Robert S. Gabriner Papers, 1961-1981 (bulk 1965-1979)


Summary Information
Title: Robert S. Gabriner Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1961-1981 (bulk 1965-1979)

Creator:
  • Gabriner, Robert S., 1941-
Call Number: Mss 575; PH 6620; Audio 1480A

Quantity: 9.2 c.f. (23 archives boxes), 858 images on 35 contact sheets and 2 photographs (in 1 folder), 66 negatives on 12 negative strips (1 folder), and 2 tape recordings

Repository:
Archival Locations:
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:
Personal and collected papers of Robert S. Gabriner, 1961-1981 (mainly 1965-1979), a radical activist and student at the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison in the 1960s, later an instructor at Laney Community College in San Francisco, and staff member at the underground newspaper, the Leviathan. The collection contains materials documenting Gabriner's interest in several black liberation, feminist, and radical organizations, including position papers and reference articles of the Weather Underground, Laney (California) Community Organizing Committee, and Prairie Fire Organizing Committee; papers of the UW History Students Association; records relating to the People's Press; materials documenting his work in the Civil Rights movement in the south, particularly with the West Tennessee Voters Project and as a field collecting agent for the Wisconsin Historical Society; documents concerning the Wisconsin Draft Resistance Union and its Clearing House in Madison; personal papers documenting his activity in the Puerto Rican Liberation Movement, including his membership in the Puerto Rican Solidarity Committee; and photocopies of Gabriner's FBI files.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00575
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Biography/History

Robert S. Gabriner, son of Hyman and Dorothy Gabriner, was born in New York City, September 7, 1941. He attended Cornell University, where he was editor of the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun, and received a B.A. degree in 1963. Gabriner pursued his graduate studies in history at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and received an M.A. in 1966, and worked toward a Ph.D. until he left school early in 1968. Gabriner also continued his editing career in Madison, serving as editor of the underground newspaper Connections, and was active in anti-Vietnam War and draft resistance groups. Gabriner was also involved in student organizations, like the History Students Association, while he was a graduate student at UW-Madison.

During parts of 1965 and 1966 Gabriner and his wife, Vicki Levins Gabriner, worked with the West Tennessee Voters Project and the Tennessee Freedom Labor Union and served as organizers and teachers in Fayette County, Tennessee. While living in Madison they made periodic trips throughout the South to participate in Civil Rights activities as well as working as field archivists during the early collecting phases of the Civil Rights Collection of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

In February 1968 Bob Gabriner moved to San Francisco, where he joined the staff of the journal Leviathan; by 1970 he was managing editor. During this time he also taught at Laney College in Oakland for a few years. During this time Gabriner also became involved in many radical and activist causes, such as with the Weather Underground; the Bay Area's People's Press; making trips to Cuba in 1972 and 1979 to assess the workings of socialism; human rights; liberation of African-Americans and Africans; local community organizing; and the Puerto Rican Solidarity Committee (PRSC) serving as co-coordinator of the Bay Area Chapter (San Francisco) of the PRSC. Also in the late 1970s, Gabriner used the Freedom of Information Act to acquire copies of the FBI files compiled about him during the 1960s and 1970s.

Gabriner currently holds a doctorate in education from the University of California-Berkeley and is the Senior Vice-Chancellor for Institutional Advancement at the City College of San Francisco. He has written on the subject of community college education and is still active in educational issues in the San Francisco area.

Scope and Content Note

The Robert S. Gabriner papers document Gabriner's life as a graduate student, educator, writer, and social activist. The papers date approximately from 1961-1981, with the bulk of the documentation dating from 1965-1979 and consists of correspondence, subject files and personal writings. The papers are divided into three series: PERSONAL PAPERS, SUBJECT FILES, and VISUAL MATERIALS. Some correspondence and newspaper clippings are found throughout the collection. These materials have not been separated out so as to maintain their original order within the appropriate files of the collection.

