Title: David M. Novick Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1962-1981

Creator:

• Novick, David M., 1942-2003

Call Number: UWM Manuscript Collection 287

Quantity:

• .2 cubic ft. (1 box)
• 2 digital image files (109 MB)

Repository:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives Department

Archival Location:

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

Abstract:

Papers of a Milwaukee civil rights activist and reporter for the black press, largely concerning his FBI and police files, and his efforts to expose and halt the governmental spying of citizens on political grounds.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0287

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David M. Novick (b. 1942) was a civil rights activist and writer for the local black press in Milwaukee, particularly The Milwaukee Star and The Milwaukee Courier during the 1960s. While a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he participated in black voter registration drives in Mississippi and the movement for open housing laws in Milwaukee. His later activism centered around the struggles for desegregation of local public schools, Latino rights, and the peace movement. He died in Milwaukee in 2003.

The FBI and the Milwaukee Police Department kept extensive files on Novick's activities, movements, and affiliations during the 1960s, through the use of informants and espionage. Novick was among the first four Milwaukeeans to obtain his FBI files through a court order after the Congress passed the Privacy Act Amendments to the Freedom of Information Act in 1974.

The collection contains papers reflecting Novick's civil rights and peace activism in Milwaukee. Included are documents pertaining to his campaign against police surveillance, his correspondence, his FBI file, his Milwaukee Police Department Special Assignment Squad (a local police unit spying on possible communists/dissidents) file, and press clippings about the fight for privacy by Novick and other activists. The bulk of these records pertain to Novick's activities from 1962 to 1972. The remainder of the collection covers Novick's work in the second half of the 1970s to retrieve his files and expose governmental espionage of citizens, and his work as a co-coordinator of Protect Political Rights, a short-lived anti-government spying interest group.

Citation Guide for Primary Sources

• Congress of Racial Equality, Milwaukee Chapter Records. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 27.

• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Milwaukee Branch Records. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection EP.

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

Eric Beaumont donated the collection to the Archives in December 2009 (accession 2009-034).

Processing Information

Adrian Zink processed this collection in February 2010.

	Activism Against Police Spying, 1976-1977
Electronic Folder     \Box01\   Folder01\	Digital Physical Description: 2 digital files (109 MB)  Scope and Content Note: Digitized sample of folder
Box   1 Folder   1	Physical
Box   1 Folder   2	Correspondence, 1975-1977
Box   1 Folder   3	FBI File, 1962-1976
Box   1 Folder   4	Milwaukee Police Department Special Assignment Squad File, 1962-1972
Box   1 Folder   5	Press Clippings, 1976-1981