Wellman, Saul

Ernest Goodman Papers

drice — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:49:05 -0400

A founding member of the Detroit Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, Ernest Goodman served as NLG President, and formed the nation’s first (known) interracial law firm: Goodman, Crockett, Eden and Robb. He was deeply involved with the labor movement and some of its most bitter union organizing struggles and remained committed throughout his career to serving the common man, with clients ranging from Communists, Black Panthers, prison inmates, and African-Americans during the civil rights movement.

Part I of Mr. Goodman’s papers reflect his involvement in civil rights, constitutional law and labor issues, focusing on the Michigan Smith Act trial, the Sherrill School desegregation case, and the Black Panther trial for the murder of a Detroit Police officer.

Part II reflects his activities as counsel in controversial cases, particularly first amendment and civil rights cases, courts martial, deportation and denaturalization, and the 1971 Attica prison uprising. These papers further focus on the events, places, and people who influenced both his personal life and a career spent in service to social justice for the common man.

Part III (Two storage boxes) focuses on various cases, mainly from the 1980s-1990s, Goodman's writings, his work with Wayne State University Law School, and Estonian family correspondence.

Ronald Aronson Papers

kschmeling — Thu, 26 May 2016 12:11:30 -0400

Professor Ronald Aronson taught at Wayne State University from 1968 to 2013 in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, during which time he was actively involved in the Center for Democratic Values, the writing of a number of books, and the creation of two feature-length documentaries, "Professional Revolutionary: The Life of Saul Wellman (2004)," and "1st Amendment on Trial: The Case of the Detroit Six (2005)."

This collection consists of material from throughout Ronald Aronson’s professional career,
including articles by and about him and his work; materials generated by the Center for Democratic Values; and research materials generated during the production of his two documentaries.

Nat Ganley and Saul Wellman Papers

drice — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:48:48 -0400

Nat Ganley and Saul Wellman were both active in the Communist Party, particularly in Michigan, and were both tried under the Smith Act. Their papers, consist of clippings, reports, speeches, lecture notes, and election materials, relating primarily to Communist Party conventions, committee meetings, anti-left legislation, the House Un-American Activities Committee, the Taft-Hartley Act, and the relationships between African Americans and labor and communism and labor.