The PERSONAL PAPERS series includes four subseries: Correspondence, Academics, Personal Research Files, and Tape Recordings. The Correspondence subseries is arranged chronologically and documents Gabriner's personal communications with family, friends, and activist organizations from the 1960s through 1978. The Academics subseries is arranged chronologically and the Personal Research Files subseries is arranged alphabetically by the name of the file. These subseries contain information about Gabriner while he was a graduate student and teaching assistant in the history department at the University of Wisconsin, and as an editor and writer for underground student newspapers in Madison in the late 1960s. These subseries also document his teaching and research while at Laney Community College and other educational settings when he relocated to San Francisco in the 1970s. Included in the Personal Research Files subseries are files documenting the activities of Gabriner and friends that the FBI produced. The Tape Recordings include interviews with Robert Gabriner and his wife Vicki in 1965 discussing the youth culture of the period as well as anti-government protest. A second tape recording is a re-broadcast of the 1934 General Strike in San Francisco that Robert Gabriner prepared and aired at a San Francisco radio station in the 1970s.

The SUBJECT FILES series includes twenty-four subseries. The Subject Files series documents Gabriner's interest and involvement in social action issues. The series spans the entire period of the collection and is arranged alphabetically by subject. Subseries include but are not limited to: African-Americans, Community Organizing, Robert Gabriner's Cuba Trip, Labor, Puerto Rico, Student Activism, Vietnam, and the Wisconsin Draft Resistance Movement.

The majority of the African-American subseries documents African-American rights, civil rights, and the time Gabriner spent as a field collector for the Wisconsin Historical Society during the civil rights movement in the south, specifically in Fayette County, Tennessee documenting the civil rights movement and the West Tennessee Voters Project. The project concerned itself with voter registration drives, discrimination in employment, school desegregation, and the formation of the Tennessee Freedom Labor Union in Tennessee.

The Community Organizing subseries documents Gabriner's involvement with grass roots and community organizing groups including the Laney Community Organizing Committee and the Prairie Fire Organizing Committee. The latter concerned with the struggle of colonized peoples around the world and in the fight against U.S. imperialism.

The Cuba Trip subseries covers Gabriner's 1972 and 1979 trips to Cuba to assess the workings of socialism with a group of like-minded people. He felt the United States was oppressing Cuba with its foreign policy, that Cuba was standing up to the United States, and that instituting a new political system was a way for the struggling country to resist U.S. oppression. Photographs related to this subseries are in the Visual Materials series.

The Labor subseries coves the period from the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s. Topics include farmers, Mexican workers, strikes, and labor unions.

The bulk of the Subject Files series deals with Puerto Rico. Robert Gabriner was active in the Puerto Rican Solidarity Committee (PRSC) from the 1970s until the early 1980s, supporting Puerto Rican liberation. This subseries documents Gabriner's involvement in the PRSC at the national level as well as at the local level with the Bay Area Chapter of the PRSC and includes meetings, conferences, and other organizational activities at each level of the committee. Along with other members of the PRSC, Gabriner put together a primer on Puerto Rican liberation; drafts and comments are included in these records.

The Student Activism subseries documents Gabriner's involvement in social action organizations. Gabriner was involved in Student Activism while he attended the University of Wisconsin in the late 1960s. Included in this subseries are papers of the Students for a Democratic Society as UW students were members of the local group on campus.

Two other subseries that are well documented within the Subject Files series are Vietnam and the Wisconsin Draft Resistance Movement (WDRU). Like many other social activists of his time, Gabriner protested the Vietnam War and the draft that went along with it. Included is information on protests and sit-ins as well as papers documenting the WDRU and their activities.

The VISUAL MATERIALS series documents Robert Gabriner's first trip to Cuba in 1972. The prints and negatives illustrate the Cuban people and geography of the areas Gabriner travelled to in the country. This includes sugar plantations, cities, schools, and various landscapes.

Related Material

Robert and Vicki Gabriner Papers (SC 1203).

The Wisconsin Historical Society has one of the richest collections of Civil Rights movement records in the nation, which includes more than 100 manuscript collections documenting the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964. More than 25,000 pages from the Freedom Summer manuscripts are available online as the Freedom Summer Digital Collection.

Administrative/Restriction Information
Acquisition Information

Presented by Robert S. Gabriner, 1981 and 1985. Accession Number: M81-421, M81-694, M85-280


Processing Information

Processed by Menzi Behrnd-Klodt, October 1981 (M81-421); and by Spencer Brayton (Practicum student), 2009 (M81-694, M85-280).


