DOCSLIB.ORG

American Dream Deferred: Black Federal Workers in Washington, Dc, 1941-1981

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
American Dream Deferred: Black Federal Workers in Washington, Dc, 1941-1981 AMERICAN DREAM DEFERRED: BLACK FEDERAL WORKERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C., 1941-1981 A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History By Frederick W. Gooding, Jr., J.D. Washington, DC June 20, 2013 Copyright 2013 by Frederick W. Gooding, Jr. All Rights Reserved ii AMERICAN DREAM DEFERRED: BLACK FEDERAL WORKERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C., 1941-1981 Frederick W. Gooding, Jr., J.D. Thesis Advisor: Michael Kazin, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This study explores the history of black workers in Washington, D.C.’s federal sector from World War II (WWII) to the early 1980s. Many blacks viewed government employment as a welcome alternative to the limited job prospects and career trajectories available in the hostile and discriminatory private sector. As their numbers in the public sector in Washington increased, African-Americans gained a measure of economic security, elevated their social standing, and increased their political participation, primarily through public sector unions and such civil rights groups as the National Urban League (NUL) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). However, the growth of racial liberalism in the post-war era did not do away with discrimination in federal employment. In contrast to their white colleagues, black federal workers consistently faced lower wages and slower promotion rates, despite presidential commissions and laws intended to eliminate racial inequities in the workplace. Gradually, black workers improved their status through collective and individual activism, within a context of official support for their rights. To tell this story, the study draws upon many previously untapped resources. Federal grievance hearings, records from several government commissions and correspondence between federal officials bring to light efforts to acknowledge and address racial frictions within the iii federal workplace. The papers of such local activists as Julius Hobson and such organizations as the NAACP and the Urban League document black efforts to compel the federal government to uphold its Constitutional responsibility for fair play. Both black and “white” newspapers along with black trade union newsletters and black magazines illustrate the narrative. Public employment is an understudied source of African American, labor and institutional history; many blacks used it to escape economic oppression in the South. With a heavy concentration of both black workers and federal agencies, Washington, D.C is an excellent site for a monograph on this subject. Moreover, the tensions between the stated, anti-racist policies of the government and the continuance of discriminatory patterns has implications for other urban areas in which African-Americans moved in large numbers during and after WWII. iv The research and writing of this dissertation is dedicated to everyone who helped along the way. But two require special mention. To the woman who gave me life and love – now I give to your legacy. And to the woman who gives me love and life, I gave my word for eternity. Peace, providence & prosperity to all. Many thanks, Frederick W. Gooding, Jr. v TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: American Dream Deferred .............................................................. 1 Familiar Faces, New Story............................................................. 1 Capital Gains.................................................................................. 4 Blacks in D.C. ............................................................................. 10 Bureaucratic Changes .................................................................. 12 Chapter Overview ........................................................................ 14 CHAPTER ONE: “Raisin in the Sun”: Black Opportunity in the Nation’s Capital, 1941-1944 .............................................................................................. 19 Black Workers Go North to Washington..................................... 19 “Black Collar Workers”............................................................... 24 Staying in D.C.............................................................................. 30 Discrimination at the Agency Level: Inside the OPA ................. 33 D.C. and Boggess both Change ................................................... 50 CHAPTER TWO: “And then Run”: The Achievement and Limits of Commissions to Study Discrimination in the Federal Workforce, 1945-1948................. 55 Returning to Work ....................................................................... 55 Returning to Peacetime................................................................ 58 Early Attempts to Address Inequity............................................. 61 Studying the Problem Further...................................................... 66 How the Committees Gathered Data ........................................... 73 Explaining the Gap ...................................................................... 78 Outcomes .................................................................................... 85 vi CHAPTER THREE: “Stink Like Rotten Meat”: White Resistance to Black Persistence, 1948-1959 .............................................................................................. 