The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the University of Chicago Politics and Protest Collection 1935-1991
© 2021 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | University of Chicago. Politics and Protest. Collection |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1935-1991 |
| Size: | 4 linear feet (5 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | This collection documents political and protest movements at the University of Chicago throughout the in the mid and late-twentieth century. It contains articles, correspondence, event flyers, newspaper clippings, meeting agendas, reports, official statements, position papers, and unofficial student literature. Materials date from 1935 to 1991, with the bulk of the material dating between 1966 and 1970. |
This collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: University of Chicago. Politics and Protest. Collection, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
The collection, has been organized into four series: Series I: Political and Protest Groups, Series II: Political and Protest Events, Series III: Marlene Dixon and the Sit-In of 1969, and Series IV: Oversized Newspapers.
Series I: Political and Protest Groups, organizes material as it relates to the specific groups operating at the University. The series is arranged alphabetically by organization name, with the one exception of groups backing specific political candidates which have been arranged in Subseries 2 alphabetically by candidate last names. Organizations of interest may include Chicago Area Draft Resisters (C.A.D.R.E), Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and Students for a Democratic Society. Materials date from 1939-1991.
Series II: Political and Protest Events, presents material relating to specific controversies, both global and local, and the events they inspired on campus. Subseries 1 is arranged chronologically by year of the material related to the event (e.g. “German Refugees, 1947-1949,” “Vietnam, 1969-1970,” “Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers, 1970”…). Subseries 2 details to the extended effort to abolish the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). It should be noted that the “Vietnam” in Box 2 Folder 13 includes materials relating the Kent State shooting and the reactions on UofC campus. Box 2 Folder 18 details protest efforts against systemic racism in University policies, specifically in the “urban renewal” efforts c.1969. Materials date from 1935 to 1970.
Series III: Marlene Dixon and the Sit-In of 1969, presents material related to the firing of Marlene Dixon, the subsequent sixteen day sit-in and the controversies from the wake of the demonstration involving The University Disciplinary Committee, political suppression, and the right to protest. The series is arranged chronologically. Materials date from 1969 and 1970.
Series IV: Oversized Newspapers, contains newspaper clippings from the 1950’s and 1960’s related to events found elsewhere in the collection.
Series I: Political and Protest Groups, 1939-1991 |
This series has arranged material from a variety of political and protest groups on campus alphabetically by organization name. It includes primary source material-- event posters, pamphlets, and the like published and distributed by the organizations. Subseries 2 includes groups affiliated with particular political candidates and is organized alphabetically by candidate last name. Subseries 1 contains all other organizations.
Subseries 1: Campus Organizations - General, 1939-1991 |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | All Campus Peace Week - Committee, 1950 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | American Youth for Democracy, 1940’s |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | C.A.D.R.E, 1967-1969 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Campus Committee against Conscription, 1948 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights, 1958-1963 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Citizens Committee for Constitutional Liberties, 1962 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Civil Rights Congress, 1949 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | Coalition against Racist Medical Care, 1970 |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | Committee against Militarization, 1950 |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | Committee against Military Intervention in the Middle East, 1991 |
