Title: Quentin Young Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1964-1975

Creator:

• Young, Quentin, 1923-

Call Number: Mss 880; PH Mss 880

Quantity: 2.2 c.f. (6 archives boxes) and 7 photographs

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers, mainly 1967-1968, of a Chicago physician and medical activist chiefly relating to his work as national and Chicago area leader of the Medical Committee for Human Rights. MCHR was a civil rights support group founded in 1964 to provide medical aid to volunteers in Mississippi. It also provided medical aid to the 1968 Democratic Convention, an act which caused Young to be subpoenaed by the House Committee for Un-American Activities (HUAC) in 1968. Included in the records are correspondence to and from Young in his roles as MCHR leader and Chicago physician/activist; correspondence of T.G.G. (George) Wilson, Philadelphia chapter leader and vice chairman during Young's tenure; national and Chicago MCHR records and files about numerous MCHR chapters; activity files on the Southern project of the Chapter, the 1968 Democratic Convention, and anti-American Medical Association organizing; and general subject files containing correspondence, publications, reports, project literature, clippings, press releases, and manuscripts on social action and medical organizations with which Young had contact. Prominent correspondents include H. Jack Geiger, Martin Luther King, Alfred Klinger, Alvin Pouissant, Walter Reuther, Frank Wilkinson, and Andrew Young.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00880

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Quentin Young was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 5, 1923. After studying at the University of Chicago and Cornell University, he received two bachelors degrees in medicine and a medical degree at Northwestern University; he was later awarded a masters degree in physiology in 1952 at the University of Illinois. After completing his residency at Cook County Hospital in 1952 Young worked as an attending physician of thoracic medicine at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, as well as keeping a private practice in Hyde Park.

In June 1964, Young joined a group of liberal health professionals in founding the Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR), a group organized to provide medical assistance to civil rights workers during the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project. Young was one of hundreds of northern physicians who volunteered to go South in order to observe medical conditions. During 1964-1965 MCHR was almost completely concerned with its Southern project, however as membership grew, it began to address other social, political and medical issues. The organization lobbied against the use of mace during the Vietnam War, and it championed the cause of the poor and uninsured. Because of its leftist critique of the medical establishment, MCHR emerged as an alternative to the American Medical Association which was then regarded by many as conservative and unsympathetic to the needs of the poor. In 1967 and 1968 MCHR was instrumental in major demonstrations at the AMA annual conventions. In 1968, the MCHR's Chicago Chapter provided neutral medical assistance to that year's Democratic Convention. In order to create support, in 1967 and again in 1968 MCHR ran full-page advertisements about their work in the New York Times. Some of the physicians who endorsed MCHR's actions were Benjamin Spock, Joseph Stokes, Alfred Klinger, and Alan Guttmacher. MCHR published a monthly newspaper entitled Health Rights News.

The MCHR originally had a national office in New York City. With no money to support a permanent headquarters, the national office annually moved to the residence of the national chairman. A national executive committee oversaw the major policy decisions of the national organization. Over the Executive Committee was a governing body comprised of delegates from local chapters that met twice a year. Once a year the MCHR held a national convention where policy, finances, and activities were discussed and resolutions adopted. Membership in the MCHR was split into numerous local chapters, Chicago being the largest. Funding for MCHR came from membership fees and contributions, however, the group always suffered from a lack of finances.

In addition to serving as a leader of MCHR's Chicago chapter, Young also served as the national assistant chairman in 1966-1967 and as national chairman in 1967-1968. In these positions, he played a major role in organizing health professionals for civil rights and health care reform. Young's influence at the 1968 Democratic Convention caught the attention of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and he was subpoenaed by HUAC in 1968 on suspicion of plotting the violence that erupted at the convention.

Aside from this involvement in MCHR, which faded from existence in the early 1970s, Young was an activist in his community and profession. As a south-side physician, Young played close attention to the needs of Chicago's poor. He was involved in numerous Chicago health-related organizations as well as other neighborhood associations.

The Quentin Young collection divides into three parts: GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, MCHR FILES, and SUBJECT FILES.

The GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, which is arranged chronologically, contains incoming and outgoing letters, memos, and other correspondence of Quentin Young about MCHR activities and Young's promotion of the group and its publication Health Rights News. The correspondence series is an excellent source documenting the liberal activism in the medical profession in the late 1960s. There is also much information concerning the state of health care in Chicago during the same period. Most importantly, however, the letters document both the emergence of access to health care as a basic human right.

