Public School System, playing a major role in the development of multicultural and human rights curricula. His papers mainly reflect his avid research on African-American history and the African-American experience.

Part II of the Norman McRae Papers consists mainly of educational curriculums and resources, the centennial celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation, and secondary sources on Detroit and Michigan African-Americans.

National Policy Association Records

drice — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:28:13 -0500

The National Policy Association (NPA)was established in 1934 as the National Planning Association, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research institution founded by prominent business and labor leaders who believed that the private sector should actively participate in the formulation of public policy. The organization’s name was changed to National Policy Association in 1997. Organized with a broad-based structure of committees and an independent research program, the NPA brought together influential leaders from business, labor, agriculture and academia in four major policy committees: The Committee on New American Realities, Food and Agriculture Committee, Global Economic Council and North American Committee. Among the influential committees on international economic and foreign policy were the Canadian-American Committee, the British-American Committee and the Committee on the Changing International Realities. At one time, over 400 private-sector leaders belonged to one or more of the policy committees, which explored domestic and global concerns, developed recommendations and commissioned studies. NPA-sponsored research focused on major economic and social issues facing the U.S. and other nations and fundamental questions relating to strengthening U.S. global competitiveness. The NPA reached out to policymakers and the public through publications and events such as seminars and conferences. The NPA had its offices in Washington, D.C. It ceased operation in 2003.

The records detail the daily operations and interests of the NPA. They show the growing
range of policy issues that the organization dealt with during its seven decades and its
wide range of members, authors and contributors. The records include many NPA
publications and publications of its committees from the 1930s to 2003. There is
correspondence with White House and congressional leaders, CEOs and executives of
hundreds of corporations in the U.S., Canada and overseas, as well as many academics
and labor leaders. They include organizational documents such as memos,
correspondence, reports and meeting minutes of the Board of Trustees and Executive
Committee, as well as documents from many events sponsored by the NPA and its
committees.

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.

Robert Sedler Papers

drice — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:18:05 -0400

Robert A. Sedler is a Professor of Law at Wayne State University where he teaches courses in constitutional law and conflict of laws. Mr. Sedler has litigated a large number of civil rights and civil liberties cases, has published extensively on constitutional law, and has received several awards for his work in these areas. The materials in these papers consist of documents related to the Detroit Branch, NAACP, et al. v. City of Dearborn, a case brought by the NAACP and the ACLU to overturn a City of Dearborn ordinance that restricted the use of its parks to Dearborn residents. Mr. Sedler acted as counsel for the ACLU in the case.

Helen Dushkin Papers

cwesterman — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 14:36:12 -0500

Helen Dushkin, maiden name Sachse, was born in Aranac County in 1896. Her family moved to Bay City and then to Detroit, where she would remain. Helen Sachse first attended Cass School (later Cass High School and then Cass Technical High School) and then Central High School. At Central High School, she earned top grades and gave speeches, including a commencement toast in 1914. This collection contains her written recollections from Central High School, as well as her report cards, student essays, a commencement program, and copies of her speeches.

Helen Dushkin was an outside correspondent for the Detroit News and the Jewish Chronicle. She also served as the President of the Women’s Division of the American Jewish Congress. Additionally, she participated in the Council of Jewish Women, the Committee on Interracial and Intercultural Understanding in the Schools, the Women’s Auxiliary of the United Hebrew Schools, the League of Women Voters, the Torch Fund, and the Speakers Bureau.

In addition to the papers regarding Central High School, this collection also contains the meeting minutes, correspondence, and reports from the Committee on Interracial and Intercultural Understanding in the Schools. The committee’s goal was to promote interracial and intercultural education in Metro Detroit Schools through calculated curriculum, trained school personnel, and active parent-teacher organizations.

African Americans and the UAW

mosmith — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:53:30 -0500

The Reuther Library celebrates African American History Month with a brief review of the important role that African Americans have played in the formation and growth of the United Automobile Workers of America (UAW), one of the most powerful unions in American history, and the influence of black UAW members within the polity of Detroit. read more »

Book Announcement: The Color of Law

teller — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:45:25 -0400

Next month metropolitan Detroit authors and frequent Reuther Library researchers Steve Babson, Dave Riddle, and David Elsila are releasing their book The Color of Law: Ernie Goodman, Detroit, and the Struggle for Labor and Civil Rights, which uses information garnered from collections held at the Reuther.

We have many records and manuscript collections that reflect how the local government, legal system, and organizations have addressed the intersection of civil rights, race, and the law in metro Detroit. read more »

Collection Spotlight: Wade McCree's contribution to Detroit and the nation

ljones — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:37:16 -0500

The Walter P. Reuther Library continues to celebrate Black History Month by highlighting the life of Wade McCree and his papers.