| Box 1 Folder 11 | Committee for a Student Strike against the War, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 12 | Committee for the “27”- Presidio Case, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 13 | Communist Club, 1948 |
| Box 1 Folder 14 | Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), 1948-1962 |
| Box 1 Folder 15 | Faculty-Graduate Committee for Peace at UofC, 1951 |
| Box 1 Folder 16 | Hyde Park Anti-Draft Union, 1968 |
| Box 1 Folder 17 | Independent Coalition Party (IC), 1952 |
| Box 1 Folder 18 | International Socialists, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 19 | Iranian Students’ Association, 1970’s |
| Box 1 Folder 20 | Joint Campus Committee to Support the Ward Strike, 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 21 | Keep out of War Congress, 1939-1940 |
| Box 1 Folder 22 | Labor Rights Society, 1944 |
| Box 1 Folder 23 | Labor Youth League, 1951-1954 |
| Box 1 Folder 24 | New University Conference, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 25 | Non-Partisan Students League, 1950-1951 |
| Box 1 Folder 26 | NSO, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 27 | People’s Action against Standard Oil, 1970’s |
| Box 1 Folder 28 | Radical Libertine Alliance, 1964 |
| Box 1 Folder 29 | Religious Freedom Committee, 1962-1963 |
| Box 1 Folder 30 | Robin Hood Club, 1954 |
| Box 1 Folder 31 | ROTC, 1951 |
| Box 1 Folder 32 | Socialist Club, 1935-1948 |
| Box 1 Folder 33 | Socialist Youth League, 1952 |
| Box 1 Folder 34 | Students Assembly Reform Coalition, 1949 |
| Box 1 Folder 35 | Student Grievance Committee, 1950 |
| Box 1 Folder 36 | Student Federalists, 1940’s |
| Box 1 Folder 37 | Students for a Democratic Society. I, 1968-1969 |
| Box 1 Folder 38 | Students for a Democratic Society. II, 1969-1973 |
| Box 1 Folder 39 | Student Mobilization Committee, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 40 | Student Political Action Committee (SPAC), undated |
| Box 1 Folder 41 | Students for a Political Alternative, 1968 |
| Box 1 Folder 42 | UC Science for Vietnam, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 43 | United World Federalists, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 44 | World Federalist Party, 1940’s |
| Box 1 Folder 45 | Young Communist League, 1940’s |
| Box 1 Folder 46 | Young People’s Socialist League, 1956 |
| Box 1 Folder 47 | Young Socialist Alliance, undated |
Subseries 2: Political Endorsements, 1942-1952 |
| Box 1 Folder 48 | Horner, Henry - Independent Horner for Governor Organization, 1940’s |
| Box 1 Folder 49 | Kefauver, Estes - Ad Hoc Committee, 1952 |
| Box 1 Folder 50 | Krueger, Maynard C - Krueger for Congress Committee, 1942 |
| Box 1 Folder 51 | Mills, George D - Faculty and Alumni Sponsoring Committee, 1942 |
| Box 1 Folder 52 | O’Hara, Barratt - Faculty and Student Committee, 1952 |
| Box 1 Folder 53 | Stevenson, Adlai E - Stevenson for President Committee, 1952 |
Series II: Political and Protest Events, 1935-1970 |
This series contains material related to specific controversies and events at the University. This includes strikes, sits-ins, and various conferences; as well as material related to more general controversies such as Korea, systemic racism, and the abolition of the House of Un-American Activities Committee.
Subseries 1 includes the majority of the political and protest events and is arranged chronologically by date. Subseries 2: HUAC contains materials specifically related to the collective nationwide effort to abolish the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). The correspondence found in Folders 25 and 26 of Series 2 primarily concerns the film “Operation Abolition” as well as MSCLC activities at the University of Chicago and other American Universities.
Series III: The Marlene Dixon Case and the 1969 Sit-In, contains an extensive amount of material relating to the Marlene Dixon firing. It should be noted that much of the material found therein can and should be read in conjunction with the other controversies of 1969 found in this series.
Related newspaper clippings can be found in Series IV.
