This document is a statement made by Assistant Attorney General of Florida Ralph E. Odum at a Senate Hearing discussing the constitutionality of civil rights legislation. A large part of the discussed legislation were laws that would allow the federal government to force school integration.
On May 14, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in the court case Brown v. Board of Education that segregation within schools was unconstitutional according to the 14th amendment (United States Courts, n.d.).
After much discussion with all the United States Attorney Generals, it was determined by the Supreme court that school desegregation was to be administered by federal state district courts and that it was to begin immediately following the court’s ruling in the Brown v. Board of Education Topeka court case (Tomberlin 1974 ; United States Courts, n.d., under “Brown v. Board of Education (1954-1955).
Photo is an excerpt from the Consular Officers’ Association’s newsletter, The Consular Packet, dated January 13, 1975. Courtesy of The Center for Migration Studies of New York’s Arthur P. (“Skip”) Endres Papers Collection.
In 1975, immigration in the United States was a prominent topic of political discussion. This was partially due to how “the Immigration Act of 1965…resulted in increased immigration” (Irwin 1972, 23). The media also reported the Senate’s rejection of H.R. 982 in 1973 as a failure (Hohl 1975).
The cover of this annual report by The Central Valley Opportunity Center exemplifies the organization’s mission to generate labor mobility for low-income migrant farmworkers.
When “The Central Valley Opportunity Center 1984 Annual Report” was published, nearly all farmworker families living in the Central Valley of California lived below the Federal lower-living standard (CVOC, n.d., 8). Seventy five percent of migrant farmworkers spoke little to no English and language barriers combined with their itinerant existence meant that few were educated beyond the sixth grade. CVOC’s report gives a detailed account of the actions the organization took in 1984 to support migrant farmworkers’ struggle for survival. This report is valuable for understanding the foundations and efficacy of CVOC’s current operations.
The Central Valley of California is a temperate, 450 mile stretch of well irrigated, nutrient rich soil (Norton, n.d.). The 350 different crops grown there generate a quarter of the produce consumed in the United States (Perez 2019). This massive agricultural operation attracts a broad array of migrant workers to the region and wage growth is undermined by competition for unskilled positions. CVOC is one of many community-based organizations that emerged in the 1970s to address the needs of low-income migrant farmworkers in California (Tony Silva, pers. comm.).
Photo of a primary source document in the Center for Migration Studies of New York’s Arthur P. (“Skip”) Endres Papers Collection. Congressional Record – Extension of Remarks: What Price Détente?, submitted by Honorable John R. Rarick of Louisiana in the House of Representatives, December 12, 1974.
During the late 1960s period of the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union began to share concerns over rising geopolitical tensions in a world ever conscious of the potential for nuclear devastation. Such concerns led to a roughly ten-year period of “détente,” where both nations sought to ease tensions through negotiations pertaining to arms control from 1969 to 1979 (Cahn 1998, 96). Though initially détente was popularly perceived as a step toward a safer and more peaceful world, a growing number of U.S. citizens condemned the program for functioning against the social and economic welfare of the nation (Zanchetta 2013). The 1974 article “What Price Détente,” found in a Congressional Record from the Arthur P. (“Skip”) Endres Papers Collection of the Center for Migration Studies, features a strong argument that sought to reveal the economic harm of the détente in order to garner support for the modification or abandonment of this foreign policy initiative.
Photo of a primary source document in the Center for Migration Studies of New York’s Arthur P. (“Skip”) Endres Papers Collection. Congressional Record – Extension of Remarks: Equitable Relief Asked for Haviv Schieber, submitted by Honorable John M. Ashbrook of Ohio in the House of Representatives, May 13, 1974.
The Extension of Remarks is part of the Congressional Record which serves as the official transcript for the House and the Senate. The Center for Migration Studies (CMS) also offers works from the Arthur P. (“Skip”) Endres Papers Collection to serve as “primary sources of how migration and refugee law is made and how that process might be improved for future generations of immigrants” (CMS 2015, 4).
