CR. Civil Rights and Social Justice

Collecting Area

Identifier: CR

Staff Only

Queens College students and faculty have a rich history of participation in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, as well as other struggles for social justice. Starting in 2009, Special Collections and Archives (SCA) began collecting materials from alumni, faculty, and community members involved in these movements. The collections document projects like Mississippi Freedom Summer in 1964 and the Summer Community Organization and Political Education (SCOPE) project in 1965, as well as local and campus chapters of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). SCA also has smaller quantities of materials related to McCarthyism and LGBTQIA activism. SCA continues to incorporate a broader array of voices, organizations, and eras in this collecting area.

Found in 36 Collections and/or Records:

George Albertz Papers

Collection

Identifier: SCA-0038-A

Abstract The George Albertz Papers (1964-2011) document Albertz’s stay and arrests in Greenwood, Mississippi during the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer, a national campaign to register black voters in Mississippi. The collection also covers his involvement in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a civil rights party that challenged the whites-only Democratic Party in Mississippi. Included are articles on the deaths of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, who were murdered on...

Dates: 1964-2013

Found in: Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Special Collections and Archives / George Albertz Papers

Harvey Silver political literature and ephemera

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: SCA-0086

Abstract

Collection of fliers, posters, buttons, handbills, and other political ephemera from the 1960s-1970s documenting activist movements in New York City, Queens, and Queens College. Topics include the Vietnam War, 1968 presidential and other elections, students’ rights, and racism. Materials in the collection were gathered by Harvey Silver, a Queens College alumnus who was student activist and photographer of various political and cultural events in the 1960s-1970s.

Dates: circa 1962-2020; Majority of material found within circa 1965-1975

Found in: Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Special Collections and Archives / Harvey Silver political literature and ephemera

Homophile Movement Publications Collection

Collection — Box 1

Identifier: SCA-0107

Abstract

Curated sets of issues of homophile (pre-Stonewall LGBTQ+) advocacy and community publications the Mattachine Review and The Ladder.

Dates: 1960 - 1968

Found in: Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Special Collections and Archives / Homophile Movement Publications Collection

J. Chester Johnson Papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: SCA-0041

Scope and Content Note

This collection documents J. Chester Johnson’s literary work. Contents include publications - essays, poetry, and books - as well as research materials, publicity materials, reviews, and copies of personal awards and honors. Johnson's writing focuses on the Civil Rights Movement and the Episcopal Church.

Dates: 2005 - 2014

Found in: Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Special Collections and Archives / J. Chester Johnson Papers

James R. Forman Library Collection

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: SCA-0076

Abstract

James Forman was an important figure in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, serving as Executive Secretary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) between 1961-1966, and a life-long intellectual and activist. The James Forman Library includes approximately 1,940 books; four thousand printed items (comprised of pamphlets, serials, and reports); ten linear feet of FBI files; five linear feet of media materials; and three linear feet of personal papers.

Dates: Majority of material found within 1964 - 2000; 1872-2005

Found in: Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Special Collections and Archives / James R. Forman Library Collection

Jean L. Konzal Papers

Collection — Box 1: Series Series I: ; Series Series II: ; Series Series III: ; Series Series IV:

Identifier: SCA-0042

Abstract

This collection includes personal and printed materials, photographs, and feature personal accounts of Konzal’s activities as a tutor, civil rights activist, and student. The collection documents the Student Help Project in Prince Edward County, Virginia, and, to a lesser extent, other civil rights activism through 1965. Also present are materials on the 1963 March on Washington and documents from several civil rights organizations.

Dates: 1962-2012; Majority of material found within 1963 - 1964

Found in: Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Special Collections and Archives / Jean L. Konzal Papers

Joan Nestle Oral History (1991-1992)

Collection

Identifier: SCA-0075-B

Scope and Contents In the first interview from 1991, Melissa Thomas talks to Joan Nestle about her role in the Queens College Seek Program; the Lesbian Herstory Archives; her writing career; and her background as a Queens College student and as a lesbian and feminist. Nestle details her experience with the Queens College SEEK community and her lesbian feminist community. She reflects on the negative and positive aspects of teaching a multicultural program in an all white environment, discusses her illness...

Dates: 1991 - 1992-03-07

Found in: Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Special Collections and Archives / Joan Nestle Oral History (1991-1992)

Joan Nestle Oral History (2011)

Collection

Identifier: SCA-0075-A

Scope and Contents The interview explores Nestle's time at Queens College as a student-activist (1959-1963) and teacher in the SEEK program (1966-1995). She discusses her upbringing in New York, the conservative culture of Queens College, her oft-times combative experiences as a student, as well as her incredibly fulfilling time spent teaching in the SEEK program. Nestle also discusses how being an activist in the civil rights movement was paramount to shaping her role in the gay liberation movement, as...

Dates: 2011-04-06

Found in: Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Special Collections and Archives / Joan Nestle Oral History (2011)

Johnnie Mae Walker Letter to Anne Koeppicus

Collection — Box 1

Identifier: SCA-0025

Abstract

This letter, to Mississippi Freedom Summer Project volunteer Anne Koeppicus, is from her Mississippi host Johnnie Mae Walker, a field secretary for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. The letter describes life in Mississippi during the summer of 1964. A newspaper article about Koeppicus, a photo of Koeppicus, a published autobiography of Walker, and transcript of the letter are also included.

Dates: 1964

Found in: Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Special Collections and Archives / Johnnie Mae Walker Letter to Anne Koeppicus

Mark Levy Papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: SCA-0046

Abstract The Mark Levy Collection documents the volunteer experiences of Mark Levy and his wife, Betty Bollinger Levy, in the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project. Most items date from June to August 1964, including correspondence, photographs, curriculum, lesson plans, student essays and newsletters, printed materials, clippings, and ephemera. There are binders of preparatory training materials and memorandums for accepted applicants. Photographs document orientation at Western College for...

Dates: 1959-2008

Found in: Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Special Collections and Archives / Mark Levy Papers