Contents List
Mss 575
Series: Personal Papers
Subseries: Correspondence
Box   1
Folder   1-3
1961-1964
Box   2
Folder   1-3
1965-1968
Box   2
Folder   4-5
1969
Box   2
Folder   6
1960s
Box   2
Folder   7-9
1970-1972
Box   3
Folder   1-5
1973-1978
Subseries: Academics
Box   3
Folder   6
American History Bibliographies, 1963-1966
Box   3
Folder   7
Papers and Exams, 1964-1965
Box   4
Folder   1
Papers and Exams, 1964-1965 (continued)
Box   4
Folder   2
Paper Drafts and Notes, 1965
Box   4
Folder   3
American History, 1965-1967
Box   4
Folder   4
University of Wisconsin Higher Education Report, 1967
Box   4
Folder   5
History 290, 1967
Box   4
Folder   6
Letters of Recommendation written by Robert Gabriner, 1967
Box   4
Folder   7-8
Robert Gabriner, T.A., 1967
Box   4
Folder   9
Educational Policy Studies, 1968
Box   4
Folder   10
History 290, 1968
Box   5
Folder   1
American History Bibliographies, 1972-1975
Box   5
Folder   2
Faculty Evaluations, 1973
Box   5
Folder   3
National Question, 1973
Box   5
Folder   4
Oral History with Senior Citizens, 1973-1976
Box   5
Folder   5
Oral History, 1974
Sino-Soviet
Box   5
Folder   6
Reading List, 1976
Box   5
Folder   7
Discussion Notes, 1976-1977
Box   5
Folder   8
Study Group, 1977
Box   5
Folder   9-10
History for Beginners, 1977
Box   5
Folder   11
Laney College Curriculum and Instruction, 1977-1978
Box   6
Folder   1
Peralta and Vista Colleges, 1979
Box   6
Folder   2
Dubrovnik University (Yugoslavia), 1979
Box   6
Folder   3
American History, 1970s
Box   6
Folder   4
Economic History Notes, undated
Box   6
Folder   5
Study Group Readings: Russia, undated
Box   6
Folder   6
Capitalist Labor Process Bibliography, undated
Subseries: Personal Research Files
Box   6
Folder   7
Lenin and the Russian Revolution Bibliography, undated
Box   6
Folder   8
Russian Revolution and Marxism, undated
Box   6
Folder   9
Advocate-Story and Notes, 1967-1968
Box   6
Folder   10
Africa, 1975-1976
Box   6
Folder   11
Capital-In Lithographs, undated
Box   6
Folder   12
Civil Liberties, 1962-1964
Box   6
Folder   13
Class Nature of the Soviet Union, 1976
Box   6
Folder   14
Connections-Robert Gabriner's Notes and Routine Business, 1960s
Box   6
Folder   15
Cuba, 1976
Box   7
Folder   1-2
Cuban Foreign Policy, 1962-1977
Box   7
Folder   3
Eastern Europe and the USSR, 1976
Box   7
Folder   4
Feminism, undated
Box   7
Folder   5
Food and Hunger, 1975-1977
Box   7
Folder   6
German Democratic Republic, 1979
Box   7
Folder   7
Interview with Kenneth Hettick-San Francisco Industry Education Council, 1969
Box   7
Folder   8
Iowa, 1967
Box   7
Folder   9
“Labor History Primer” by Robert Gabriner, undated
Box   7
Folder   10
Literacy, 1962-1965
Box   7
Folder   11
Nicaragua, 1978-1980
Box   7
Folder   12
People's Republic of China, 1976
Box   8
Folder   1
Politics and Urban Development, 1975
Box   8
Folder   2
Rosenbergs Case, 1975-1978
Box   8
Folder   3
School of Education Research, 1962-1968
Box   8
Folder   4
Self Reliance Project, undated
Box   8
Folder   5
Socialism, undated
Box   8
Folder   6
Southern Regional Council: Hungry Children Report, undated
Box   8
Folder   7
Soviet Union, 1976
Box   8
Folder   8
Soviet-China Economic Models, 1976
Box   8
Folder   9
USSR and Eastern Europe, 1979
Box   8
Folder   10
Vietnam, 1975
Box   8
Folder   11
Vietnamese Foreign Policy, 1977
