Inventory of the Jean Graham Alinsky papers
Processed by Jill Golden.
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, California 94305-6010
Phone: (650) 723-3563
Fax: (650) 725-3445
Email: archives@hoover.stanford.edu
© 2012
Hoover Institution Archives. All rights reserved.
Inventory of the Jean Graham Alinsky papers
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, California
- Processed by:
- Jill Golden
- Date Completed:
- 2012
- Encoded by:
- Machine-readable finding aid derived from Microsoft Word and MARC record by Jill Golden.
© 2012 Hoover Institution Archives. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Title: Jean Graham Alinsky papers
Dates: 1908-1984
Collection Number: 92056
Creator: Alinsky, Jean Graham
Collection Size:
6 manuscript boxes
(2.4 linear feet)
Repository:
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford, California 94305-6010
Abstract: Memoirs, correspondence, legal and financial papers, memoranda, press releases and printed matter, relating to the career
of Saul Alinsky as a radical and organizer of impoverished communities in the United States. Includes published writings and
a few papers of Saul Alinsky.
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Archives
Languages: In
English
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
The Hoover Institution Archives only allows access to
copies of audiovisual items. To listen to sound recordings or to view videos or films during your visit, please contact the Archives
at least two working days before your arrival. We will then advise you of the accessibility of the material you wish to see
or hear. Please note that not all audiovisual material is immediately accessible.
Publication Rights
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Jean Graham Alinsky papers, [Box number], Hoover Institution Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives in 1992.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find
the collection in Stanford University's online catalog at
http://searchworks.stanford.edu/ . Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in the online catalog is larger than the number
of boxes listed in this finding aid.
Related Materials
Eric Hoffer papers, Hoover Institution Archives
Fred Ross papers, Special Collections, Stanford University
Industrial Areas Foundation records, Special Collections, University of Illinois, Chicago
Saul David Alinsky collection, Trinity College Library
Biographical Note
| 1916 May 17 |
Born Jean La Verne Graham, New York |
| 1938 |
B.A., Vassar College |
| 1942 January |
Married Frederick Schick |
| 1948 |
Divorced Frederick Schick |
| Circa 1951 |
Assistant, Museum of Modern Art, New York |
| 1952 May 15 |
Married Saul Alinsky in Spartanburg, South Carolina |
| 1956 |
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis |
| Circa 1964 |
Moved to Carmel, CA |
| 1967 |
Honorary Chair, Help the Children Committee |
| 1969 |
Divorced Saul Alinsky |
Scope and Content of Collection
The papers contain Jean Graham Alinsky's memoirs of her marriage to Saul Alinsky. Correspondence, legal papers, memoranda,
reports, and printed matter relate to the career of Saul Alinsky as an organizer of impoverished communities in the United
States. Organizational records from the Industrial Areas Foundation as well as a few personal papers of Saul Alinsky are also
included.
In a 1983 letter, Jean Graham Alinsky wrote that she was "determined to write a biography" of her second husband Saul Alinsky
(Box 1, Folder 28). The bulk of the
Jean Graham Alinsky file consists of Jean's research materials for her Saul Alinsky biography, including extensive clippings, as well as her personal
memoirs and biographical writings on Saul Alinsky (Box 2). These writings, compiled from 1980-1984, are in fragments with
several sections and pages missing. Except for two letters received from Saul Alinsky, the correspondence file consists mainly
of holiday cards, personal letters from unidentified friends, and a few pieces of legal correspondence.
The
Saul Alinsky file contains a few writings of Saul Alinsky as well as some records from the Industrial Areas Foundation, a Chicago-based organization
founded by Alinsky in 1940.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series: Jean Graham Alinsky file and Saul Alinsky file.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Radicalism--United States.
Community organization--United States.
Alinsky, Saul David, 1909-1972.
Box: 1-5
JEAN GRAHAM ALINSKY FILE
1908-1984
Scope and Content Note
Contains biographical materials, memoirs, essays, correspondence, and printed matter, mainly on the life and career of Saul
Alinsky and her own battle with multiple sclerosis.
Arrangement
Arranged by physical form.
Biographical file
1916-1984
Box/Folder: 1 : 2
Vassar College diploma
1938
Box/Folder: 1 : 3
Frederick Schick divorce papers
1948
Box/Folder: 1 : 4
Jean Graham and Saul Alinsky marriage certificate
1952
Scope and Content Note
Certified copy from 1978
Box/Folder: 1 : 5
Kathryn and Lee David Alinsky adoption records
1952
Box/Folder: 1 : 6
Clippings
1953-1954, 1965
Box/Folder: 1 : 7
YMCA award certificate
1966
Box/Folder: 1 : 8
Saul Alinsky divorce papers
1968-1969
Box/Folder: 1 : 9
Vassar Class of 1938 questionnaire
circa 1972
Box/Folder: 1 : 10
Conservatorship papers
1972-1984
Scope and Content Note
Includes copy of Saul Alinsky's death certificate
Box/Folder: 1 : 11
Photograph of Jean Graham Alinsky
1980
Box/Folder: 1 : 12
Address book and calendar
1980s, undated
Correspondence
1908-1910, 1971-1984
Scope and Content Note
Except for two letters from Saul Alinsky, consists of holiday cards and letters received from friends and a small amount of
legal correspondence.