91 In the Mix, Not of the Mix........................................................... 91 Storm Warnings for the New Racial Climate .............................. 96 White Workers Slow to Change ................................................ 101 Confronting White Resistance ................................................... 108 CHAPTER FOUR: “Like a Syrupy Sweet”: Julius Hobson and the Rising Civil Rights Movement, 1960-1969......................................................................... 117 Strategy Shift ............................................................................. 117 Activist for Hire ......................................................................... 119 The Government Embraces Civil Rights ................................... 125 Life after Equal Rights............................................................... 135 Reflecting upon Civil Rights Progress....................................... 144 CHAPTER FIVE: “Maybe it Just Sags”: Black Postal Workers Struggle for Improved Conditions, 1969-1971......................................................................... 151 Black Postal Workers in the Nation’s Capital ........................... 151 Black Postal Workers Organize................................................. 154 Federal Recognition of Union Rights ........................................ 159 Wildcat Strike ............................................................................ 163 Still Fighting for Recognition .................................................... 166 National Alliance Fights for Relevance & Respect ................... 170 vii CHAPTER SIX: “Like a Heavy Load”: Blacks in Government Respond to Deferred Opportunities, 1971-1980..................................................... 174 We’ve Only Just Begun ............................................................. 174 Federal White Flight .................................................................. 175 Go Figure: Measuring Racial Progress...................................... 179 Examples of the Continued Black Collar Struggle.................... 182 A Professional Organization is Born ......................................... 193 Preparing Black Workers for Future Battles.............................. 202 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................ 210 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACT Association of Community Teams AFGE American Federation of Government Employees APWU American Postal Workers Union BIG Blacks in Government CORE Congress of Racial Equality CRA Civil Rights Act CSC Civil Service Commission EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission FEPC Fair Employment Practices Committee HSTL Harry S. Truman Library LC Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAPE National Alliance of Postal Employees NAPFE National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees NACP National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD NARA National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, College Park, MD NCSNC National Committee against Segregation in the Nation’s Capital NPU National Postal Union NUL National Urban League OPA Office of Price Control PCEEO President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity PCCR President’s Committee on Civil Rights PJH Papers of Julius Hobson, Washingtoniana Division. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, Washington, D.C. RNAPFE Records of the National Alliance for Postal and Federal Employees, NAPFE National Headquarters, Washington, D.C. RBIG Records of Blacks in Government, BIG National Headquarters, Washington, D.C. RNAACP Records of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. RNUL Records of the National Urban League, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. RPCCR Records of the President’s Committee on Civil Rights, Harry S. Truman Library, Independence, MO WUL Washington Urban League ix INTRODUCTION AMERICAN DREAM DEFERRED FAMILIAR FACES, NEW STORY The history of black public sector workers remains
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Senate 14807 A
    1963 C0NGRESSI0NAL RECORD- SENATE 14807 A. James D. Mann, 839 17th ·Street NW., A. Sessions & Caminita, 917 15th Street Washington, D;C, NW., Washington, D.C. SENATE B. National Association of Motor Bus B. Floyd A. Segel, 215 West Oregon Street, Owners, 839 17th Street ·NW., Washington, Milwaukee, Wis. T UESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1963 D.C. A. Clifford Setter, 55 West 44th Street, The Senate met at 12 o'clock meridian, A. Morison, Murphy, Clapp & Abrams, the New York, N.Y. and was called to order by the President Pennsylvania Building, Washington, D.C. B. United States Plywood Corp. pro tempore. B. William S. Beinecke, 114 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. The Chaplain, Rev. Frederick Brown A. Laurence P. Sherfy, 1102 Ring Build­ Harris, D.D., offered the following ing, Washington, D.C. prayer: A. Raymond Nathan, 1741 DeSales Street B. American Mining Congress, Ring Build­ NW., Washington, D.C. ing, Washington, D.C. B. Associated Fur Manufacturers, 101 Our Father God, bowing at this way­ West 30th Street, New York, N.Y. side shrine where spirit with spirit may A. Gerald H. Sherman, 1000 Bender Build­ meet, we thank Thee for the ministry A. Raymond Nathan, 1741 DeSales Street ing, Washington, D.C. of prayer through whose mystic doors NW., Washington, D.C. B. Association for Advanced Life Under­ we may escape from the prosaic hum­ B. Glen Alden Corp., 1740 Broadway, New writing, 1120 Connecticut Avenue NW., drum of "day-by-day-ness" and, lifted to York, N.Y. Washington, D.C. a wider perspective, return illumined and empowered.
