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Miriam Sherman - Brooks Family Papers, 1910-1978
MSS 63  
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Collection Overview
 
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Description
The collection is comprised of the personal correspondence among Isador and Bessie Brooks; their three daughters: Miriam, Eleanor and Dorothy; Isador's father Joseph; and Miriam's daughter, during the first half of the 20th century. Isador and Miriam were Communist Party members. There are additional papers which include: Isador's 1929 reports to the Los Angeles Communist Party; Miriam's notebook of a 1932 trip to the USSR as a youth delegate from the International Labor Defense to the World Congress of the International Red Aid; a memo dealing with the "Los Angeles Ten" case, in which Miriam was a defendant for refusing to answer questions before a grand jury regarding her connections to the Communist Party; and clippings about Miriam's firing from a pianist position at UCLA's Physical Education Department in 1950 during the University of California's loyalty oath controversy.
Background
Isador Brooks (September 1, 1892 - January 6, 1934) came to the United States from Poland in 1906. He first lived in New York City and worked as a pants maker. Soon after his arrival he met Bessie Shapiro, his private English tutor, whom he married in 1912. The couple relocated to Albany, New York, where their three daughters, Miriam, Eleanor and Dorothy were born. In 1927 the family moved to Los Angeles where Isador managed a cooperative restaurant in Boyle Heights. Most of his working life Isador had a dental supply business.
Extent
1/6th Linear foot,

1/2 legal box
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research. Researchers may make single copies of any portion of the collection, but publication from the collection will be allowed only with the express written permission of the Library's director. It is not necessary to obtain written permission to quote from a collection. When the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research gives permission for publication, it is 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.
Availability
The collection is available for research only at the Library's facility in Los Angeles. The Library is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Researchers are encouraged to call or email the Library indicating the nature of their research query prior to making a visit.