Cavanagh, Jerome P.

Mel Ravitz Papers

cwesterman — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 15:22:23 -0500

Professor and Detroit community advocate Mel Ravitz held various posts in Detroit politics, including positions such as the Detroit City Plan Commission Director of Community Organization, on the Detroit City Council and as staff director of the Detroit-Wayne County Community Mental Health Services Board. As a professor at Wayne State University, Mr. Ravitz assisted in the formation of the University’s Department of Urban Planning.

Mr. Ravitz’s papers reflect his interests in community organizing and neighborhood revitalization, and serve to document the history of Detroit politics and the social and economic changes that the city faced during the later half of the twentieth century. In addition there are files relating to his activities to 2005.

The collection is in three parts.

Jerome P. Cavanagh Papers

drice — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:06:22 -0400

The papers of Mr. Cavanagh, mayor of Detroit from 1962 to 1970. They include correspondence, reports, studies, speeches, minutes, and other materials of the mayor's office and commissions and departments of the city. Efforts, both local and national, in improving economic and racial conditions in Detroit are recorded in the collection. Subjects of interest include 1967 Detroit riot; Detroit Police Dept.; urban redevelopment programs; Detroit and Michigan politics; New Detroit, Inc.; poverty programs; housing; civil disorders and police problems; and all aspects of the urban complex. Smaller groups within the collection are the files of James L. Trainor, Fred Romanoff, Richard Strichartz, Jack Casey, and Sandra McClure, all members of the mayor's staff. Correspondents are government officials on every level: U .S. presidents, vice presidents, senators, congressmen, state officials, mayors of other cities, and other prominent public figures.

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.

Diane Edgecomb Papers

kschmeling — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 14:34:02 -0500

Diane Edgecomb’s involvement with Detroit’s Central Business District Association goes back to the 1950s when she was hired as director of promotions. Edgecomb rose through the ranks and by 1980 served as president until her retirement in 1997. She is primarily noted for her work with mayors Roman Gribbs and Coleman Young to establish ethnic festivals that eventually moved to Hart Plaza in the 1970s. Diane Edgecomb died in 2013.

The collection reflects Ms. Edgecomb’s work with the DCBA and contains scrapbooks of clippings, photos, Central Business District Association (CBDA) newsletters and bulletins, correspondence, Edgecomb’s WSU Board of Governors campaign material, press releases, calendars of events, anniversary programs, ethnic festival programs, CBDA annual reports and Detroit riverfront development, as well as other related materials.

Kathleen Straus Papers

aorchard — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 15:28:10 -0500

Kathleen Straus is an activist for Michigan education and civil rights. She has been involved in the League of Women Voters, Keep Improving Detroit Schools (KIDS), PRO-Detroit, and the Michigan Association of School Boards. Additionally, Straus co-founded the Michigan Tax Information Council and she was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000 for her work in civil rights and education.

Because of Straus’s participation in civil rights and education, this collection contains information on the movement for cross-border busing between Detroit and its surrounding cities, which was proposed by the City of Detroit. Governor Milliken blocked the desegregation plan and the case was then brought to the Supreme Court by the NAACP on behalf of the students affected by the distinct segregation of metropolitan Detroit schools. In1974, however, the Supreme Court ruled against desegregation busing in a 5-4 vote.

Additionally, this collection consists of information about Michigan’s tax proposals in the 1970s and 1980s and their potential effect on schools, as well as pamphlets, correspondence, and memos about the proposals. This collection also holds some information about the finances of Detroit Public Schools, land use, and community-based organizations involved in education activism. Finally, this collection contains meeting minutes, correspondence, newsletters, and memos related to the Michigan Women’s Studies Association.

John Musial Papers

drice — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:16:56 -0400

John J. Musial was a student at University of Michigan who later worked for the city of Detroit. He served on the Commission on Community Relations as the Research Director in 1963. Musial wrote articles related to programs and projects in the city of Detroit.

The John Musial Papers consist of reports and other published materials created by or regarding the development of the city of Detroit. As Research Director of the Commission on Community Relations, he authored some of the reports. The reports are related to housing, population, income, and community projects in Detroit during the administration of Jerome Cavanagh until the beginning of the Coleman Young administration.

Murray Seidler Papers

srafferty — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 10:52:17 -0400

Murray Seidler received his PhD in political science from the University of Michigan - Dearborn and was a Wayne State University professor of political science until his retirement in 1986. He published several articles on socialism and labor unions, such as “The Socialist Party and American Unionism.” He was involved in Americans for Democratic Action and subscribed to socialist organizations, such as the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC). Additionally, he held a year-long appointment as a Participant Observer to the Detroit Concentrated Employment Program on behalf of the Office of Manpower Policy, Evaluation, and Research of the United State Department of Labor and the Detroit Mayor’s Committee for Human Resources Development, from 1967-1968.

This collection contains materials from 1938-1984 and is divided into 2 series, namely: Series 1: Mayor’s Committee for Human Resources Development and Series 2: Labor and socialism files. The Mayor's Committee for Human Resources Development series contains records from the Concentrated Employment Program, Urban Area Employment Project, and New Careers Program, budget reports, proposals, meeting minutes, memos, and administrative reports. The Labor and socialism files series consists of flyers, pamphlets, literature, news clippings and publications such as World Labor Today, The American Federationist, Americans for Democratic Action, The Militant, The Democratic Left, The Wayne Socialist, among others.

Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) Records

drice — Wed, 11 May 2011 15:43:34 -0400

SEMCOG grew out of primarily the Detroit Metropolitan Area Regional Planning Commission (DRPC) and the Supervisors Inter-County Committee (SICC) in an effort to consolidate regional planning agencies and avoid duplication of programs and services. SEMCOG has continued its predecessors' work of assisting local planning programs, collecting area planning data, and providing an infrastructure for procurement of federal aid.

Records in Part I document SEMCOG's predecessor, the DRPC, and its transition to and early operation of the Planning Division of SEMCOG, through the office files of Paul Reid, Executive Director at the time of transition. Contained therein are findings of various planning projects and studies conducted by the two entities.

Records in Part II relate primarily to the administration of SEMCOG and the environmental, transportation, and economic issues it dealt with.

Records in Part III related to SEMCOG's work in environment, transportation, and urban planning. Documented are the activities of executive directors John Amberger and Paul Tait, and the Executive and Advisory Council from SEMCOG's inception through 2003. The records of the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition (MAC) a private-sector sister organization to SEMCOG are also included.

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 »

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 »

Detroit's Olympic Bid

gstrassel — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 16:52:55 -0500

As PyeongChang prepares to light the torch for the 2018 Olympics, we are reminded of when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) almost passed the baton to the city of Detroit. The story of Detroit’s persuasive and nearly successful endeavor to bring the 1968 Olympic games to the Motor City is told through the documents of the Jerome Cavanagh Papers at the Walter P. Reuther Library. Detroit, thanks to postwar economic growth, had previously been suggested as the United States’ pick as Olympic candidate city. read more »

Detroit's Walk to Freedom

eclemens — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 22:48:12 -0400

This Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we recall Detroit's Walk to Freedom, described by Dr. King as “one of the most wonderful things that has happened in America." Dr. King led the march and shed light on the status of African Americans in northern industrial cities. Organized by the Detroit Council on Human Rights (DCHR), the Walk to Freedom was the largest civil rights demonstration in the nation’s history. Its purpose was to speak out against segregation and the brutality that met civil rights activists in the South while at the same time addressing concerns of African Americans in the urban North: inequality in hiring practices, wages, education, and housing. The date of the march, June 23, 1963, was chosen to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1943 Detroit Riots in which 34 people, the majority of them African American, were killed. read more »

Gallery Announcement: Images from the Jerome P. Cavanagh Photographs

eclemens — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 10:57:53 -0400

The Walter P. Reuther Library is pleased to announce our latest image gallery: Selections from the Jerome P. Cavanagh Photographs.

Jerome P. Cavanagh (1928-1979) was mayor of the city of Detroit from 1962 until 1970. Born in Detroit on June 16, 1928, Cavanagh was read more »

Subject Focus: Armistice Day and Veterans Day

teller — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:20:42 -0400

Although the First World War did not officially end until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, combat between the Allied nations and Germany ended on November 11, 1918, when an armistice was called for the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. read more »

Subject Focus: Poverty and Charity in Turn-of-the-Century Detroit

teller — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:39:53 -0500

In the late 19th century Detroit’s industrial base and burgeoning prosperity quickly attracted immigrants from across the country and around the world, increasing the city’s population six-fold between 1860 and 1900. While the strong and industrious were able to find steady work, the city proved to be harsh to ill or injured laborers, the elderly and widowed, and others for whom life had not been kind. Numerous public and private social service organizations and charities formed to serve the needs of the growing number of Detroit residents living in poverty. 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 »

(360) Civil Rights, Demonstrations, "Walk to Freedom," Detroit, 1963

eclemens — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:45:28 -0400

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads an estimated crowd of 125,000 civil rights activists down Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit during the historic "Walk to Freedom." Rev. C.L. Franklin, Walter Reuther, Rev. Albert Cleage and Mayor Jerome Cavanagh are all in view.

(3049) Politics, Jerome Cavanagh, Detroit, 1966

eclemens — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 08:31:30 -0400

Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanagh shares a laugh with his Press Secretary.

(3050) Politics, Jerome Cavanagh, Detroit, 1965

eclemens — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 08:29:56 -0400

Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanagh at his desk.

(3051) Politics, Jerome Cavanagh, Detroit, 1965

eclemens — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 08:28:26 -0400

Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanagh at his desk.

(3052) Politics, Jerome Cavanagh, Detroit, 1967

eclemens — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 07:36:39 -0400

Portrait of Mayor Jerome P. Cavanagh with city of Detroit seal in background

(11885) Parades, Labor Day, Detroit, 1964

eclemens — Tue, 04 May 2010 08:45:58 -0400

Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanagh, Governor George Romney, and Governor G. Mennen Williams at the Labor Day Parade, Detroit, Michigan.

(24873) NAACP, Fight for Freedom Dinner, Cavanagh, Davis, 1968

eclemens — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:44:40 -0400

Detroit Mayor Jerome (Jerry) Cavanagh presents Sammy Davis Jr. with a small gift and a plaque that decrees April 28, 1968 as being “Sammy Davis Jr. Day" in Detroit as the amused recipient laughs in approval. The ceremony took place during the 1968 NAACP Fight for Freedom Dinner.

(26864) Press Conference, Girardin, Cavanagh, 1967