    [Show full text]
  • Statistical Abstract of the United States
    7. SOCIAL SECURITY [Data in this section relate to continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii, except as noted] GENERA! NOTE Old-age and survivors insurance.—Federal old-age and survivors insurance, administered by the Social Security Board under the Social Security Act as amended in August 1939, covers employment in industry and commerce. Specified employments are excepted, notably agricultural labor, domestic service in private homes, services for government and for certain types of nonprofit organizations, services for railroads and certain of their subsidiaries and affiliates, and self-employment. In January 1940, monthly benefits became payable to qualified workers at age 65 and also to certain dependents of beneficiaries and certain survivors of insured workers. Benefits are based on the legally defined average wage of the insured and are paid from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, to which is appropriated annually an amount equal to the total taxes paid by employers and employees under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. Employment security.—The Federal-State unemployment compensation program provides for pay- ments to insured industrial and commercial workers who are able to work but unable to find jobs. Contribu- tions, based on wages, are paid by employers, and in some States also by employees, to provide funds to be used solely for the payment of benefits, which are based on prior employment and wages. Under the Social Security Act the Social Security Board has two statutory responsibilities in
    [Show full text]
  • National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form
    NPS Form 10-900-b OMB No. 1024-0018 (March 1992) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form This form is used for documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B). Complete each item by entering the requested information. For additional space, use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer to complete all items. X New Submission _ Amended Submission A. Name of Multiple Property Listing New Deal-era Resources of Kansas B. Associated Historic Contexts The KERC and the New Deal in Kansas C. Form Prepared by name/title Elizabeth Rosin, Partner, assisted by historians Jon Tavlor and Cathv Ambler. Ph.D._______________ company Historic Preservation Services. LLC___________________________________________ street & number 818 Grand Boulevard, Suite 1150_______ telephone 816\221-5133_______________ city or town Kansas City_______________________ state MO zip code 64106 D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60 and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation. [ ] See continuation sheet for additional comments.) Signatjdfe^ind title c^f certifying official /"") Date State or Federal agency and bureau Kansas State Historical Society I hereby certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis for evaluating related properties for listing in the National Register.
    [Show full text]
  • Sandspur, Vol 79 No 04, October 25,1972
    University of Central Florida STARS The Rollins Sandspur Newspapers and Weeklies of Central Florida 10-25-1972 Sandspur, Vol 79 No 04, October 25,1972 Rollins College Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cfm-sandspur University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Newspaper is brought to you for free and open access by the Newspapers and Weeklies of Central Florida at STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Rollins Sandspur by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Rollins College, "Sandspur, Vol 79 No 04, October 25,1972" (1972). The Rollins Sandspur. 1427. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cfm-sandspur/1427 "The OTHERS" ' ^ r ,+ ~m_ fr<HI* h m See page 2 and page 4. From The We Get Letters Basement Dear Editor: campaign. And, if they did knowaboui- A national poll, taken in early September, they did), they were and are just asbmi It is my hope that Peter's feature on the Scho­ claimed that 64% of the American electorate devious as many people believed them1 ol for Continuing Studies will shed a bit of light want to re-elect the President for another four on the "other" Rollins-who the people are, why year term. This is a sad situation indeed. Finally, we still have the terriblep^ they are here, how "we" regard them. It seems Surely the American public must understand Vietnam. What it comes down toistfe to me that the Rollins administration has adequ­ that the President is constantly lying to them tinuation and escalation of a policy j;, ately defined their existence and their program about the national and international scene.
    [Show full text]
  • What's in a Name
    What’s In A Name: Profiles of the Trailblazers History and Heritage of District of Columbia Public and Public Charter Schools Funds for the DC Community Heritage Project are provided by a partnership of the Humanities Council of Washington, DC and the DC Historic Preservation Office, which supports people who want to tell stories of their neighborhoods and communities by providing information, training, and financial resources. This DC Community Heritage Project has been also funded in part by the US Department of the Interior, the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund grant funds, administered by the DC Historic Preservation Office and by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. This program has received Federal financial assistance for the identification, protection, and/or rehabilitation of historic properties and cultural resources in the District of Columbia. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or disability in its federally assisted programs. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240.‖ In brochures, fliers, and announcements, the Humanities Council of Washington, DC shall be further identified as an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 1 INTRODUCTION The ―What’s In A Name‖ project is an effort by the Women of the Dove Foundation to promote deeper understanding and appreciation for the rich history and heritage of our nation’s capital by developing a reference tool that profiles District of Columbia schools and the persons for whom they are named.