In his work as a judge, appointed official, and educator coupled with his sense of civic responsibility, Wade Hampton McCree, Jr. made a unique contribution to the Detroit metropolitan area and beyond. His success in these areas are noteworthy by themselves, but even more so given the barriers to success experienced by African Americans read more »

Collections Spotlight: Mel Ravitz Papers

Public Relations Team — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 14:50:17 -0500

The Reuther Library is proud to announce the opening of an addition to our Mel Ravitz Papers. The new materials include documents related to Ravitz’s work and research in urban planning and its impact on communities, ranging from 1945-2009. Notably, the collection includes some of Mr. Ravitz’s personal journals from the early 1960s. The addition to this collection may prove particularly valuable to researchers with an interest in the causes and effects of Detroit’s 1967 civil unrest. read more »

Eleanor Josaitis — Hands Across the Racial Divide

wlefevre — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:32:36 -0400

As a symbol, it is exquisite in its simplicity. Two hands inside a circle, one black and one white, almost but never quite touching across the racial divide. This has been the logo of Focus: HOPE, an organization fighting for basic human rights in Detroit and Southeast Michigan for over forty years. And until her death last week, one of the leaders of the fight was Eleanor Josaitis. read more »

Ernest Dillard Passing

Public Relations Team — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 10:45:58 -0500

The Reuther notes with sadness the passing of Ernest C. Dillard, who passed away at 101 years of age this week.

Ernest C. Dillard, Sr. was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on January 24, 1915, though the bulk of his labor and civil rights activities were in Detroit, Michigan. Dillard was an active member of United Auto Workers Local 15 and was the first African-American elected to a succession of UAW leadership posts. He retired in 1980 as assistant director of the UAW Community Action Program. read more »

Subject Focus: African American History at the Reuther Library

wlefevre — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:19:12 -0500

The Reuther Library celebrates African American History Month with a look at some of the significant collections housed in the library that deal with African American history.

A gem from Rosa Parks’s collection is a set of her hand written notes from her time at the Highlander Folk School in 1955, shortly before the Montgomery Bus Boycott. These notes showcase her read more »

Subject focus: Jewish Detroit Experience

wlefevre — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:52:44 -0400

The Reuther Library celebrates the Jewish holiday of Passover with a look at some of the significant collections housed in the library that deal with the Jewish experience in Metropolitan Detroit.

As the repository for the Jewish Community Archives (JCA), the Reuther Library has a wealth of information on the Jewish community in Detroit and surrounding environs. The JCA holdings include, but are not limited to, the papers of: read more »

Subject Focus: NAACP

jruss — Thu, 05 May 2011 11:58:47 -0400

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed in early 1909. It held its first convention in May of that year. This May, 102 years later, we showcase collections related to the history of this vital civil rights organization.

The Reuther holds the papers of NAACP founding member Mary White Ovington. Her papers reflect the development of the organization and the civil rights movement generally. Also documenting the growth of the national organization are the papers of NAACP stenographer Carrie Burton Overton, civil rights leader Rosa Parks, and NAACP historian Charles F. Kellogg. read more »

The 1943 Detroit Race Riot

jruss — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:07:36 -0400

On June 20, 1943, a fight broke out between African American and white Detroiters spending their Sunday on Belle Isle, the city’s large park in the middle of the Detroit River. Fighting spread to the mainland, and rumors crisscrossed the city, stoking racial tensions that had been running high and threatening to boil over into violence for months. Rioting spread, with little attempt from the police to stop it (in fact, much evidence points to many white police facilitating and even participating in violence against African Americans), and by the time President Franklin Roosevelt sent in federal troops on the evening of June 21, hundreds had been injured, and 34 people had died: 25 African American (17 of whom were shot by police), and 9 white. Of the arrests made later, 85% were African American. 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 »

(2819) Demonstrations, Segregation, Busing, Pontiac, Michigan, 1971

eclemens — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:52:04 -0400

A woman carrying an American flag marches in front of a school bus, refusing to let it pass during an anti-busing protest, Pontiac, Michigan.

Photographer’s Note: This woman carried the American Flag as she ran in front of the bus. The bus driver zigged and zagged to get around her, but finally had to stop to avoid running into her.”

(2820) Demonstrations, Segregation, Busing, Pontiac, Michigan, 1971

eclemens — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:49:04 -0400

A mother, holding a small child, attempts to stop a bus from leaving the school parking lot by standing in front of it during a anti-busing demonstration, Pontiac, Michigan. Written across her and her child’s clothing are anti-busing slogans such as “Born them free. Keep them free. No Busing” and “Not our kids.”

(2821) Demonstrations, Segregation, Busing, Pontiac, Michigan, 1971

eclemens — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:44:13 -0400

Women and children stand in front of a bus, refusing to let it pass out of the schoolyard, as reporters look on during an anti-busing protest, Pontiac, Michigan. Many carry placards and appear to be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Photographers Note: “In Pontiac, busing of students was a major issue. The courts ordered schools to transport students from one school to another in order to integrate them.”

(9801) Demonstrations, Segregation, Busing, Pontiac, Michigan, 1971

eclemens — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:41:16 -0400

A police officer holds back demonstrators as a school bus passes during an anti-busing demonstration, Pontiac, Michigan. The protesters attempt to intimidate bus drivers and students by invoking the name of the Ku Klux Klan.

Note: Ku Klux Klan is spelled incorrectly on their sign.

(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