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Mont (Max) Collection
URB.MM
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Max Mont Collection
Creator:
Mont, Max, 1917-
Identifier/Call Number: URB.MM
Extent:
9.66 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1941-1980
Abstract: Max Mont was the West Coast Executive
Director of the Jewish Labor Committee (JLC), which serves as a representative body for
working persons from the Jewish community by promoting human rights and assisting organized
labor in its relations within the community and with other minority groups. As a JLC
officer, Max Mont made himself available to other allied organizations to serve in various
capacities, such as professional organizer, coordinator, advisor, public relations director
and spokesperson. The
Max Mont Collection provides
documentation on Mr. Mont's various personal and organizational activities in support of
open housing for minorities and the poor, state civil rights legislation, integration of Los
Angeles public schools, and the farm workers movement.
Language of Material:
English
Max Mont was the West Coast Executive Director of the Jewish Labor Committee (JLC) which
serves as a representative body for working persons from the Jewish community by promoting
human rights and assisting organized labor in its relations within the community and with
other minority groups. The Committee actively involves itself with numerous issues
pertaining to civil rights legislation, union representation of workers, improved working
conditions, and economic and social assistance to the poor and minorities. Max Mont was a
JLC officer who made himself available to other allied organizations and served in various
capacities, such as professional organizer, coordinator, advisor, public relations director
and spokesperson.
As a JLC field representative during the 1950s, Mr. Mont was active in lobbying and
campaigning for public-supported housing, extension of old age assistance to the foreign
born, creation of apprenticeship and training programs for minorities, and the establishment
of a state Fair Employment Practices Commission. He was appointed the West Coast Executive
Director of the Jewish Labor Committee in 1960, succeeding William L. Becker who became
Governor Edmund G. Brown's aide on human relations and civil rights. During the same year,
Mont was also elected Executive Secretary of the California Committee for Fair Practices
(CCFP), a coordinating body of various civil rights groups lobbying for state
legislation.
Maintaining close ties with Becker in the Governor's office, Mont and the CCFP
successfully lobbied for passage of the Rumford Fair Housing Act of 1963, which outlawed
discrimination in the sale or rental of housing on grounds of race and religion. When the
California Real Estate Association (CREA) proposed a voter initiative in November 1963 to
repeal the Rumford Act, the CCFP unsuccessfully campaigned to keep the initiative from
gaining the requisite number of signatures to become a ballot measure. The initiative was
placed on the November 1964 election ballot as Proposition 14, and became one of the most
hotly contested political issues in California politics in the 1960s. Mr. Mont then became
the Southern California campaign coordinator for Californians Against Proposition 14; a
special election committee appointed by Governor Brown; originally called Californians for
Fair Housing, which led an unsuccessful campaign to defeat the initiative. After the voters
passed Proposition 14, the CCFP continued the battle by contesting its constitutionality in
the courts. In 1966, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the proposition was indeed
unconstitutional on the grounds that it sought to nullify a California state law which
provided protection for rights already granted by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
amendments.
Max Mont fought for nondiscrimination in local employment and housing by participating in
community organizations and agencies which aided minorities and the poor in exercising their
rights and in seeking government assistance. Among these groups were the Los Angeles County
Human Relations Commission and the Community Relations Conference of Southern California
(CRCSC). Both groups fostered better relations among ethnic groups and neighborhoods,
investigated complaints of discrimination, and sponsored educational programs and
conferences devoted to social issues involving the status of minorities in the
community.
CRCSC in particular aided minority groups in finding suitable housing within the local
community, and lobbied for public‑supported housing. It operated the Housing Opportunities
Center (of which Max Mont served on the Board of Directors during the early 1970s) which
built, purchased and managed several housing projects within low‑income areas of Los
Angeles. Due to his community activism, Max Mont was later appointed in 1976 to the Los
Angeles Board of Education's Community Advisory Committee for School Integration (CACSI)
which was assigned the responsibility of developing an initial school integration plan for
the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Another major issue in which Max Mont and the Jewish Labor Committee became active was the
plight of California farm workers. Between 1961 and 1968, Mr. Mont served as Secretary of
the Emergency Committee to Aid Farm Workers (ECAFW), an activist group which successfully
lobbied for the discontinuance of the Bracero or foreign farm labor program under Public Law
78, which operated three federally‑funded antipoverty projects that provided counseling,
basic educational skills and training to domestic farm workers. During 1965, acting as a
representative of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL‑CIO, Mr. Mont played a key
role as negotiator between wine/grape growers of the Coachella Valley and striking farm
workers represented by the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) led by Cesar Chavez and
the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), AFL‑CIO, led by Al Green. The success
of these negotiations resulted in the first union contracts for farm workers in California.
NFWA and AWOC merged in 1967 to form the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC)
under Chavez's leadership.