    [Show full text]
  • Significant Events, 1935–1960
    Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Fin- the start of 196~such as the review of the 75- land, France, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, year-old sickness insurance program in West Ger- New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Swit- many-and so still further general reform legis- zerland, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. As- lation may be anticipated. sistance to the needy is also recognized as a The countries with newer programs undoubt- Government responsibility in a number of less- edly will seek gradually to remedy shortcomings developed countries and dependent territories. revealed in the first years of operation, enlarge There is little reason to expect that the future the risks and proportions of the population cov- will see a decrease in the rate of social security ered, and improve benefits. Countries without development in foreign countries, compared with any significant social security measures at present the past quarter century. Some of the older pro- will probably try before long to make a start in grams, it is true, have been basically reconstructed this direction. Prominent among these, no doubt, in recent years, and these may undergo only mi- will in time be the numerous new nations in Af- nor changes for some years to come. But various rica that are just now achieving their independ- countries were still reviewing their programs at ence. Significant Events, FXMO 1935 November: All States, the District of Columbia, Alaska, Jalz?tary 17: Report of Committee on Economic Security and Hawaii actively participating in program of ma- transmitted to Congress with recommendations for Fed- ternal and child health services under Social Security eral old-age insurance, Federal-State public assistance Act.
    [Show full text]
  • Second Act Telling the Story Driving Force
    MAY/JUNE 2021 SECOND ACT Vincennes theater takes on new role as business center TELLING THE STORY Preserving landmarks of Indiana’s African American history DRIVING FORCE Jump starting Indy’s Ford Assembly Building Powered Up Fort Wayne’s historic GE factory recharges as innovation district FROM THE PRESIDENT STARTERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS Olon F. Dotson Muncie Hon. Randall T. Shepard Honorary Chair Melissa Glaze Roanoke Sara Edgerton Chair Tracy Haddad What’s Columbus Parker Beauchamp Rightful Recognition Past Chair David A. Haist Wabash Doris Anne Sadler in a Name? JUNETEENTH IS GAINING RIGHTFUL recognition as a day of Vice Chair Emily J. Harrison Attica Marsh Davis IN CHOOSING THE NAME national celebration and reflection. On June 19, 1865—two months President Sarah L. Lechleiter Indianapolis Electric Works—the mixed- after the surrender of Confederate forces at Appomattox—U.S. Hilary Barnes Secretary/Assistant Treasurer Shelby Moravec use innovation district being LaPorte Major General Gordon Granger arrived with roughly 2,000 Union Thomas H. Engle Assistant Secretary Ray Ontko developed on the site of the troops on Galveston Island with word that the Civil War was over Richmond Brett D. McKamey former General Electric (GE) and enslaved people were free. On that date, General Granger Treasurer Martin E. Rahe Cincinnati, OH Judy A. O’Bannon campus in Fort Wayne— NOT SO COMMON issued General Order No. 3, which stated: Secretary Emerita James W. Renne Newburgh development group RTM s malls began drawing shoppers to the suburbs in the 1960s, DIRECTORS David A. Resnick, CPA Ventures took inspiration leaders in Columbus, Indiana, sought ways to keep business The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a Carmel Sarah Evans Barker downtown.