Subseries 1: Controversies by Event - General, 1935-2012 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Armed Forces Day (Anti-War G.I. Rally), undated |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | All-Campus Anti-War Conference, 1935 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | All-Campus Peace Conference, 1936 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Billings Hospital Discrimination, 1944-1948 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | German Refugees, 1947-1949 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Korea, 1950 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | Bus Boy Strike, 1951 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Kenwood Community Conference, 1955 |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Chicago Hiroshima Day, 1961 |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | Midwest Student Civil Liberties Conference, 1961 |
| Box 2 Folder 11 | Clyde Kennard Case, 1962 |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | Wendell Phillips Case, 1962 |
| Box 2 Folder 13 | Voter Registration in Mississippi, 1962 |
| Box 2 Folder 14 | Vietnam, 1965-1969 |
| Box 2 Folder 14 | Sit In, 1966 |
| Box 2 Folder 16 | “Study-In” and the Ranking Controversy, 1967 |
| Box 2 Folder 17 | Billings Hospital Strike, 1969 |
| Box 2 Folder 18 | Childcare Controversy, 1969 |
| Box 2 Folder 19 | Urban Renewal and Systemic Racism, 1969 |
| Box 2 Folder 20 | Sex Discrimination, 1969-1970 |
| Box 2 Folder 21 | Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers, 1970 |
| Box 2 Folder 22 | Steve Kindred Material on UofC in 1960’s, 2012 |
| Box 2 Folder 23 | Miscellaneous, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 24 | Miscellaneous Race Related, undated |
Subseries 2: HUAC, 1953-1963 |
| Box 2 Folder 25 | Articles and Publications, 1953-1962 |
| Box 2 Folder 26 | Statements, Reports, and Case Summaries, 1958-1963 |
| Box 2 Folder 27 | Midwest Civil Student Liberties Committee, 1962-1963 |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | National Committee to Abolish HUAC, 1960-1963 |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Students for Civil Liberties Organizations, 1960-1963 |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | “Operation Abolition Film,” c.1960 |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Post Office and Propaganda Correspondence, 1960 |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | Correspondence. I, 1960-1961 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | Correspondence. II, 1962-1963 |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | Miscellaneous, 1961 |
Series IV: Marlene Dixon and the Sit-In of 1969, 1969-1977 |
This series details the firing of Marlene Dixon, the subsequent student demonstrations and the year of internal turmoil within the University that followed.
On December 15, 1968, Dr. Marlene Dixon, Assistant Professor of Sociology, was notified that her three year appointment would not be renewed. The suspected reasons for this decision included both sex discrimination and Dixon’s radical political views. On January 9th, a student group known as “Committee of 85” demanded a more transparent process for reappointment, as well as the immediate rehire of, and a principle of student involvement in future hiring and firing decisions. Despite various efforts to avoid militant action, hundreds of students enacted a “sit-In” at the University Administrative Buildings on January 30th. The demonstration lasted sixteen days, ending on February 14th. In the months following, various smaller protests flared up under the leadership of “The Committee of the 500+,” Dixon was offered a one year extension which she denied, and the validity of the retributive actions of the University Disciplinary Committee were called into question. The series includes flyer and other protest material, daily summaries of unfolding events, official reports, and statements made by administration, faculty and academic departments.
Possible items of interest include “Spartacus, Vol 2” and “A Closer Look at Spartacus” in Box 4, Folder 8; the “Gray Report” on the Dixon Case in Box 4, Folder 4, as well as the official statements made by President Levi throughout the series.
For more on the Marlene Dixon Case, see “Women and Women’s Organizations. Collection” Box 3 Folder 1 and Box 5 Folder 6.
Related newspaper clippings can be found in Series IV, Box 5 Folder 3.
Subseries 1: General and Undated Material, 1969-1977 |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | Reports and Positions - Administration and Students, 1969 |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | Event Flyers, 1969 |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | Principles and Tactics: A Study of the 1969 Sit-In at the University of Chicago by John J. Vail, 1977 |
Subseries 2: Chronological Material, 1969-1970 |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | January, 1969 |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | February 1-4, 1969 |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | February 5-9, 1969 |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | February. 10-13, 1969 |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | February 14-28, 1969 |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | March, 1969 |
| Box 4 Folder 7 | April, 1969 |
| Box 4 Folder 8 | May-December, 1969 |
| Box 4 Folder 9 | 1970 |
Series IV: Oversized Newspapers, 1952-1969 |
This series contains oversized newspaper clippings from the 1950’s and 1960’s related to the events in both Series II and Series III.
| Box 5 Oversize Folder 1 | 1930s-1950s |
| Box 5 Oversize Folder 2 | 1960-1962 |
| Box 5 Oversize Folder 3 | 1969 |