Title: United Citizens' Committee for Freedom of Residence in Illinois Records
Inclusive Dates: 1951-1966

Creator:

• United Citizens' Committee for Freedom of Reisdence in Illinois

Call Number: Mss 11; Tape 434A

Quantity: 8.5 c.f. (20 archives boxes) and 2 tape recordings

Repository:

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

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

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

Abstract:

Records of the United Citizens' Committee for Freedom of Residence in Illinois founded in 1960 to promote fair housing, which led to the formation in 1964 of a national research and public education organization, the Foundation for Freedom and Democracy in Community Life, with which the Illinois committee affiliated. These are the files of Donald S. Frey, executive secretary of the national organization and chairman of the Illinois FOR. The collection contains administrative correspondence and proceedings of the board of directors and various committees; correspondence and transactions of conferences sponsored by FOR and other groups; communications from related organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; records of its vigorous but unsuccessful Illinois fair housing law campaign; and fund-raising and publicity materials.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00011

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The United Citizens' Committee for Freedom of Residence in Illinois, a non-profit organization, was formed in 1960 to work for fair housing. Out of this statewide organization grew the Foundation for Freedom and Democracy in Community Life, which was incorporated in 1964. The Foundation is a national and international organization directed at achieving fair housing. Its stated purpose is that of “advancing a program of Education in responsible individual voluntary action for deepening the channels of expanding individual freedom and democracy in a pluralistic society in each local community, and of strengthening the chances for world peace and order in the atomic age”. To do this the organization proposes the formation of Freedom of Residence groups in as many states and countries as possible. The activities and organization of these groups are to be patterned after those of the original Illinois Freedom of Residence organization.

The Freedom of Residence in Illinois (FOR) organization, from its inception in 1960, directed its efforts toward obtaining fair housing through both a local and a statewide campaign. On a statewide basis FOR first concentrated on making people aware of the need for a fair housing act by holding conferences on the problem, providing speakers for civic groups, and securing the cooperation of other organizations with similar interests, such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1963, FOR engaged in research on the housing question as part of its legislative campaign for a fair housing act. Questionnaires were sent to many members of various ethnic groups in Illinois to determine their interest in fair housing and their opinion as to whether discrimination had been employed against them or not. In spite of FOR's vigorous efforts, including the presentation of petitions to the state legislature, the campaign failed in 1963 when the Illinois legislature did not pass any of the proposed fair housing laws. Efforts were renewed in 1965 with the proposal of another fair housing act, only to fail once more.

In addition to the statewide efforts to bring about enactment of a fair housing law, FOR also urges local groups, such as the Human Relations Councils, to persuade municipalities to pass fair housing ordinances and to help members of minority groups to find non-discriminatory housing. One result has been the creation of local organizations interested in equal opportunities. These include Equal Opportunity associations among real estate brokers and Equal Opportunity community councils in many municipalities.

This collection came to the Historical Society from the office of Donald S. Frey, an Evanston attorney who is a trustee and the executive secretary of the Foundation for Freedom and Democracy in Community Life, and chairman of FOR. He had been interested in civil rights, fair housing in particular, for many years, which probably explains the considerable amount of material prior to 1960 in the collection, Some of these early papers are concerned with the gathering of information, and some with the preliminaries to the formation of FOR.

However, most of the FOR papers deal with the period from 1960 to 1964. They consist of correspondence between the various members of the committee, and with other organizations and interested individuals. Of interest also are the transactions of FOR's administrative committees, FOR's publications on fair housing, the petitions sent to the Illinois legislature, and the questionnaires used for research purposes in 1963.

When processing began, there was no discernible organization to the original files, and consequently the processor set up an organization that seemed most suitable. This consists of the categories: (1) Administrative files, (2) Communications with other organizations, (3) Conferences (FOR), (4) Conferences and meetings of other organizations, (5) Fair housing law campaigns, (6) Fund-raising and publicity, and (7) Miscellany. Materials in each category are filed under subject headings, with the exception of categories concerning conferences, where a chronological arrangement seemed best.

The original papers also contained more than one hundred pamphlets used in gathering information on fair housing and other civil rights. These have been transferred to the Historical Society's library to be catalogued into its pamphlet collection. They may be found there under headings such as Fair Housing or Civil Rights. Material which had no direct connection with Mr. Frey's activities in behalf of Freedom of Residence in Illinois was returned to him at his request. This included files relating to the organization for World Peace Through Law, the Challenge to Christian Citizenship, the Episcopal Church, and the National Council of Churches.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Donald S. Frey, Evanston, Illinois, November 17, 1966.