    [Show full text]
  • District of Columbia Social Studies Pre-K Through Grade 12 Standards
    SOCIAL STUDIES District of Columbia Social Studies Pre-K through Grade 12 Standards SOCIAL STUDIES Contents Introduction . 2 Grade 4 — U.S. History and Geography: Making a New Nation . 18 Prekindergarten — People and How They Live . 6 The Land and People before European Exploration . 18 Age of Exploration (15th–16th Centuries). 18 People and How They Live . 6 Settling the Colonies to the 1700s . 19 Economics . 6 The War for Independence (1760–1789) . 20 Time, Continuity, and Change . 7 Geography . 7 Grade 5 — U.S. History and Geography: Westward Expansion Civic Values and Historical Thinking. 7 to the Present . 22 Kindergarten — Living, Learning, and Working Together. 8 The New Nation’s Westward Expansion (1790–1860) . 22 The Growth of the Republic (1800–1860) . 22 Geography . 8 The Civil War and Reconstruction (1860–1877). 23 Historical Thinking . 8 Industrial America (1870–1940) . 24 Civic Values . 8 World War II (1939–1945) . 25 Personal and Family Economics . 9 Economic Growth and Reform in Contempory America Grade 1 — True Stories and Folktales from America (1945–Present) . 26 and around the World . 10 Grades 3–5 — Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills . 28 Geography . 10 Chronology and Cause and Effect . 28 Civic Values . 10 Geographic Skills . 28 Earliest People and Civilizations of the Americas . 11 Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View . 29 Grade 2 — Living, Learning, and Working Now and Long Ago . 12 Grade 6 — World Geography and Cultures . 30 Geography . 12 The World in Spatial Terms . 30 Civic Values . 12 Places and Regions . 30 Kindergarten–Grade 2 — Historical and Social Sciences Human Systems .
    [Show full text]
  • 1970 GENERAL ELECTION UNITED STATES SENATOR Republican Richard L
    1970 GENERAL ELECTION UNITED STATES SENATOR republican Richard L. Roudebush 29,713 democrat R. Vance Hartke 32,992 SECRETARY OF STATE republican William N. Salin 29,545 democrat Larry Conrad 31,295 AUDITOR OF STATE republican Trudy Slaby Etherton 29,271 democrat Mary Atkins 31,690 TREASURER OF STATE republican John M. Mutz 28,811 democrat Jack New 31,626 SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION republican Richard D. Wells 27,952 democrat John J. Loughlin 32,688 CLERK OF SUPREME & APPELLATE COURT republican Kendal E. Matthews 29,108 democrat Billie R. McCullough 31,160 JUDGE OF SUPREME COURT 2ND DISTRICT republican Joseph O. Carson 29,242 democrat Dixon W. Prentice 30,922 JUDGE OF SUPREME COURT 5TH DISTRICT republican Frank V. Dice 28,390 democrat Roger O. DeBruler 31,637 JUDGE APPELLATE COURT 1ST DISTRICT republican Paul H. Buchanan, Jr. 29,401 republican Robert B. Lybrook 28,341 democrat Thomas J. Faulconer 31,084 democrat Jonathan J. Robertson 31,354 JUDGE APPELLATE COURT 2ND DISTRICT republican Gilbert Bruenberg 28,796 republican Alfred J. Pivarnik 28,076 democrat Robert H. Staton 31,165 democrat Charles S. White 31,700 REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS 8TH DISTRICT republican Roger H. Zion 33,915 democrat J. David Huber 28,508 PROSECUTING ATTORNEY republican Rodney H. Grove 30,560 democrat William J. Brune 31,141 JUDGE SUPERIOR COURT republican Alfred A. Kiltz 27,171 republican Claude B. Lynn 26,746 democrat Benjamin E. Buente 33,095 democrat Terry D. Dietsch 35,281 STATE SENATOR - VANDERBURGH, POSEY republican Sidney S. Kramer 29,851 democrat Philip H. Hayes 31,361 STATE REPRESENTATIVES republican John Coates Cox 30,018 republican James D.
    [Show full text]
  • Fighting Injustice
    Fighting Injustice by Michael E. Tigar Copyright © 2001 by Michael E. Tigar All rights reserved CONTENTS Introduction 000 Prologue It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This 000 Chapter 1 The Sense of Injustice 000 Chapter 2 What Law School Was About 000 Chapter 3 Washington – Unemployment Compensation 000 Chapter 4 Civil Wrongs 000 Chapter 5 Divisive War -- Prelude 000 Chapter 6 Divisive War – Draft Board Days and Nights 000 Chapter 7 Military Justice Is to Justice . 000 Chapter 8 Chicago Blues 000 Chapter 9 Like A Bird On A Wire 000 Chapter 10 By Any Means Necessary 000 Chapter 11 Speech Plus 000 Chapter 12 Death – And That’s Final 000 Chapter 13 Politics – Not As Usual 000 Chapter 14 Looking Forward -- Changing Direction 000 Appendix Chronology 000 Afterword 000 SENSING INJUSTICE, DRAFT OF 7/11/13, PAGE 2 Introduction This is a memoir of sorts. So I had best make one thing clear. I am going to recount events differently than you may remember them. I will reach into the stream of memory and pull out this or that pebble that has been cast there by my fate. The pebbles when cast may have had jagged edges, now worn away by the stream. So I tell it as memory permits, and maybe not entirely as it was. This could be called lying, but more charitably it is simply what life gives to each of us as our memories of events are shaped in ways that give us smiles and help us to go on. I do not have transcripts of all the cases in the book, so I recall them as well as I can.
