The records are a small collection of uncertain provenance divided into three groups: papers of Sidney Peck, records of the Cleveland Area Peace Action Coalition, and miscellaneous papers relating to several other Cleveland area anti-war organizations. It is likely that the records in the last two sections were merged as a result of joint quarters in the Cleveland Peace Center.
The SIDNEY PECK PAPERS, 1966-1970, consist of correspondence, minutes, printed material, and photographs. The correspondence chiefly concerns Peck's role in planning for the 1966 teach-in at Case Western Reserve University. Except for exchanges with A. J. Muste and a representative of the Women's Inter-national League for Peace and Freedom, they entirely omit any reference to his important role in the three Cleveland conferences of that same year. Later correspondence is almost entirely incoming and quite fragmentary in character. Except for a note indicating Peck's financial responsibility for CAPAC in its early days, these papers relate entirely to activities in national organizations. Of special interest are exchanges with documentary filmmaker Jerry Stoll, printed material on Peck's defense committee, and mimeographed copies of several statements and speeches. Photographs include images of Peck with Dr. Benjamin Spock at a coalition-sponsored event.
CLEVELAND AREA PEACE ACTION COALITION RECORDS, 1969-1972, consist of limited correspondence, statements, lists, minutes, and a large quantity of printed or near print material. The original 1978 accession contained no papers relating to CAPAC activities prior to 1969, however, prior to microfilming in 1980 the collection was augmented by new additions from the Social Action vertical file. This expanded coverage back through the committee's foundation as the Cleveland Coordinating Committee of the Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. At the same time, the holdings were related with the closely-compared records of the National Peace Action Coalition; all items which appeared under the NPAC letterhead were filed in that collection while all items identified as being issued by CAPAC were filed there. The resulting collection still tends to be a better record of CAPAC activities than a collection of substantive documentation. Exceptions to this are the mimeographed minutes and the scattered correspondence and financial records. Planning materials for an October 1970 rally in Columbus include a copy of a letter from Emil Mazey of UAW urging cancellation of election-eve demonstrations. Also relating to CAPAC's relations with labor are endorsements and lists of endorsers for a November 6, 1971, rally and march. Relating to this same demonstration is a letter from Howard Metzenbaum refusing endorsement. The collection of posters, broadsides, leaflets, handouts, and press releases, many of which have been Xeroxed from original mockups, include some items prepared for NPAC.
The records of the OTHER ORGANIZATIONS are even less substantial, consisting chiefly of broadsides and handouts (some of which were also present in original mockup form). Most important are the materials on the Cleveland Student Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam which include subject files on high school organizing, the SMC national conventions in Cleveland in February 1970 and December 1971, and the Kent State 25 defense committee. The first includes 2 defenses of student rights by Jerry Gordon; the latter contains an interesting assessment of the individuals involved in the Kent State case.
