Guide to the Fred Hirsch Ephemera Collection
SJSU Library Special Collections & Archives
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San Jose State University
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2062
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
© 2008
Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Fred Hirsch Ephemera Collection
Collection number: MSS-2007-07-01
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2062
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
- Processed by:
- Mark Rivas
- Revised by:
- Veronica Cabrera
- Date Completed:
- 2008
- Encoded by:
- Mark Rivas
- Revised by:
- Veronica Cabrera
© 2008 Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Fred Hirsch Ephemera collection
Dates: 1955-1973
Collection number: MSS-2007-07-01
Creator:
Hirsch, Fred, 1933-
Collection Size:
1 box
1.3 linear feet
Repository:
San Jose State University Library.
San Jose, California 95192-0028
Abstract:
The Fred Hirsch Ephemera collection documents local civil rights activist organizations in San Jose and Santa Clara County.
This collection documents the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the National Farmworkers
Association, and Santa Clara County Friends of SNCC, the Mexican American Political Association, and Congress
of Racial Equality (CORE). The collection includes correspondence, petitions, flyers and miscellaneous
ephemera.
Physical location: Vault 1, Range 22B
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the San Jose State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of
Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives 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 by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital reproductions of the original
materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
Fred Hirsch collection, MSS-2007-07-01, San Jose State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
Processing History
Processed by Mark Rivas, Revised by Veronica Cabrera, EAD encoded by Mark Rivas, Revised by Veronica Cabrera.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Fred Hirsch, July 2007.
Biographical Information
Fred Hirsch (1933-), a retired plumber is well known to the national leadership of the AFL-CIO and very widely in San Jose.
As vice president of Plumbers and Fitter, Local 393, Hirsch worked as a plumber and rank and file worker in
construction as well as a union activist and organizer. Hirsch helped transform his union into a dynamic force
on issues of AFL-CIO intervention in the political and trade union life of sovereign nations and specifically the
organizations in Latin America.
Hirsch is particularly known in the Chicano community, where he founded and served as Secretary of the Law and
Police Committee Model Cities Program. He has been involved in political, labor and community activism in San
Jose and he served as Co-Chairman of the Santa Clara Valley Friends of the Student Non Violent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC).
Hirsch also wrote the first pamphlet exposing CIA machinations in the Latin American labor movement.
Committed to civil rights, Hirsch participated in the Mississippi Freedom Summer project to help register African
American voters in Mississippi.
In addition, he worked with Cesar Chavez and the National Farmworkers Association. He played a part
in the Angela Davis’ trial by helping with the research of over 2000 potential jurors to guarantee a fair trial.
Hirsch is currently on the Executive Board of Plumbers and Fitters Local 393 in San Jose, a delegate to
the South Bay Labor Council and a longtime activist in the Latin America Solidarity Coalition.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Fred Hirsch Ephemera Collection contains civil rights era materials documenting the activities of civil
rights organizations in San Jose and Santa Clara County. A Major focus of this collection is police
brutality, and the development of the Community Alert Patrol (CAP). The collection consists of printed
materials, ephemera, and publications. Topics include, Voter Registration and the Selma March in Alabama, Fair Housing issues,
community alert patrols in San Jose and the effort to free Angela Davis.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in one series. I. Public Relations and Printed Matter, 1955-1973.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Hirsch, Fred, 1933--
SNCC--California--Santa Clara
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements
African Americans Civil Rights Movement--California--San Jose
Collection Contents
Box: 1
Series I:
Public Relations and Printed Matter
1955-1973
Creator:
Hirsch, Fred 1933-
Physical Description: 1 box
Series Scope and Content Summary
The materials presented in this series contain supporting documents of
events held by local civil rights organizations of San Jose and Santa Clara County.
Documents in this series include flyers of upcoming political and social events such as rallies
in support of the First Amendment, mass marches to denounce police brutality and a variety of
social justice petitions. This series provides a sampling of the local and national efforts
to promote civil rights, including court documents and petitions related to the Angela Davis
trial in the 1970s.
Arrangement
This series is arranged by format and alphabetically by subject matter.
Box/Folder 1/2
Mississippi Challenge
1964-1965
undated
Box/Folder 1/3
Official Government Papers
1963
1970
Box/Folder 1/4
Solicitations for Donations
circa 1960s
1972
Box/Folder 1/5
Solicitations for Support
circa 1960s-1970
Box/Folder 1/8
Equal Employment & Fair Housing
1964-1965
undated
Box/Folder 1/9
Mexican-American Groups
1964
Box/Folder 1/10
Police Brutality
circa 1960s
Box/Folder 1/11
Political & Performance Events
1955-1965
Box/Folder 1/12
Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee Events
1963-1965
Box/Folder 1/13
Youth Education
circa 1960s
Box/Folder 1/14
Community Alert Patrol
1972
undated
Box/Folder 1/15
Various Petitions
1964-1965
undated
Box/Folder 1/16
San Jose Police
1969
undated
Box/Folder 1/17
Firing of Chicano Professors
circa 1973
Box/Folder 1/18
Mississippi Matters
1965
undated
Box/Folder 1/19
San Jose Police Matters
1969
Box/Folder 1/20
The South & Freedom
circa 1960s
Box/Folder 1/21
Civil Injustice
1964-1970
undated
Box/Folder 1/23
Publications
1964-1966
undated
Box/Folder 1/26
Angela Davis Flyers
1970-1972
Box/Folder 1/27
The South & Freedom Flyers
circa 1960s
Box/Folder 1/28
Upcoming Event Flyers
circa 1970s
Box/Folder 1/29
Vietnam & Community Alert
circa 1960s
Box/Folder 1/31
Community Alert Patrol
circa 1960s
Box/Folder 1/32
Community Control Petitions
circa 1960s
Box/Folder 1/33
Events & Demands
circa 1960s
Box/Folder 1/34
Criminal Justice
1969-1971
undated
Box/Folder 1/35
Mexican Groups Flyers
circa 1960s
Box/Folder 1/36
Newspaper Articles
1967
undated
Box/Folder 1/37
The South & Freedom Flyers
circa 1960s
Box/Folder 1/38
Upcoming Event Flyers
circa 1960s
