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Duren (B. Kwaku) papers
7022
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: B. Kwaku Duren papers
creator:
Duren, B. Kwaku
Identifier/Call Number: 7022
Physical Description:
26.67 Linear Feet
50 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1964-2012
Abstract: B. Kwaku Duren is a lawyer and long-time political, social and community activist in the Los Angeles area. He has served
various institutions, among them the South-Central Office of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), the Union of
Legal Services Workers of Los Angeles. He served as head of the Southern California Chapter of the Black Panther Party and
chairman of the New Panther Vanguard Movement. He was co-editor-in-chief of The Black Panther International News Service.
As a political independent Duren has run for elective office, including the U.S. Congress, Insurance Commissioner, Long Beach
and Los Angeles School Boards, and most recently Mayor of Compton. The papers reflect more than 40 years (1964-2012) of his
work in civil rights movements and activities, and include correspondence, photographs, published materials, fliers, posters,
and audio/visual materials.
B. Kwaku Duren (also known as Robert Donaldson Duren and Bob D. Duren) was born in West Virginia in 1943. In the 1940s his
family moved to Cleveland, Ohio and in the 1950s settled in Long Beach, California. Duren's teen and young adult years in
California (the 1960s) were marred by legal troubles and he served jail sentences for much of this period, most notably in
Soledad, one of California's most notorious prisons.
Prison time changed the trajectory of his life. In jail Duren was exposed to and read many classic books on African-American
history and political philosophy. After being paroled in the 1970s, Duren became a community activist; his primary activities
were with alternative schools, including the Intercommunal Youth Institute, and the founding of the Coalition Against Police
Abuse which was in part inspired by the fatal shooting of his sister Betty Duren by California Highway Patrol officers. Duren
also collaborated with national organizations. Most notably, he founded the Southern California Party Chapter of the Black
Panther Party. In the 1990s Duren continued the legacy of the Panthers by playing a large role in the New Panther Vanguard
Movement, an attempt to redirect and reenergize black activism.
Duren also was involved in government and law. In 1989 he obtained his JD from the People's College of Law (Los Angeles) and
passed the bar in 1990. Before being awarded his JD, Duren sued the LAPD, specifically Chief of Police, Daryl F. Gates, for
spying and infiltration of some of his groups; the suit was settled. He was also heavily involved in politics; he ran for
Congress three times and Vice President once under the Peace and Freedom Party.
Duren continues his activism today and resides in Compton, California.
The B. Kwaku Duren papers, 1964-2012, consist of correspondence, reports, ephemera, clippings, photographs, research materials,
and audio visual materials created and collected by lawyer and activist B. Kwaku Duren (born 1943). The papers document more
than 40 years of Duren’s work with civil rights, political prisoners, police misconduct and community relations, community
and political activism, and reparations for slavery, and with organizations including but not limited to the Black Panther
Party, the New Panther Vanguard Movement, and Community Services Unlimited.
The papers are organized into the following series: 1. Correspondence; 2. Police Misconduct and Accountability; 3. Activism
and Community Outreach; 4. Political Prisoners, the Prison System, and Assassinations; 5. Reparations for Slavery; 6. Art,
Essays and Self-Expression; 7. Public Presentations; 8. Government and the Law; 9. Political Systems; 10. Research Files;
11. Photographs; 12. Ephemera; 13. Financial Files; 14. Book Excerpts and Journal Articles; 15. News and Media Publications.
Advance notice required for access.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections 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.
[Box/folder no. or item name], B. Kwaku Duren papers, Collection no. 7022, Regional History Collection, Special Collections,
USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Purchased from B. Kwaku Duren, January 21, 2014.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
African Americans -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Civil rights -- United States -- Archival resources
Lawyers -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Police misconduct -- United States -- Archival resources
Political activists -- California -- Archival resources
Political campaigns -- California -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Political parties -- California -- Archival resources
Political prisoners -- United States -- Archival resources
Reparations for historical injustices -- United States -- Archival resources
Audiotapes
Clippings
Correspondence
Ephemera
Reports
Magazines (periodicals)
Newspapers
Photographs
Videotapes
Duren, B. Kwaku -- Archives
Black Panther Party. Southern California Chapter -- Archives
Black Panther Party -- Archives
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles -- Archives
New Panther Vanguard Movement -- Archives
National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America -- Archives