Summary Information
Bonnie Gordon Papers
1958-1969
Mss 524
0.4 c.f. (1 archives box)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers, mainly 1963-1967, of Cleveland, Ohio, activist Bonnie Gordon, consisting chiefly of minutes, correspondence, and printed matter pertaining to the Vietnam Resolution Committee; local chapters of the Alexander Defense Committee, the Congress of Racial Equality, and Young Socialists of America; and other organizations in which she participated.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00524 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Activist Bonnie Gordon was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 9, 1942, the daughter of Viola and Richard Tussey. After attending Bowling Green State University, she settled in Cleveland with her husband F. Rodney Holt in 1962, and she soon became active in a number of local civil rights, antiwar, and socialist organizations. As a result of her position as secretary of the Vietnam Resolution Committee from 1966-1967 she met and married her second husband, ACLU lawyer Jerry Gordon. In June 1970 the National Peace Action Coalition was founded in Cleveland, with Gordon as one of its five national coordinators. During its early months NPAC continued to be headquartered in Cleveland and during this period she was one of the national staff.
Scope and Content Note
The papers are of interest primarily for the number of organizations in which Bonnie Gordon was active. The papers consist of two folders of general correspondence and financial records, which comprise the PERSONAL PAPERS, and chronologically-arranged ORGANIZATIONAL FILES. Of greatest interest in the organizational files are miscellaneous papers of the Cleveland Congress of Racial Equality; form letters and position papers on an organization in which Rod Holt was active which attempted to place independent Black candidates on the ballot; minutes, mainly 1963-1964, of Cleveland Young Socialists of America; correspondence of the Alexander Defense Committee pertaining to a visit by Franz Lee; and correspondence, minutes, and legal and press material relating to the Vietnam Resolution Committee which sought to place a referendum on U.S. involvement in the war on the ballot in 1966.
The PERSONAL PAPERS are quite fragmentary and are of interest chiefly for allusions contained in some of the letters from Rod Holt about the attitudes of pro-Castro supporters in the early 1960s.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Jerry Gordon, Bethesda, Maryland, 1980.
Contents List
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Series: Personal Papers
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Box
1
Folder
1
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General Correspondence, 1960-1969
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Financial records, 1958-1966
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Series: Organizational Files
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Congress of Racial Equality, 1963-1964
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Independent Black party activities, 1963-1964
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Young Socialists of America, 1963-1966
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Alexander Defense Committee, 1965-1967
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Committee to Aid the Debs Hall Defendants, 1965-1966
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Vietnam Resolution Committee, 1966-1967
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Box
1
Folder
8
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Correspondence
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Box
1
Folder
9
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Legal material
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Box
1
Folder
10
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Press material
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Box
1
Folder
11
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Minutes
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Box
1
Folder
12
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Working committee for April 27,1968 (Cleveland Area Peace Action Coalition)
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Box
1
Folder
13-14
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Flyers and leaflets for miscellaneous Cleveland organizations
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