    [Show full text]
  • UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles “Free DC:” the Struggle For
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles “Free D.C.:” The Struggle for Civil, Political, and Human Rights in Washington, D.C., 1965-1979 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Selah Shalom Johnson 2015 © Copyright by Selah Shalom Johnson 2015 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION “Free D.C.:” The Struggle for Civil, Political, and Human Rights in Washington, D.C., 1965-1979 by Selah Shalom Johnson Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Los Angeles, 2015 Professor Brenda Stevenson, Chair “Free D.C:” The Struggle for Civil, Political, and Human Rights in Washington, D.C., 1965-1979, illuminates one of the greatest political shortcomings in 20th century America, which was the failure to provide full political enfranchisement for the citizens of Washington, D.C. – the first major American city with a majority African-American population. This project centers on the Free D.C. Movement, a political crusade to fully enfranchise Washingtonians, through grassroots organizing and by pressuring the Federal government to address the political, social, and economic ills that plagued the nation’s capital for nearly a century. Washingtonians’ struggle for full political enfranchisement was one of the most significant goals and significant shortcomings of the 20th century. ii Washington has been an under-researched part of Civil Rights Movement history, even though the city had an instrumental role during this era. My project explores the “Free D.C.” Movement through the lens of residential segregation, employment, and education. I examine how the desire for institutional changes and improvements in these areas helped shape and direct the local movement, and consequently undermined Washington, D.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Ms Coll\Perkins, F. Perkins, Frances, 1882-1965. Papers, Ca. 1895-1965
    Ms Coll\Perkins, F. Perkins, Frances, 1882-1965. Papers, ca. 1895-1965. 71 linear ft. (ca. 71,500 items in 170 boxes & 1 carton of restricted family papers). Biography: Government official for New York State and the federal government, including Industrial Commissioner of the State of New York, 1929-1932, and United States Secretary of Labor, 1933-1945. SU **** h u ifctfd Summary: Correspondence, manuscripts, notes, drafts of speeches, appointment books, subject files, documents, photographs, memorabilia and printed materials. There are notes from her lectures on Sociology at Adelphi College in 1911-1912; papers from 1912-1932, when Perkins served on the Commission for Safety and on the Industrial Commission of New York State; the main body of the material is from the period of her cabinet office, 1933-1945; and some items from her days on the Civil Service Commission, 1946-1953. Also included are personal and family papers. Major correspondents in this collection are: Grace Abbott; Arthur J. Altmeyer; Robert T. Amis; Clara M. Beyer; Maty W. Dewson; James A. Farley; Felix Frankfurter; Warner W. Gardner; Carter Goodrich; William Green; Sidney Hillman; Albert Ford Hinrichs; Cordell Hull; Harold Ickes; Hugh S. Johnson; Paul Kellogg; Mary LaDame; Herbert H. Lehman; Katharine F. Lenroot; John L. Lewis; Isador Lubin; Daniel W. McCormack; Frank W. Persons; Gerard D. Reilly; Eleanor Roosevelt; Franklin Delano Roosevelt; John R. Steelman; Lillian Wald; Henry A. Wallace; L. Metcalf Walling; Leo Wolman; and Mary E. Woolley. Organization: Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged. Box 1-30: Cataloged & uncataloged correspondence; Box 31-41: Documents; Box 42-59: Speeches & articles; Box 60-63: FDR - Letters, memos, & documents; Box 64-65: Desk calendars, 1931-1946; Box 66: Misc.
    [Show full text]