Box   8
Folder   12
Wisconsin Historical Society Library Project, 1965-1967
Box   8
Folder   13
Working Papers and Writings, 1973 and undated
Box   8
Folder   14
FBI Files
Box   9
Folder   1-2
FBI Files (continued)
Tape Recordings
1480A/1
Interview with Bob and Vicki Gabriner, 1960s
1480A/2
Broadcast of San Francisco General Strike in 1934, prepared and aired by Robert Gabriner-San Francisco, 1970s
Mss 575
Series: Subject Files
Subseries: African-Americans
Box   9
Folder   3
Education, 1965-1969
Box   9
Folder   4-5
Rights, 1960s
Box   9
Folder   6
African Liberation Support Committee, 1973-1974
Box   9
Folder   7
Black Liberation article, undated
Box   9
Folder   8
Civil Rights Collection-Wisconsin Historical Society, 1965-1966
Box   9
Folder   9
Civil Rights miscellaneous files, 1964-1966
Alternate Format: All or part has been digitized and is available online.
Box   10
Folder   1
Civil Rights miscellaneous files, 1964-1966 (continued)
Box   10
Folder   2
Dependency, 1970s
Box   10
Folder   3
Education, 1968
Fayette County, Tennessee
Box   10
Folder   4
Robert Gabriner's Journal, 1964
Box   10
Folder   5-6
Politics and Voting, 1964-1965
Box   10
Folder   7
Correspondence, 1964-1967
Box   10
Folder   8
Voters Project Information, 1964-1967
Box   11
Folder   1-2
Voters Project Information, 1964-1967 (continued)
Box   11
Folder   3
The Movement, 1967
Box   11
Folder   4
Freedom Democratic Party, 1964
Box   11
Folder   5
New York University-Hatchett Firing, 1968
Box   11
Folder   6
Rent Strike-Jesse Grey, 1964
Box   11
Folder   7
Southern Conference Educational Fund, 1964-1965
Box   11
Folder   8
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, 1963-1964
Box   11
Folder   9
Southern Student Organizing Committee, 1964-1965
Subseries: Conferences
Box   12
Folder   1
Human Rights Working Group-National Organizing Conference, 1968
Box   12
Folder   2
Journalists' Conference Guest List, 1968
Box   12
Folder   3
Journalists' Conference, 1971
Subseries: Cuba Trips
Box   12
Folder   4-5
1972
Box   12
Folder   6
1979
Box   12
Folder   7
Subseries: Ebell Club, 1977-1978
Subseries: Labor
Box   12
Folder   8
Farmer Labor Party, undated
Box   12
Folder   9
Kentucky Labor Unions, 1965
Box   13
Folder   1
Labor Strikes and Unemployment, 1964-1966
Box   13
Folder   2
Labor Unions- 1963, 1979, and undated
Box   13
Folder   3
Mexican Workers, 1975-1976
Box   13
Folder   4
Progressive Labor, 1965
Box   13
Folder   5
Subseries: League for Proletarian Socialism, undated
Box   13
Folder   6
Subseries: Leviathan-Responses to Robert Gabriner's Article, 1970
Box   13
Folder   7
Subseries: Mass Party Organizing Committee, 1976
Box   13
Folder   8
Subseries: Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party, 1963-1964
Box   13
Folder   9
Subseries: Native Americans, 1967
Subseries: Newsletters
Box   13
Folder   10
Iranian Students Association and the Committee for Artistic and Intellectual Freedom in Iran, 1976
Box   13
Folder   11
Radical Historians Newsletter, 1972-1976
Box   13
Folder   12
UMZ Newsletter, 1964-1966
Subseries: Community Organizing
Box   14
Folder   1
Miscellaneous files, 1967
Box   14
Folder   2
Laney Community Organizing Committee, 1975 and undated
Box   14
Folder   3
Prairie Fire Organizing Committee, 1976
Subseries: People's Press
Box   14
Folder   4
Agenda and Minutes, 1975
