Title: Congress of Racial Equality. Western Regional Office: Records
Inclusive Dates: 1948-1967

Creator:

• Congress of Racial Equality. Western Regional Office

Call Number: Mss 160; Micro 2117

Quantity: 3.0 c.f. (7 archives boxes) and 5 reels of microfilm (35 mm)

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:

General correspondence and subject files of the Western Regional Office of CORE (1962-1965) established in San Francisco to direct the activities of 42 West Coast local chapters. The subject files include material on internal administration and discrimination in employment and housing. The administrative files contain miscellaneous financial records, publicity of various kinds, and statements on the philosophy and tactics of non-violence. Folders on the office's relations with local chapters, the California CORE Council, and the Western Regional Action Council reveal the breakdown of responsibility within the organization.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00160

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In 1962 the Congress of Racial Equality established its Western Regional office in San Francisco to direct into non-violent channels the burgeoning civil rights activities on the West Coast. By 1965 this office was directing the activities of about 40 local CORE chapters in the Western states and two in Canada (in CORE's first extension outside of the U.S.); the California chapters are those best documented in these papers.

The Western Regional office concentrated on three main issues: de facto school segregation, equal employment opportunities, and open housing. In 1963 it strongly supported the passage of California's Rumford Act which prohibited discrimination in housing, and vehemently opposed the act's nullification by the passage of Proposition 14 in 1964. Greater success was met in the area of equal employment opportunities, since the California Fair Employment Practices Commission acted vigorously to correct all cases brought to its attention. Although deeply concerned about de facto school segregation, the Western Regional office sponsored few successful programs to change this situation.

The major officers in the Western Region were the Regional Field Secretary, the public relations officer, and the legal counsel. The Regional Field Secretary was responsible to the national office for coordinating all chapter activity in the region. Genevieve Hughes was the first to be appointed to this post in early 1962; she was succeeded later that year by Fredericka Teer. Chet Duncan held the position from May, 1964 to March, 1965, when Isaac Reynolds took it over. From 1963 to 1965 the public relations officer was Shirley Ann Mesher, while Wester Sweet served as chief legal counsel.

The Western Regional office closed in May 1965.

The records of CORE's Western Regional Office, spanning the years 1948 to 1967, consist of correspondence and five subject files, including constitutional and policy documents, reports, minutes, newsletters, financial records, pamphlets, posters, cartoons, clippings, and photographs. The subject files concern the administration of the Western Region, education, employment, housing, and reference materials on the civil rights movement. The correspondence is arranged chronologically, with the subject files following in alphabetical order; the majority relate to the term that Chet Duncan served as Regional Field Secretary from 1964 to 1965.

The correspondence contains requests for information from California state agencies and legislators, students, and the general public; requests for help in escaping discriminatory hiring policies; internal memos; and hate mail. Major correspondents include the officers of CORE's national and Southern and Western Regional offices and chapters as well as U.S. Senator Thomas H. Kuchel and three California legislators: Mervyn M. Dymally, John W. Holmdahl, and W. Byron Rumford.

The subject file on Administration is the most extensive of the five files. Financial statements, check stubs and bank books, a telephone log, and collection notices document the financial condition of the Western Regional Office. The breakdown of responsibility within the organization is reflected in the papers concerning the chapters, the California CORE Council, and the Western Regional Action Council. Material on publicity is diverse and includes articles and speeches, newsletters, press releases, printed material, and material on Black history television programs and on the appearances of James Baldwin and of famous jazz musicians on behalf of CORE. Concerning smaller projects undertaken by the Western Regional Office are two folders, one on court cases, and one on voter registration drives. The administrative file also contains explicit statements of the philosophy of non-violence and the tactics suitable to it.

The small subject file on Education is comprised of material on Black history programs and the headway made in combating de facto segregation in the school systems of New York, Ohio, Washington State, and three major cities in California.

Western Regional CORE was at its most active in pressing for equal employment opportunities. In the Employment file are reports and newsletters from the California Fair Employment Practices Commission; the records of non-discrimination negotiations with such employers as the Bank of America and the Lucky grocery store chain; and various reports and surveys pertaining to the problem of equal employment for members of minority groups.

The bulk of the material in the Housing file concerns open housing as it was guaranteed by the Rumford Act of 1963 and Proposition 14, which nullified the act. Other papers concern urban redevelopment programs in various cities, especially San Francisco.

In the Reference file are papers on other organizations, individuals, and publications active in the civil rights movement, a “Summary of 1962 and 1963 State Anti-Discrimination Laws,” and ephemera.