ECAFW disbanded in 1968, deciding to directly support farm workers within their own
movement to gain union representation and the right to collective bargaining. Mr. Mont then
actively served as a Los Angeles area boycott coordinator for the United Farm Workers Union
strike and boycott against non‑union California table grapes and lettuce. In this capacity,
he worked closely with the UFWOC, the California Migrant Ministry and the Interfaith
Committee to Aid Farm Workers. He was especially influential in educating the Jewish
community about the plight of farm workers which ultimately led to non‑union grapes being
banned from ceremonial use for religious holidays by the Massachusetts and Southern
California Boards of Rabbis.
Max Mont passed away in December 1991 and the age of 74. At the time of his death, he was
still acting as executive director of the Jewish Labor Committee.
The
Max Mont Collection provides documentation on Mr. Mont's
various personal and organizational activities in support of open housing for minorities and
the poor, state civil rights legislation, integration of Los Angeles public schools, and the
farm workers movement. The collection is composed primarily of subject files of Max Mont and
the several organizations in which he served. The files contain correspondence, newspaper
clippings, leaflets, pamphlets, position statements, legal briefs, documentary transcripts,
rosters, budgets, and testimony, as well as administrative, publicity and legislative
advocacy files, and photographs. The collection is arranged into eight series according to
Mont's organizational activities:
California Committee for Fair
Practices
(1948, 1955-1968),
Californians Against Proposition
14
(1964),
Community Relations Conference of Southern
California
(1956‑1970, 1980),
Emergency Committee to Aid Farm
Workers
(1947-1969),
Governor's Office (1959-1966),
Citizen's Advisory Committee for School Integration
(1974-1979), and
Personal Activities
(1952-1980).
Series I,
California Committee for Fair Practices, includes the
minutes, rosters, correspondence, financial statements, newsletters, reports, brochures, and
pamphlets of the committee, including newspaper clippings, published material, and leaflets
of other groups collected by the organization. The majority of the documents are dated after
1960 when Max Mont officially became the Executive Secretary of the committee. This series
is further divided into five major subseries based on the activities of the California
Committee for Fair Practices:
Administration (1959-1968),
Fair Employment Practices Commission (1955-1967),
Legislative Advocacy (1957-1968),
Civil Rights Concerns
(Non-Housing) (1957-1969, 1976), and
Fair
Housing
(1948, 1959-1967). Each subseries is filed alphabetically.
Series II,
Californians Against Proposition 14, documents
Californians Against Proposition 14 (CAP 14), a temporary committee formed during 1964 by
then-Governor Edmund G. Brown to coordinate election campaign efforts against the ballot
initiative to repeal the Rumford Fair Housing Act of 1963. The committee was active from
February to December, 1964. These records were collected and maintained by Max Mont, who
served as the Southern California campaign coordinator for CAP 14. It includes
correspondence, financial reports, rosters, campaign manuals, position statements, press
releases, leaflets, pamphlets, newspaper clippings and a small amount of campaign ephemera.
This series is further divided into the following four subseries:
Administration,
Campaign Literature and Publicity,
Special Interest Committees, and
Proponents
of Proposition 14.
Each subseries is filed alphabetically.
Series III,
Community Relations Conference of Southern
California,
documents the work of the Community Relations Conference of Southern
California and affiliated organizations and projects. The series contains correspondence,
testimony, reports, ordinances, conference programs, minutes and newsletters pertaining to
the issues of housing, development, civil rights and community relations between ethnic
groups within Los Angeles County and Southern California. The files were collected and
maintained by Max Mont as a member of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations.
The series is further divided into five subseries:
General
Projects
(1958-1960, 1972, 1980),
Human Relations Commission of
Los Angeles
(1969, 1971),
Los Angeles County Commission on
Human Relations
(1956-1958, 1963, 1966),
The Los Angeles
Citizens Committee for Fair Housing
(1966, 1968, ca. 1972), and
The Housing Opportunity Center (1969-1973). Each subseries is filed
alphabetically.
Series IV,
Emergency Committee to Aid Farm Workers, consists of
agreements, budgets, by‑laws, correspondence, financial statements, legislative bills,
minutes, newsletters, published reports, transcripts and related documents dealing with the
controversial issues of the Bracero program, unionization of domestic farm labor, the
California table grape strike and boycott, antipoverty programs and migrant poverty of the
1960s. The series is sub-divided into four subseries:
Administration (1961-1967),
Newsletters and Publicity
(1961-1969),
Project Files (1961-1968), and
Subject Files (1947-1968). Each subseries is filed alphabetically.