Box   14
Folder   5
Miscellaneous files, 1973 and undated
Subseries: Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican Solidarity Committee
Box   14
Folder   6
Correspondence, 1978-1980
Box   14
Folder   7-11
National Board Meeting, 1978-1980
Box   14
Folder   12
Bay Area Chapter Conference, 1979 January
Box   14
Folder   13-14
National Conference, 1977
Coordinators Conference
Box   14
Folder   15
1977 December
Box   14
Folder   16
1979 January
Box   14
Folder   17
January Conference, 1979
National Conference
Box   15
Folder   1
National Conference Evaluation, 1979 January
Box   15
Folder   2
National Conference, 1979 July
Bay Area Chapter
Box   15
Folder   3
Lerroy Lopez Visit, 1978
Box   15
Folder   4
Workplans, 1978
Box   15
Folder   5
Membership, 1979
Box   15
Folder   6
Neftali Garcia Event, 1979 February
Box   15
Folder   7
Coordinators Reports, 1978-1979
Box   15
Folder   8
Brochure Draft, undated
Box   15
Folder   9
Cardonara, 1979
Box   15
Folder   10
Discussion Topics, 1976-1977
Box   15
Folder   11
Fund Raising, 1978-1981
Box   15
Folder   12
Gabriner's Strategy Paper, 1979 January
Box   15
Folder   13
Internal Education, 1978-1979
Box   15
Folder   14
Labor Commission, 1978
National Chapter
Box   15
Folder   15
Activities, 1977
Box   15
Folder   16
Workplan, 1977-1978
Box   15
Folder   17
Business, 1978-1979
Box   16
Folder   1
Organizer, 1977-1979
Box   16
Folder   2
Organization Commission, 1979
Box   16
Folder   3
Political Communism, 1979
Box   16
Folder   4
Political Statement, undated
Box   16
Folder   5
Puerto Rico Course, 1978 November-December
Box   16
Folder   6
Puerto Rican Nationalists, 1979
Box   16
Folder   7
San Francisco, 1980
Box   16
Folder   8
Slide Show Script, undated
Box   16
Folder   9
Steering Committee, 1978
Box   16
Folder   10
Subscriptions, 1978
Box   16
Folder   11
Television Project, 1978
Box   16
Folder   12
Transfer of Powers, 1980
Box   16
Folder   13
United Nations, 1978
Vieques
Box   16
Folder   14-15
Campaign, 1979
Box   16
Folder   16
Media Promotion in the Bay Area, 1979
Box   16
Folder   17
Meeting, 1979 March
Box   16
Folder   18
West Coast, 1978
Box   16
Folder   19
Women's Commission, 1978
Box   16
Folder   20
Workplan, 1979 February-June
Box   17
Folder   1-5
Miscellaneous, 1975-1982
Box   17
Folder   6
Articles, 1976-1980
Box   17
Folder   7
Bay Area, 1978
Box   17
Folder   8
Book Promotions, 1977
Box   17
Folder   9
Bootstrap and Effects, undated
Box   17
Folder   10
California, 1978
Box   18
Folder   1
Children's Books, 1972
Box   18
Folder   2
Labor Movement, 1978
Box   18
Folder   3
Labor Movement and Miguel Cabrera, 1979
Liberation Movement
Box   18
Folder   4-6
1974-1977
Box   18
Folder   7
Reports and Papers, undated
Box   18
Folder   8
Nationalists Campaign, 1979
Box   18
Folder   9
Nationalist Party, 1976 and undated
Box   18
Folder   10
New Struggle Chapter, 1968-1972
Box   18
Folder   11
Oil, 1977
Box   18
Folder   12
Parties and Activities, 1973-1975
Box   18
Folder   13
Socialist Party Political Thesis: Socialist Alternative, 1975
Box   19
Folder   1
Proletarian Family, 1978
Primer
Box   19
Folder   2
Background Information, 1974, 1978, and undated
Box   19
Folder   3
Project-Finances and Distribution, 1976
Box   19
Folder   4
Meeting and Criticisms of Puerto Rico Primer, 1976
Box   19
Folder   5-6
