Ralph Fertig, former Associate Professor in the USC School of Social Work, has worked toward social justice as a civil rights lawyer, social worker, federal administrative judge, and activist. His papers consist of his authored essays and personal narratives, collected clippings, correspondence and institutional records from political organizations and initiatives that he led (includeing Southern California Americans for Democratic Action, Humanitarian Law Project, and University Synagogue), and educational and reference materials held in his USC School of Social Work office. The papers also reflect Fertig's lifelong participation in the Freedom Riders movement, from clippings and personal narratives about the initial Freedom Rides in 1961 to Fertig's correspondence, contact directories, and a Freedom Riders Day poster documenting his efforts to organize members of the movement later in their careers.

Ralph D. Fertig, Professor at the USC School of Social Work from 2002 to 2016, has worked toward social justice as a civil rights lawyer, social worker, federal administrative judge, and activist. Fertig received a BA from the University of Chicago in 1950 and an MA in Sociology from Columbia University in 1952. During the 1950s and 1960s, Fertig worked for community organizations in Chicago and Washington, D.C., such as the Hyde Park Youth Project and the Metropolitan Washington Planning and Housing Association. During this time, Fertig was also committed to the Civil Rights Movement, marching with Martin Luther King Jr., working with Bayard Rustin on the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, and participating in the Freedom Riders movement. In 1961, while demonstrating in Alabama as a Freedom Rider, Fertig was arrested for disturbing the peace and beaten--almost fatally--by white inmates in the Dallas County jail.

26.69 Linear Feet 42 boxes and 1 oversize folder

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