For further information on the Congress of Racial Equality, see the papers of the national office (Mss 14), of the Southern Regional office (Mss 85), and of CORE officials and chapters held at the State Historical Society of Wiconsin.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the Western Regional Office of the Congress of Racial Equality, Oakland, California, December 16, 1967. Accession Number: M67-399

Processing Information

Processed by Eleanor Niermann, May 25, 1971.

Mss 160 / Micro 2117	Series: Correspondence
	General
Box/Folder   1/1 Reel   1	1962 June-1963 December
Box/Folder   1/2 Reel   1 (continued)	1964 January-April
Box/Folder   1/3 Reel   1 (continued)	1964 May-June
Box/Folder   1/4 Reel   1 (continued)	1964 July-August
Box/Folder   1/5 Reel   1 (continued)	1964 September-November
Box/Folder   1/6 Reel   1 (continued)	1964 December-1965 February
Box/Folder   1/7 Reel   1 (continued)	1965 March, September
Box/Folder   1/8 Reel   1 (continued)	Hate Mail, 1963 October-1965 March
	Series: Administration	⇧
	Finances
Box/Folder   2/1 Reel   1 (continued)	Check Stubs and Bank Books, 1962 May-1964 July, 1964 December-1965 January
Box/Folder   2/2 Reel   1 (continued)	Collections, 1964 June-December
Box/Folder   2/3 Reel   1 (continued)	Financial Statements, 1962 October-1965 January
Box/Folder   2/4 Reel   1 (continued)	Funding Policy Statements, 1963 July, 1964 May, 1965 May
Box/Folder   2/5 Reel   1 (continued)	Telephone Log, 1965 March-May
	Organization
Box/Folder   2/6 Reel   2	California CORE Council, 1963 November-1965 March
Box/Folder   2/7 Reel   2 (continued)	Staff, 1964 January-1965 January
	Western Regional Action Council
Box/Folder   2/8 Reel   2 (continued)	Address Lists, 1962 November-1966 September
Box/Folder   2/9 Reel   2 (continued)	Constitution and By-Laws, 1962, 1964 June-1966 September
Box/Folder   2/10 Reel   2 (continued)	Finances, 1964 December-1965 January
	Minutes
Box/Folder   2/11 Reel   2 (continued)	1964 January
Box/Folder   2/12 Reel   2 (continued)	1964 April-1966 September
Box/Folder   2/13 Reel   2 (continued)	Newsletters, 1963 April-June
Box/Folder   2/14 Reel   2 (continued)	Reports, 1963 January-1965 April
	Organization by Chapters
Box/Folder   2/15 Reel   2 (continued)	Memos to Chapters, 1962 July-1965 April
Box/Folder   3/1 Reel   2 (continued)	Chapter Activity Resumes, 1964 August, 1965
Box/Folder   3/2 Reel   2 (continued)	Bakersfield, California, 1963 November-1966 June
Box/Folder   3/3 Reel   2 (continued)	Eugene, Oregon to Stockton, California, 1962-1965
	Projects
Box/Folder   3/4 Reel   2 (continued)	Court Cases, 1964 March-October
Box/Folder   3/5 Reel   2 (continued)	Voter Registration, 1964 August
	Publicity
Box/Folder   3/6 Reel   2 (continued)/3	Articles and Speeches, 1963 December-1964 August
Box/Folder   3/7 Reel   3	Celebrity Appearances, 1963 May, 1964 September
Box/Folder   3/8 Reel   3 (continued)	Chapter Newsletters, 1963 May-1965 May
Box/Folder   3/9 Reel   3 (continued)	Clippings, unsorted, undated
Box/Folder   3/10 Reel   3 (continued)	Pamphlets, 1961-1966 September
Box/Folder   3/11 Reel   3 (continued)	Posters, 1948, 1964, 1965 February-November
Box/Folder   3/12 Reel   3 (continued)	Press Releases, 1962 May-1965 March
Box/Folder   3/13 Reel   3 (continued)	Public Relations Officer Job Description, undated
Box/Folder   3/14 Reel   3 (continued)	Television Programs, 1962 April-1963 Fall
	Tactics of Non-Violence
Box/Folder   4/1 Reel   3 (continued)	Philosophy, 1960 August-1965 Winter
Box/Folder   4/2 Reel   3 (continued)	Demands Samples, 1963 January-1964 July
Box/Folder   4/3 Reel   3 (continued)	Negotiations Samples, 1964
Box/Folder   4/4 Reel   3 (continued)	Agreement Samples, 1963 September-1964 June
Box/Folder   4/5 Reel   3 (continued)	Direct Action, 1963-1964 August
Box/Folder   4/6 Reel   3 (continued)	Rent Strikes, 1964 October
