Title: Joan McManus Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1970-2003

Creator:

• McManus, Joan, 1937-2003

Call Number: UWM Manuscript Collection 267

Quantity: 1.4 cubic ft. (2 boxes)
Repository:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives Department

Archival Location:

UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Personal papers of Joan McManus, who worked in Milwaukee with the Mid-Town Neighborhood Association, the Council on Urban Life, the Greater Milwaukee Conference on Religion and Urban Affairs, and other organizations. The papers reflect her work on social justice issues such as the welfare of prisoners and police-community relations.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0267

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Joan Audrey Morrison McManus was born on October 12, 1937 in Newton, Massachusetts. In her early years she worked as an ad writer in Boston and Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles she met Ed McManus, whom she married in 1965. They had one child, Michael McManus. She worked for the Congress of Racial Equality in Louisiana, and was executive secretary of the ACLU in New Mexico. The family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1967. Joan joined the staff of the Council on Urban Life in 1970, where she worked as the criminal justice project coordinator. Ed and Joan divorced in 1971. In 1979 Joan became the Mid-Town Neighborhood Association's first paid director, and continued to work there until 1982. Among her accomplishments at Mid-Town, Joan led the struggle to create the Cream City Community Development Credit Union. In 1983, Joan was raped, and never fully recovered from the attack. Joan continued to write and work for social justice in Milwaukee, working as the Criminal Justice program coordinator for the Greater Milwaukee Conference on Religion and Urban Affairs (later known as the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee), Wisconsin Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, and the Benedict Center, which works for criminal justice. There she served, among other roles, as a member of the Citizens Advisory Council to the Milwaukee County Criminal Justice System. Joan died of lung cancer on February 20, 2003 at St. Mary's Hospice in Milwaukee.

These papers provide limited documentation of McManus' work for social and criminal justice in the Milwaukee area and as a free-lance writer. Included are files created from her work with the Council on Urban Life, the Mid-Town Neighborhood Association, the Greater Milwaukee Conference on Religion and Urban Affairs, and the Benedict Center. These files include her notes on conversations, meeting minutes, writings and reports, and background materials such as articles and newsclippings. Also included are project and subject files, and samples of her writing, including some self-titled "Surviving Rape." The processing archivist added a file of obituaries and an outline of her employment career as it was understood at the time of processing the papers.

Citation Guide for Primary Sources

• Mid-Town Neighborhood Association Records. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 13.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

Gwen Moore donated this collection in 2005 (accession 2005-001).

Processing Information

Ellen Engseth and Amanda Wynne processed the collection in the spring of 2008.

	Benedict Center
Box   1 Folder   1	Alternatives Program, Correspondence and Newsletter, 1998-2000
Box   1 Folder   2	Citizens Advisory Council, Accreditation of Prisons, 1999-2000
Box   1 Folder   3	Citizens Advisory Council, Meetings and Correspondence, 1998-2000
Box   1 Folder   4	Detention Committee, Meetings and Correspondence, 1998-2000
Box   1 Folder   5	Prison Health Issues and Paul Schelling, 1998-2002
Box   1 Folder   6-7	Privatization of Prisons, 1999-2000
Box   1 Folder   8	Citizens Coalition, 1982
Box   1 Folder   9	Citizens Coalition Administrative Complaint on Community Development Block Grant Program, 1980
	Council on Urban Life
Box   1 Folder   10	Correspondence and Notes, 1971-1972
Box   1 Folder   11	Green Bay Reformatory Riot, 1971-1972
Box   1 Folder   12	Reports, 1970-1972
	Greater Milwaukee Conference on Religion and Urban Affairs
Box   1 Folder   13	City-Wide Anti-Crime Coalition, 1983-1985
Box   1 Folder   14	National Police Accountability Network Project, 1985
Box   1 Folder   15	Police Accountability, 1984-1985, 1991
Box   1 Folder   16	Police Brutality, 1971, 1981-1984
	Mid-Town Neighborhood Association
Box   1 Folder   17	Clippings and Reports, 1978-1981
Box   1 Folder   18	Cream City Community Federal Credit Union, 1983-1986
Box   1 Folder   19	Crime Problems and Statistics, 1979, undated
Box   1 Folder   20	Police Department Policy Review, 1977-1979
Box   2 Folder   1	Obituaries and Employment Time line, circa 2003
Box   2 Folder   2	Resume and Job Applications, 1985-1992
	Subject Files
Box   2 Folder   3	Blacks Brittanica Film Showing in Milwaukee, 1979
Box   2 Folder   4	Employment Discrimination, 1970-1972
Box   2 Folder   5	Lacy Coalition and Police Violence, circa 1982-1985
Box   2 Folder   6	Subject File and Writings, Police Brutality and Community Issues, 1971-1991
Box   2 Folder   8	Writing Samples, Various, 1971-1992, undated
Box   2 Folder   7	Writings, "Surviving Rape," undated