Inventory of the Jean Graham Alinsky papers
Finding aid prepared by Jill Golden
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2012
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Jean Graham Alinsky papers
Date (inclusive): 1908-1984
Collection Number: 92056
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
6 manuscript boxes
(2.4 Linear Feet)
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.
Creator:
Alinsky, Jean Graham, 1916-
Creator:
Alinsky, Saul David, 1909-1972
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1992.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Jean Graham Alinsky papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
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.
Related Materials
Eric Hoffer papers, Hoover Institution Library & 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
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Radicalism -- United States
Community organization -- United States
JEAN GRAHAM ALINSKY FILE
1908-1984
Scope and Contents 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 note
Arranged by physical form.
Biographical file
1916-1984
box 1, folder 2
Vassar College diploma
1938
box 1, folder 3
Frederick Schick divorce papers
1948
box 1, folder 4
Jean Graham and Saul Alinsky marriage certificate
1952
Scope and Contents note
Certified copy from 1978
box 1, folder 5
Kathryn and Lee David Alinsky adoption records
1952
box 1, folder 6
Clippings
1953-1954, 1965
box 1, folder 7
YMCA award certificate
1966
box 1, folder 8
Saul Alinsky divorce papers
1968-1969
box 1, folder 9
Vassar Class of 1938 questionnaire
circa 1972
box 1, folder 10
Conservatorship papers
1972-1984
Scope and Contents note
Includes copy of Saul Alinsky's death certificate
box 1, folder 11
Photograph of Jean Graham Alinsky
1980
box 1, folder 12
Address book and calendar
1980s, undated
Correspondence
1908-1910, 1971-1984
Scope and Contents 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 1, folder 13-14
Undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes one letter from Saul Alinsky
box 1, folder 16
1960
Scope and Contents note
Includes one letter from Saul Alinsky
box 2, folder 1
"Embezzlement as a Fine Art"
1950s
box 2, folder 4-14
Memoirs of marriage to Saul Alinsky, fragments
circa 1980-1984
box 2, folder 15
Untitled essay on New Paltz, New York
1980
box 2, folder 16
Untitled essay on
Rules for Radicals
1981
box 4, folder 11-12
Brussell, Mae
1972-1974, 1982-1984
Scope and Contents note
Includes copies of Brussel's World Watchers International newsletter
box 4, folder 14
Citizens Action Program
1973
box 4, folder 15
Environmentalism
circa 1980
box 4, folder 16
Fort Ord (Calif.)
1969
Scope and Contents note
Relates to mutiny trial
box 4, folder 18
Kennedy, Edward M. (Edward Moore)
1980
box 4, folder 19
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald)
1979
box 4, folder 20
King, Martin Luther
1961, 1982
box 4, folder 22-23
Multiple sclerosis
1967-1983
box 5, folder 4-8
Miscellaneous clippings
1960s-1984
SAUL ALINSKY FILE
1946-1972
Scope and Contents note
Contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, writings, and printed matter.
Arrangement note
Arranged by physical form.
box 5, folder 9
Correspondence
1952-1967
Scope and Contents note
Includes two poems in honor of Alinsky
Organizations file
1957-1969
box 5, folder 10
Community Service Organization
1960
Industrial Areas Foundation
1957-1969
box 5, folder 12
Letters received
1961-1966
box 5, folder 13
Nicholas von Hoffman to Saul Alinsky on the Grand Boulevard Project
1957
box 5, folder 14
Saul Alinsky to Robert T. Dunn on the Chelsea Community Council
1960 February 10
box 5, folder 15
Saul Alinsky on articles in
Christian Century magazine
1960 November 30
box 5, folder 16
Saul Alinsky on articles in
The Chicago Sun Times
1961 April 12
box 5, folder 17
Craig Heverly on meeting with Chicago Housing Committee
1962
box 5, folder 18
Publications
1960-1962
Scope and Contents note
Includes
Action to Equality of Opportunity
box 5, folder 19
Reports
1960-1966
Scope and Contents note
Includes annual report from 1960 and position paper on the Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity
Speeches and writings
1946-1972
box 5, folder 20
Reveille for Radicals, University of Chicago Press
1946
Scope and Contents note
Copy inscribed by Saul to Jean
box 6, folder 1-3
Notes and outlines
1950s-1960s
box 6, folder 4
Untitled essay on intellectuals
undated
box 6, folder 5
Untitled essay on welfare workers
undated
box 6, folder 6
"Idea Notes on the Day We Took Christmas"
undated
box 6, folder 7
"Note on the Democratic Process"
undated
box 6, folder 8
"On Public Housing and Urban Renewal"
undated
box 6, folder 9
"The Crime of Crime Prevention," address to the California Democratic Council Convention and Issues Conference
1961 March 4.
box 6, folder 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 6, folder 11
"The War on Poverty: Political Pornography,"
The Journal of Social Issues
1965 January
box 6, folder 12
"Of Means and Ends,"
Union Seminary Quarterly Review
1967 January
Rules for Radicals file
1968-1972
box 6, folder 13
"Note for Chapter on Self-Interest,"
circa 1968
box 6, folder 14
"The Purpose," chapter draft
circa 1970
box 6, folder 15
Rules for Radicals, Vintage Books
1972
box 6, folder 16
John L. Lewis: An Unauthorized Biography, Vintage Books
1970
box 6, folder 17
The Professional Radical: Conversations with Saul Alinsky, Harper and Row
1970