Robert Gabriner-Puerto Rico Primer Notes, 1970s
Box   19
Folder   7-10
Robert Gabriner-Puerto Rico Primer Drafts, 1970s
Box   20
Folder   1
Robert Gabriner-Puerto Rico Primer Drafts, 1970s (continued)
Box   20
Folder   2
Draft, undated
Box   20
Folder   3
Reading List, 1975
Box   20
Folder   4
Socialist Party, 1975 and 1978
Box   20
Folder   5
Sterilization, 1976
Box   20
Folder   6-7
Trips, 1975, 1979
Box   20
Folder   8
United Nations, 1979
Box   20
Folder   9
Andres Memorial, 1979
Box   20
Folder   10
"Are Puerto Ricans a National Minority?", undated
Box   20
Folder   11
Background Documents-Puerto Rico, 1978
Box   20
Folder   12
Bay Area Organizing Committee: Outreach and Finances, 1979-1980
Box   20
Folder   13
Bilingual Education, 1976
Box   20
Folder   14
Bohique Newsletter, 1979
Box   20
Folder   15
Bishop Pennilla Visit to San Francisco, undated
Box   20
Folder   16
Colonial Issues of Puerto Rico, 1960s
Box   20
Folder   17
Correspondence, 1979
Box   21
Folder   1
"Desde Las Entranas"-Puerto Rican Socialist Party, 1973
Box   21
Folder   2
Economic and Political Crisis in Puerto Rico, 1976-1977
Box   21
Folder   3
Mexico City Conference, 1979
Box   21
Folder   4
Misdevelopment in Puerto Rico, 1979
Box   21
Folder   5
Oscar Collazo articles, 1977-1978
Box   21
Folder   6
Robert Gabriner-Puerto Rico Strategy Paper
Box   21
Folder   7
Social Classes in Puerto Rico, 1974-1978
Box   21
Folder   8
Status of Puerto Rico Clips, 1978
Box   21
Folder   9
U.S. Trade Union Committee Against Repression in Puerto Rico (TUCAR), 1978
Box   21
Folder   10
Works on Puerto Rico with notes, undated
Subseries: Student Activism
University of Wisconsin
Box   21
Folder   11
1966
Box   21
Folder   12
1968
Box   21
Folder   13-14
Students for a Democratic Society, 1965-1968
Box   22
Folder   1
Students for a Democratic Society-Educational Packets, undated
Box   22
Folder   2
Activism Literature, undated
Subseries: University of Wisconsin (UW)
Box   22
Folder   3
UW Ad-Hoc Committee for Thinking, 1967
UW History Students Association
Box   22
Folder   4
Book Reviews, 1968
Box   22
Folder   5
Papers, 1968
Box   22
Folder   6
UW miscellaneous files, 1967-1968
Box   22
Folder   7
Subseries: Vicki Gabriner Defense Fund, 1974
Subseries: Vietnam
Box   22
Folder   8-9
Vietnam Protests miscellaneous files, 1964-1966
Box   22
Folder   10
University of Wisconsin Student Sit-In: Vietnam Draft, 1966
Box   22
Folder   11
Teachers for Peaceful Alternatives: Vietnam, 1967-1968
Box   22
Folder   12
Subseries: Weather Underground, 1975-1976
Subseries: Wisconsin Draft Resistance Union (WDRU)
Box   22
Folder   13
Anti-War Ads, 1967-1968
Box   22
Folder   14
Correspondence, 1967
Box   22
Folder   15
Draft Resistance Clearinghouse, 1967
Box   22
Folder   16
Newspaper Article and Notes, undated
Box   23
Folder   1
Staff Institute Constituency Organizing, undated
Transcripts of Interviews
Box   23
Folder   2
Dan Swinny, undated
Box   23
Folder   3
Jody Chandler, undated
Box   23
Folder   4
Subseries: Wisconsin Legal Defense Fund, 1968
Box   23
Folder   5
Subseries: Works by D.A. Levy, 1968 and undated
Box   23
Folder   6
Subseries: Works by James Forman, undated
Box   23
Folder   7
Subseries: Miscellaneous, 1968 and undated
PH 6620
Series: Visual Materials
Cuba Trip, 1972
Folder   1
Photographs and contact sheets
Folder   2
Negatives