The bulk of the correspondence dates from the period from 1967 to 1968. During these years, Young wore numerous hats as the result of his local and national involvement with MCHR; he also played a role in other political and medical groups in the Chicago area. As a result, it is often difficult to distinguish which role Young was playing during a particular exchange. No attempt has been made during processing to separate MCHR correspondence from non-MCHR business. Beyond friendly exchanges with sympathetic activists and doctors, there is no correspondence of a personal nature. Likewise, there is no correspondence concerning his medical practice. Correspondence dealing with specific MCHR activities have been separated to the activities files in the MCHR FILES. Likewise, correspondence concerning local chapters or specific allied organizations has been moved to the appropriate files in the MCHR series and the SUBJECT FILES.

Prominent correspondents include H. Jack Geiger, Martin Luther King (May 1, 1967 and January 16, 1968), Alfred Klinger, Alvin Pouissant, Walter Reuther, Frank Wilkinson, and Andrew Young. In addition, the GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE includes three folders of carboned correspondence of George Wilson of Philadelphia. Wilson was national vice chairman during Young's tenure, later succeeding him as national chairman in 1968. He apparently sent copies of all of his MCHR correspondence to Young in order to keep him informed.

The MCHR FILES contain information about MCHR during Young's tenure as national chairman from mid-1967 through 1968. Apart from this period, there are a few early documents as well as a constitution. Financial records are few and fragmentary, but most complete for the years 1964 and 1965.

MCHR's principal ruling body was the Governing Council which held semi-annual meetings to make policy and choose officers. The limited records in the collection about these meetings include minutes, policy statements, and some related correspondence. Records of Governing Council, of which Young was a de facto member, are almost non-existent. Once a year, the MCHR held national conventions to discuss activities and vote on policy and resolutions. About these conventions, the collection includes draft resolutions, policy material and some correspondence. No convention is documented well, however, and there is nothing on the 1966 meeting.

MCHR's public relations records contain letters of support from prominent physicians collected as a result of the New York Times advertisements, press releases, and publications issued the MCHR. The organization's primary publication, Health Rights News, is available in the SHSW library.

Membership files consist primarily of national inquiries about membership as well as membership lists. The inquiries were weeded to preserve only correspondence of substantial content. These letters are often quite revealing, for people frequently indicated their personal reasons for wishing to join the fledgling group.

Chapter files represent the bulk of the MCHR series. As the principal method of organizing members, the local chapters were essential to the MCHR's growth and development after the Freedom Summer of 1964. Chapters of significant size and activity levels are represented by separate files that are alphabetically arranged. In general, the chapter files contain correspondence, meeting minutes, project literature, publications, and membership lists. The Chicago chapter material is, understandably, the most extensive. At the end of the chapter files are two folders of similar material related to the smaller, less active chapters and to the organization of new chapters.

The MCHR began to provide medical care to civil rights workers during the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964. This and related summer projects were the first of MCHR's activities. The activities files include correspondence; newspaper clippings; project literature such as hand-outs, mailings and policy implementation guides; reports; and press releases. However, these Southern project files do not appear to be the records of the national organization. Instead, they are files of Mrs. Bette Johnson, of the Chicago chapter, about its Southern efforts. Of particular interest are testimonies from volunteers who served in Mississippi. Other activities documented by this collection include the 1968 Democratic convention, anti-AMA organizing, and draft counseling. It was MCHR's involvement at the Chicago Convention that raised the suspicions of HUAC that the 1968 convention violence was premeditated. Young later was forced to testify to HUAC as the committee investigated the disruptions at the convention. Due to its anti-AMA counter-conventions and protests, MCHR was considered by many as the alternative to the AMA. The AMA activity records include several photographs that were probably taken at an AMA protest in 1970.

The alphabetically-arranged SUBJECT FILES contain information on Young's activities in behalf of racial and class equity outside of MCHR on topics such as mace, the Student Health Organization of Chicago, and preventative medicine. These files contain newspaper clippings, manuscripts, informational hand-outs, correspondence, and promotional literature. At the end of the subject files is one folder of biographical information and miscellaneous writings by Quentin Young about health care reform.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Quentin Young, Chicago, Illinois, March 6, 1981. (Deed of gift, August 15, 1996, on file.)

Processing Information

Processed by Joshua P. Ranger (Intern), 1997.