Box/Folder: 1 : 13-14
Undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes one letter from Saul Alinsky
Box/Folder: 1 : 16
1960
Scope and Content Note
Includes one letter from Saul Alinsky
Box/Folder: 2 : 1
"Embezzlement as a Fine Art"
1950s
Box/Folder: 2 : 4-14
Memoirs of marriage to Saul Alinsky, fragments
circa 1980-1984
Box/Folder: 2 : 15
Untitled essay on New Paltz, New York
1980
Box/Folder: 2 : 16
Untitled essay on
Rules for Radicals
1981
Box/Folder: 4 : 11-12
Brussell, Mae
1972-1974, 1982-1984
Scope and Content Note
Includes copies of Brussel's World Watchers International newsletter
Box/Folder: 4 : 14
Citizens Action Program
1973
Box/Folder: 4 : 15
Environmentalism
circa 1980
Box/Folder: 4 : 16
Fort Ord (Calif.)
1969
Scope and Content Note
Relates to mutiny trial
Box/Folder: 4 : 18
Kennedy, Edward M. (Edward Moore)
1980
Box/Folder: 4 : 19
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald)
1979
Box/Folder: 4 : 20
King, Martin Luther
1961, 1982
Box/Folder: 4 : 22-23
Multiple sclerosis
1967-1983
Box/Folder: 5 : 4-8
Miscellaneous clippings
1960s-1984
Box: 5-6
SAUL ALINSKY FILE
1946-1972
Scope and Content Note
Contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, writings, and printed matter.
Arrangement
Arranged by physical form.
Box/Folder: 5 : 9
Correspondence
1952-1967
Scope and Content Note
Includes two poems in honor of Alinsky
Organizations file
1957-1969
Box/Folder: 5 : 10
Community Service Organization
1960
Industrial Areas Foundation
1957-1969
Box/Folder: 5 : 12
Letters received
1961-1966
Box/Folder: 5 : 13
Nicholas von Hoffman to Saul Alinsky on the Grand Boulevard Project
1957
Box/Folder: 5 : 14
Saul Alinsky to Robert T. Dunn on the Chelsea Community Council
1960 February 10
Box/Folder: 5 : 15
Saul Alinsky on articles in
Christian Century magazine
1960 November 30
Box/Folder: 5 : 16
Saul Alinsky on articles in
The Chicago Sun Times
1961 April 12
Box/Folder: 5 : 17
Craig Heverly on meeting with Chicago Housing Committee
1962
Box/Folder: 5 : 18
Publications
1960-1962
Scope and Content Note
Includes
Action to Equality of Opportunity
Box/Folder: 5 : 19
Reports
1960-1966
Scope and Content Note
Includes annual report from 1960 and position paper on the Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity
Speeches and writings
1946-1972
Box/Folder: 5 : 20
Reveille for Radicals, University of Chicago Press
1946
Scope and Content Note
Copy inscribed by Saul to Jean
Box/Folder: 6 : 1-3
Notes and outlines
1950s-1960s
Box/Folder: 6 : 4
Untitled essay on intellectuals
undated
Box/Folder: 6 : 5
Untitled essay on welfare workers
undated
Box/Folder: 6 : 6
"Idea Notes on the Day We Took Christmas"
undated
Box/Folder: 6 : 7
"Note on the Democratic Process"
undated
Box/Folder: 6 : 8
"On Public Housing and Urban Renewal"
undated
Box/Folder: 6 : 9
"The Crime of Crime Prevention," address to the California Democratic Council Convention and Issues Conference
1961 March 4.
Box/Folder: 6 : 10
"Citizen Participation and Community Organization in Planning and Urban Renewal," address to the Chicago chapter of the
National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials
1962 January 29
Box/Folder: 6 : 11
"The War on Poverty: Political Pornography,"
The Journal of Social Issues
1965 January
Box/Folder: 6 : 12
"Of Means and Ends,"
Union Seminary Quarterly Review
1967 January
Rules for Radicals file
1968-1972
Box/Folder: 6 : 13
"Note for Chapter on Self-Interest,"
circa 1968
Box/Folder: 6 : 14
"The Purpose," chapter draft,
circa 1970
Box/Folder: 6 : 15
Rules for Radicals, Vintage Books,
1972
Box/Folder: 6 : 16
John L. Lewis: An Unauthorized Biography, Vintage Books
1970
Box/Folder: 6 : 17
The Professional Radical: Conversations with Saul Alinsky, Harper and Row
1970