A watercolor painting depicting a scene from life in Franklin Square during the 20th Century. A temporary carnival held in or near Franklin Square in the early 1950s. Indiviglia, Salvatore J. 1952. Carnival. Watercolor on paper. Franklin Square Public Library, New York. (The Franklin Square Historical Society owns the copyright to this painting and has loaned it to the Franklin Square Public Library to display. Photo taken with permission from the Franklin Square Public Library by Emily Leo on September 15th, 2020).
World War II veterans are an ever-shrinking population. While most living veterans are well into their 90s, many of their stories have not been told. Salvatore J. Indiviglia was 99 when he passed on May 28, 2018. According to an article from the Pew Research Center, “The [Department of Veteran’s Affairs] projections show that between Sept. 30, 2019 and Sept. 30, 2020, 245 WWII veterans are expected to be lost each day” (Schaeffer 2020). Thus, it is more crucial than ever to record as many of their stories and experiences as possible before they are lost for good. However, sometimes their stories live on through the work they have done throughout their lives. I was able to find his story through the paintings he has left behind and the organizations he was a part of. Salvatore J. Indiviglia was a resident of Franklin Square, New York for 68 years, a veteran of World War II, and a prolific artist whose work is displayed in numerous places, most notably, in the Franklin Square Public Library (Newsday 2018).
Presented as part of the Monmouth County Historical Association’s Digital Diversity Oral History Project, this screenshot depicts pictures and a description of an audio interview with Amy Quinn, an LGBTQ advocate. Her interview took place on August 28, 2020.
Just after the stroke of midnight on October 21, 2013, Amy Quinn and her partner Heather Jensen legally wed on the Asbury Park boardwalk in New Jersey (The Coaster 2013).
This photo was taken in 1995 by Steven Sisney for the Daily Oklahoman. Morgan Taylor Merrell, aged two, shovels dirt on a dogwood tree planted at Mayfield Middle School in memory of those who died in the April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building. Morgan’s mother, Frankie, was killed that day.
Trees became a symbol of hope for Oklahomans after the April 19, 1995 federal building bombing. An American Elm tree that grew in the parking lot of the Murrah building somehow survived the blast and then was nearly chopped down as investigators recovered evidence that had gotten caught in its branches (Linenthal, n.d.). This tree became known as the “Survivor Tree” because many Oklahomans saw it as a representation of the people’s ability to persist even in the face of such an atrocity. The survivor tree is memorialized at the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial in recognition of the survivors of the blast. It is part of the logo for the memorial marathon that takes place every year (Fredrickson 2015) and its seeds are collected and distributed to communities throughout the United States so that the tree’s longevity is continued through its offspring (Slipke 2017).
This was an annual publication by the Congregation of Christian Brothers detailing activities at their various schools around the world. 1887 was the first volume. It is bound with the issues published in 1888-1891. This volume is part of the Brother Edmund Rice Collection housed within the Archive and Special Collections at Iona College’s Ryan Library.
The Archives Room within Ryan Library at Iona College stores the Archive and Special Collections. The contents are related to Irish life and literature. One of the collections housed here is the Brother Edmund Rice Collection (Iona College 2020).
A copy of an invitation received by William Harris from actor Ron Vawter for a special friends only performance of Vawter’s Roy Cohn/Jack Smith. The letter was sent on April 15, 1992. The image displays Vawter in his roles of Cohn and Smith.
Roy Cohn/Jack Smith is Ron Vawter’s depiction of two white, homosexual men who lead very different lives in the 1950s, but whom both died of AIDS related illnesses in the 80’s. Vawter (1994) uses his performance to focus on the “two powerful forces which shaped their lives: A Virus, and a society which sought to repress their sexuality” (0:10:36-0:10:45). This one-man show has been, thankfully, preserved with the help of filmmaker Jill Godmilow.