	Series: Education	⇧
Box/Folder   4/7 Reel   3 (continued)	Black History, 1962 March-1965
Box/Folder   4/8 Reel   3 (continued)	Finances, 1962 September-1964 September
	Integration
Box/Folder   4/9 Reel   3 (continued)	California: Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, 1961 April-1964 May
Box/Folder   4/10 Reel   3 (continued)	New York, Ohio, Washington State, 1961-1965
Box/Folder   4/11 Reel   3 (continued)	Miscellany, 1961 September-1965 February
	Series: Employment	⇧
	California Fair Employment Practices Commission
Box/Folder   4/12 Reel   3 (continued)	Reports, 1959-1964 Spring
Box/Folder   4/13 Reel   4	Newsletters, 1963 July-1965 January
	Projects
	Bank of America
Box/Folder   4/14 Reel   4 (continued)	1964 February-April
Box/Folder   4/15 Reel   4 (continued)	1964 May
Box/Folder   5/1 Reel   4 (continued)	1964 June
Box/Folder   5/2 Reel   4 (continued)	1964 July-November, 1965 March
Box/Folder   5/3 Reel   4 (continued)	Eileen Feather Salons, 1962 January, 1963 January-February
Box/Folder   5/4 Reel   4 (continued)	Lucky Stores, 1962 October-1964 February
Box/Folder   5/5 Reel   4 (continued)	Montgomery Ward, 1963 May
Box/Folder   5/6 Reel   4 (continued)	Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 1963 December, 1964 February
Box/Folder   5/7 Reel   4 (continued)	Safeway, 1963 April-1965 April
Box/Folder   5/8 Reel   4 (continued)	Miscellany, 1964 February
	Reports
Box/Folder   5/9 Reel   4 (continued)	Bills Before the California Legislature, 1965 February-April
Box/Folder   5/10 Reel   4 (continued)	Job Training in San Francisco, 1963 September-1965 May, 1960s
Box/Folder   5/11 Reel   4 (continued)	Manpower Development and Training Act, 1963 December-1964 March, 1966 April
Box/Folder   5/12 Reel   4 (continued)	Minority Employment, 1963 August-1964 March
Box/Folder   5/13 Reel   4 (continued)	Minority Group Surveys, 1962 May-1965 April
Box/Folder   5/14 Reel   4 (continued)	“Skilled Trade Guide,” after 1961
Box/Folder   5/15 Reel   4 (continued)	Unions, 1962 August-1964 February, 1965 February
	Series: Housing	⇧
Box/Folder   6/1 Reel   4 (continued)	Communities, 1960-1967 June
	Proposition 14
Box/Folder   6/2 Reel   4 (continued)	1958, 1963 September-1964 October
Box/Folder   6/3 Reel   5	1964
	Rumford Act
Box/Folder   6/4 Reel   5 (continued)	1962 December-1963 June
Box/Folder   6/5 Reel   5 (continued)	1963 July-December
	San Francisco Redevelopment
Box/Folder   6/6 Reel   5 (continued)	1962, 1963 December
Box/Folder   6/7 Reel   5 (continued)	1964 January-December, 1965 May
	Series: Reference	⇧
Box/Folder   7/1 Reel   5 (continued)	Cartoons, Posters, and Songs, 1963 October-1965 April
Box/Folder   7/2 Reel   5 (continued)	Committee for Non-Violent Action - West, 1964 March-1965 April
Box/Folder   7/3 Reel   5 (continued)	Free Speech Movement, 1964 May and December, 1965
Box/Folder   7/4 Reel   5 (continued)	Ichud Habonim Labor Zionist Youth (#1-17, incomplete run), 1963 December
Box/Folder   7/5 Reel   5 (continued)	John Howard Griffin, 1963 December, 1964 May
Box/Folder   7/6 Reel   5 (continued)	National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1962 May-1965 February
Box/Folder   7/7 Reel   5 (continued)	National Newspaper Publishers Association, 1964 June
Box/Folder   7/8 Reel   5 (continued)	Richmond, Cal., Human Relations Commission, 1964 September-1965 April
Box/Folder   7/9 Reel   5 (continued)	San Francisco Freedom Movement, 1963 August-1964 April
Box/Folder   7/10 Reel   5 (continued)	Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 1963 July-1964 August
Box/Folder   7/11 Reel   5 (continued)	Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, 1958, 1963 May-1965 April
Box/Folder   7/12 Reel   5 (continued)	“Summary of 1962 and 1963 State Anti-Discriminatory Laws,” 1963
Box/Folder   7/13 Reel   5 (continued)	W.E.B. DuBois Clubs, 1964 September