Series V,
Governor's Office, includes correspondence, position
statements, speeches, press releases, fact sheets and reports prepared and received by the
office of Governor Edmund G. Brown between 1959 and 1966. These records were forwarded to
Max Mont by William L. Becker, the Governor's Advisor on Civil Rights and Mont's predecessor
as West Coast Executive Director of the Jewish Labor Committee. The series is divided into
three subseries:
General Information (1962-1965),
Farm Labor and Agriculture (1961-1966), and
Civil
Rights and Housing
(1959-1965). Each subseries is filed alphabetically.
Series VI,
Citizens Advisory Committee for School Integration,
consists of committee records, correspondence files, legal documents, and survey data
covering topics that include bilingual-bicultural education, integration and bussing, and
the Los Angeles Unified School District and is filed alphabetically.
Series VII,
Personal Activities, contains brochures, conference
programs, correspondence, legislative bills, newspaper clippings, newsletters, pamphlets,
position papers, reports and similar documentation covering the wide subject areas found in
the rest of the collection however, Mont's personal papers differ in that they are not
primarily composed of records from a distinct single‑issue organization. Instead, the series
contains Mont's own personal records pertaining to issues and activities of concern after
his organizational involvement ended or before it began and documents Mont's political and
civic activism and interests, his work as West Coast Executive Director of the Jewish Labor
Committee, as representative for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL‑CIO, and as
a private individual. It is divided into seven subseries:
Civil Rights
(Non‑ Housing)
(1953-1980),
Extremist Groups
(1964-1965),
Farm Labor (1941, 1943, 1963-1978),
Fair Housing (1952-1953, 1965-1974),
Jewish
Community Concerns
(1960-1976),
School Integration
(1970-1980), and
General Material (1954, 1963-1972, 1980). Each
subseries is filed alphabetically.
Series I: California Committee for Fair Practices, 1948-1976
Subseries A: Administration, 1959-1968
Subseries B: Fair Employment Practices Commission, 1955-1967
Subseries C: Legislative Advocacy, 1957-1968
Subseries D: Civil Rights Concerns (Non-Housing), 1957-1976
Subseries E: Fair Housing, 1948-1967
Subseries 1: General Information, 1959-1967
Subseries 2: Proposition 14 Proponents, 1948-1966
Subseries 3: Proposition 14 Campaign Material, 1963-1967
Subseries 4: Proposition 14 Post-Election Efforts, 1964-1967
Series II: Californians Against Proposition 14, 1964
Subseries A: Administration, 1964
Subseries B: Campaign Literature and Publicity, 1964
Subseries C: Special Interest Committees, 1964
Subseries D: Proponents of Proposition 14, 1964
Series III: Community Relations Conference of Southern California, 1956-1980
Subseries A: General Projects, 1958-1980
Subseries B: Human Relations Commission of Los Angeles, 1969-1971
Subseries C: Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, 1956-1966
Subseries D: The Los Angeles Citizens Committee for Fair Housing, 1966-1972
Subseries E: The Housing Opportunity Center, 1969-1973
Series IV: Emergency Committee to Aid Farm Workers, 1947-1972
Subseries A: Administration, 1961-1967
Subseries B: Newsletters and Publicity, 1961-1969
Subseries C: Project Files, 1962-1968
Subseries 1: Administration, 1962-1968
Subseries 2: Individual Projects, 1963-1966
Subseries D: Subject Files, 1947-1972
Subseries 1: Agricultural Conditions and Economy, 1947-1967
Subseries 2: The Bracero Program and Public Laws, 1948-1967
Subseries 3: Domestic Labor, 1958-1972
Subseries A: Labor Organizing, 1961-1968
Subseries B: Living Conditions, 1958-1966
Subseries C: Manpower Availability, 1959-1967
Subseries D: Working Conditions, 1960-1972
Subseries 4: Intergroup Relations, 1960-1968
Subseries 5: Farm Labor Legislation and Advocacy, 1961-1967
Series V: Governor's Office, 1959-1966
Subseries A: General Information, 1962-1965
Subseries B: Farm Labor and Agriculture, 1961-1966
Subseries C: Civil Rights and Housing, 1959-1965
Series VI: Citizens Advisory Committee for School Integration, 1974-1979
Series VII: Personal Activities, 1941-1980
Subseries A: Civil Rights (Non‑ Housing), 1953-1980
Subseries B: Extremist Groups, 1964-1972
Subseries C: Farm Labor, 1941-1978
Subseries 1: General Reference and Fact Sheets, 1941-1974
Subseries 2: Labor Organization, 1965-1974
Subseries 3: Support Groups, 1966-1978
Subseries D: Fair Housing, 1952-1974
Subseries E: Jewish Community Concerns, 1960-1976
Subseries F: School Integration, 1970-1980
Subseries G: General Material, 1954-1980
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Max Mont, 2/12/1982.
Other Information:
This collection was processed in part under a U.S. Department of Education Title V
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Grant.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Robert G. Marshall, Cathy Sluter, and Han Xiaoquan, May 1988 and November 2003
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Documents
Photographs