Mss 880	Series: General Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1-12	1964-1969
Box   2 Folder   1	1970-1972, undated
Box   2 Folder   2-4	George Wilson correspondence, 1967-1969, undated
	Series: MCHR Files	⇧
Box   2 Folder   5	Early documents, 1964
Box   2 Folder   6	Constitution
	Administrative Records
Box   2 Folder   7	Executive Committee materials, 1966-1967
Box   2 Folder   8	Financial records, 1964-1968, 1971
Box   2 Folder   9-12	Government Council, 1965-1969
	Membership
Box   2 Folder   13	Mailing lists, 1966-1968
Box   2 Folder   14	Members, 1968
Box   2 Folder   15	National inquiries, 1967-1969
Box   2 Folder   16	National Conventions, 1965-1969, undated
PH Mss 880	Poster
Mss 880	Public Relations
Box   2 Folder   17	Literature, 1964-1966, 1968, 1970, 1971, undated
Box   2 Folder   18	New York Times ad letters, 1967-1968
Box   2 Folder   19	Press releases, 1964, 1967-1968, undated
	Chapters
Box   2 Folder   20	Officers, undated
Box   2 Folder   21	Baltimore, 1967-1969, undated
Box   2 Folder   22	Birmingham, Alabama, 1968-1969
Box   3 Folder   1	Boston, 1966-1969, undated
Box   3 Folder   2	Bronx, 1967-1968, undated
	Chicago
Box   3 Folder   3	Administrative and project materials, 1965-1971, undated
Box   3 Folder   4	Correspondence, 1965, 1967-1968, 1970
Box   3 Folder   5	Newsletters and mailings, 1964-1969
Box   3 Folder   6	Cleveland, 1968-1969, undated
Box   3 Folder   7	Detroit, 1966-1970, undated
Box   3 Folder   8	Los Angeles, 1967-1970, undated
Box   3 Folder   9	New Haven, 1966-1968, undated
Box   3 Folder   10	New York City, 1964, 1967-1969, undated
Box   3 Folder   11	Philadelphia, 1966-1970, undated
Box   3 Folder   12	Pittsburgh, 1965-1968, undated
Box   3 Folder   13	San Francisco, 1967-1969, undated
Box   3 Folder   15	Seattle, 1968-1970
Box   3 Folder   14	Syracuse, 1967-1968, undated
Box   3 Folder   16	Topeka, 1966-1967, undated
Box   4 Folder   1	Washington, D.C., 1967-1969, undated
Box   4 Folder   2	New chapter possibilities, 1967-1969, undated
Box   4 Folder   3	Others, 1967-1969, undated
	MCHR Activities
Box   4 Folder   4	1968 Democratic Convention: Project literature, minutes, reports, 1968-1969
	Anti-AMA organizing
Box   4 Folder   5	Project literature, clippings, press releases, 1967-1968, 1970
PH Mss 880	Photographs, probably from a 1970 anti-AMA protest in Chicago
Mss 880 Box   4 Folder   6	Draft assistance correspondence, 1968
Box   4 Folder   7	Dow Chemical case: Legal brief and correspondence, 1969, 1971
Box   4 Folder   9	HUAC, 1968-1969, undated
	Southern projects
Box   4 Folder   8	Clippings, Press releases, 1964-1965, 1967
Box   4 Folder   10	Correspondence, 1964-1969
Box   4 Folder   11	Project literature, 1964-1966, undated
Box   4 Folder   12	Reports, 1964-1965, 1967, undated
Box   4 Folder   13	Sample health surveys, 1964
Box   4 Folder   14	Volunteer information, 1964
Box   4 Folder   15	Miscellaneous projects, 1969, undated
	Series: Subject Files	⇧
Box   5 Folder   1	Alliance for Change, Illinois, 1968, undated
Box   5 Folder   2	Black Medical Students, 1965, 1968, 1975, undated
Box   5 Folder   3	Catholic Interracial Council, 1967-1968
Box   5 Folder   4	Chicago Heart Association, 1966-1968, undated
Box   5 Folder   5	Chicago Student Health Project
Box   4 Folder   6	Committee of Responsibility, 1967, undated
Box   5 Folder   7	Coordinating Council of Community Organizations, 1964, 1967, undated
Box   5 Folder   8	Emergency Relief Committee (Help Cords), 1968
Box   5 Folder   9	Health Professionals Against the War (allied groups), 1967, undated
Box   5 Folder   10	Independent Candidates, 1964, 1967-1969, undated
Box   5 Folder   11	Kerner Commission testimony
Box   5 Folder   12	Klinger, Alfred, 1967-1969, undated
Box   5 Folder   13	Levy, Howard, 1967, undated
Box   5 Folder   14	Local community health, 1966-1968, undated
Box   5 Folder   15	MACE, 1967-1968
Box   5 Folder   16	Medical Resistance Union, 1969
Box   5 Folder   17	Medical Student Peace Movement
Box   6 Folder   1	Preventive medicine, 1965-1967
Box   6 Folder   2	Student Health Organization of Chicago, 1966-1968, undated
Box   6 Folder   3	Miscellaneous allied national groups, 1966, 1968, 1969, undated
Box   6 Folder   4	Miscellaneous allied Illinois groups, 1964-1970, undated
Box   6 Folder   5	Young biographical materials and writings