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Duren (B. Kwaku) papers
7022
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Description
B. Kwaku Duren is a lawyer and long-time political, social and community activist in the Los Angeles area. He has served
various institutions, among them the South-Central Office of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), the Union of
Legal Services Workers of Los Angeles. He served as head of the Southern California Chapter of the Black Panther Party and
chairman of the New Panther Vanguard Movement. He was co-editor-in-chief of The Black Panther International News Service.
As a political independent Duren has run for elective office, including the U.S. Congress, Insurance Commissioner, Long Beach
and Los Angeles School Boards, and most recently Mayor of Compton. The papers reflect more than 40 years (1964-2012) of his
work in civil rights movements and activities, and include correspondence, photographs, published materials, fliers, posters,
and audio/visual materials.
Background
B. Kwaku Duren (also known as Robert Donaldson Duren and Bob D. Duren) was born in West Virginia in 1943. In the 1940s his
family moved to Cleveland, Ohio and in the 1950s settled in Long Beach, California. Duren's teen and young adult years in
California (the 1960s) were marred by legal troubles and he served jail sentences for much of this period, most notably in
Soledad, one of California's most notorious prisons.
Extent
26.67 Linear Feet
50 boxes
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Availability
Advance notice required for access.