Mss 11	Series: Administrative Files, 1959-1965
Box   1	Board of Directors: correspondence and proceedings, 1960-1965
Box   2	Constitution committee: correspondence and proceedings, 1962-1963
Box   2	Executive committee: correspondence and proceedings, 1960-1963
Box   2	Financial committee: correspondence and proceedings, 1961-1963
Box   2	Labor committee: correspondence and proceedings, 1961-1963
Box   3	Legal committee: correspondence and proceedings, 1962-1963
Box   3	Membership committee: correspondence and proceedings, 1959-1963
Box   4	Public Relations committee: correspondence and proceedings, 1962-1963
Box   4	Religious leaders committee: correspondence and proceedings, 1960-1963
	Research committee
Box   5	Correspondence and findings, 1953-1964
Box   6	Questionnaires on racial housing discrimination, 1963
Box   6	Efforts to persuade Gov. Kerner to establish a state open housing commission
Box   6	Steering committee: correspondence and proceedings, 1960-1962
Box   6	Miscellaneous committees: Consultant, Personnel, Real Estate
	Series: Communications with Other Organizations, 1953-1966	⇧
Box   7	General, 1959-1962
Box   7	American Bar Association, Individual Rights Committee, 1957-1962
Box   7	American Civil Liberties Union, Illinois Division, 1957-1965
Box   7	American Freedom of Residence Fund, 1961-1963
Box   7	American Friendship Club, 1953-1963
Box   7	American Friends Service Committee, 1953-1963
Box   7	American Jewish Committee, 1959-1964
Box   7	American Jewish Congress, 1959-1964
Box   7	Catholic Interracial Council, 1960-1964
Box   7	Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity, 1961-1962
	Human Relations Councils
Box   7	1958-1961 and undated
Box   8	1962-1965
Box   8	Illinois Committee for Fair Employment Practices, 1961
Box   8	Independent Voters of Illinois, 1961-1964
Box   8	National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Illinois chapter, 1954-1966
Box   9	National Association of Intergroup Relations Officials, 1959-1965
Box   9	National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing, 1956-1962
Box   9	North Suburban Coordinating Council, 1964-1965
Box   9	Urban Leagues: Chicago and elsewhere, 1959-1963
	Miscellaneous organizations
Box   9	Church organizations, 1958-1964
Box   9	Labor organizations, 1959-1964
Box   9	Miscellaneous, 1954-1964
	Series: Conferences of FOR, 1961-1966	⇧
Box   10	Techniques for Open Housing, Oct. 28, 1961: correspondence and transactions, 1961
Tape 434A No.   1-2	“Better Living For Everyone,” Rockford, Ill., March 17, 1962
Mss 11 Box   10	Five-State Conference, Feb. 15-16, 1963: correspondence and transactions, 1961-1963
	Central States College Students Conference on Freedom of Residence, May, 1963: correspondence and transactions
Box   10	1962-1963
Box   11	May, 1963
Box   11	Statewide Conference, June 8, 1963: correspondence and transactions, March - June, 1963
Box   11	Mid-America Conference, Feb. 14-15, 1964: papers, 1964
Box   11	Miscellaneous FOR conferences: 1960-1966
	Series: Conferences and Meetings of Other Organizations, 1959-1965	⇧
Box   12	National Association of Intergroup Relations Officials, 1959-1963
Box   12	National Catholic Social Action Conference, 1961-1963
Box   12	Educational Conference, Quincy, Ill., Nov., 1962
Box   12	National Federation of Catholic College Students, 1962
Box   12	National Newman Club Federation, 1963
Box   12	Joint Human Relations Conference, 1962-1963
Box   12	National Conference on Religion and Race, 1962-1963
Box   12	Miscellaneous meetings and conferences of various organizations, 1959-1965
	Series: Fair Housing Law Campaign, 1956-1965	⇧
	Correspondence and related papers
Box   12	1956-1965
Box   13	Undated
Box   13	Caravan, Dec., 1962 - June, 1963
Box   13	Clergymen-Legislators' breakfast, May, 1963
Box   13	Efforts with legislators, 1962-1963
Box   13	Evaluation questionnaires, June - July, 1963
Box   14	Evanston, Ill.
Box   14	Illinois Rally for Freedom of Residence, 1964-1965
Box   14	Lawyers' drafting committee, 1963-1965
Box   14	Petitions to the state legislature, 1963-1965
Box   14	Photostat copies of petitions
Box   15	Testimony of various individuals and organizations for Ill. housing bill, 1963
Box   15	Volunteer workers
	Series: Fund-Raising and Publicity, 1960-1965	⇧
	“The Civil Right of Freedom of Residence”- pamphlet
Box   15	Papers concerning sales
Box   15	Notes used in preparation made by Donald S. Frey, executive secretary of FOR
Box   16	Notes used in preparation, continued
Box   16	Contributions of various organizations
Box   16	David Lawrence banquet, Oct. 9, 1965
Box   16	Equal Opportunity Brokers' Association banquet, June 8, 1965
Box   16	FOR news and public relations committee: related papers, 1961-1963
Box   16	FOR pamphlets
Box   16	Interracial Fellowship Luncheons, 1959-1964
Box   17	Lawyers' letters and “fat cat” luncheon, 1962-1963
Box   17	Martin Luther King dinner, 1962
	Newspaper clippings on FOR
Box   17	1960-1965 and undated
Box   17	Fair housing statements, 1961-1962
Box   17	Oscar Brown benefit and various fund-raising ideas, 1962-1963
Box   17	Speakers' bureau project, 1964
Box   18	Speech and/or pamphlet, “A Blueprint for Christian Social Action in Housing” by D. S. Frey - notes for
	Speeches
Box   18	Notes by D. S. Frey for preparation
Box   18	Typed copies of Frey's speeches, 1955-1965
	Series: Miscellany, 1951-1966	⇧
Box   19	Correspondence, 1956-1965 and undated
Box   19	Law briefs of open housing cases
	Minutes of the City Council of Evanston, Ill.
Box   19	July-Dec., 1961
Box   20	Jan.-Sept., 1962
Box   20	Newspaper clippings from lesser known papers (mostly in Illinois) on open housing and civil rights, 1951-1965 and undated
Box   20	Youth programs, 1962-1963
Box   20	Miscellaneous papers, 1960-1966 and undated